Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment the Environment Agency has made of the environmental effect of Cuadrilla Resources’ shale gas site at Preston New Road.
The Environment Agency assessed the potential environmental impacts of Cuadrilla’s proposed operations at its Preston New Road site and undertook two public consultations prior to granting environmental permits.
Since the issuing of the permits and during the construction phase of the site the Environment Agency has inspected the Preston New Road site five times. It has also monitored the local watercourses to ensure compliance with the environmental permit. Cuadrilla has recently applied to vary its environmental permit and the Environment Agency is currently consulting on the proposed changes and assessing the potential environmental impacts before deciding whether to grant the variation.