Written question asked by Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 4 February 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 February 2015 (named day). A holding answer was provided on Monday, 9 February 2015. A substantive answer was provided by Matt Hancock (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 February 2015 on behalf of the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Fracking

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, over what period of time, at what time intervals, at which depths and for which substances he plans to monitor wells abandoned after use for high volume hydraulic fracturing.

Answer

The aim of the current regulatory framework is that wells are made safe so that they can be decommissioned with no need for on-going attention. In the UK very few instances are known of problems with decommissioned wells, and none of significant pollution caused by decommissioned wells.

There is, however, a case for further quality assurance, with some period of monitoring post-decommissioning. We are discussing suitable arrangements with regulators and industry. As regards monitoring of the site restoration, this is a matter for the planning authority.

In the 2014 Autumn Statement, the Government announced £31 million funding for a world-leading facility for research, technology and monitoring of the subsurface that will provide openly available data for academia, industry and regulators. The independent research will provide an evidence base for better regulation and to reassure the public that subsurface developments can be safe.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 223324
Session: 2014-15
Subjects: Fracking
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Fracking

Secondary information

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