When operations finish, the licensees are responsible for safe decommissioning of the well(s) and for restoring the well-site to its previous state or a suitable condition for re-use. The Environment Agency also requires a site condition report to be submitted by the operator, demonstrating that the site is in a satisfactory state before allowing the operator to surrender its environmental permit.

If environmental damage occurs then, in accordance with statutory requirements and government policy, remediation of the damage will be dealt with under the main regimes for dealing with contamination. These are Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009 and Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These regimes provide for the remediation of environmental damage and contaminated land (including water), and they apply to the extraction of both petroleum and deep geothermal energy.

The petroleum licence issued by DECC enables the Government to ensure that funds are available to discharge any liability for damage from activities under the licence. DECC accordingly assesses, before any petroleum licence is issued, whether a company has adequate financial capacity for its planned operations. DECC also checks at the drilling and, where relevant, production stage that the company has sufficient funding and appropriate insurance.

A number of potential radon exposure pathways, including the presence of radon in homes, were considered in the recent report by Public Health England into the potential public health consequences of exposure to chemical and radioactive pollutants as a result of shale gas extraction.

The report is available at the following address:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shale-gas-extraction-review-of-the-potential-public-health-impacts-of-exposures-to-chemical-and-radioactive-pollutants

The Public Health England review of the potential public health impacts of shale gas extraction considered the potential presence of radon in natural gas containing shale derived methane.

A number of techniques are available for measuring the concentration of radon in methane including scintillation counting of a methane gas sample.

PHE has reviewed the potential public health impact of direct emissions of chemicals and radioactive material from the extraction of shale gas. The report can be found on the following website:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-potential-public-health-impacts-from-shale-gas-extraction

Risks associated with occupational and residential exposure to radon have been investigated in detail. A review ‘Radon and Public Health’ was produced by the Advisory Group on Ionising Radiation in 2009 and can be found on the following website:

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140722091854/http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1243838496865

In England, for the purposes of the Water Framework Directive and Groundwater Directive, the Environment Agency has the responsibility for making determinations of substances that may be hazardous in groundwater. It will not permit the use of ‘hazardous substances’ for any activity, including hydraulic fracturing, where they would or might enter groundwater and cause pollution.

Hazardous substances are defined as those that are persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, or, for the Directives, where there are ‘equivalent levels of concern’. The Joint Agencies Groundwater Directive Advisory Group (JAGDAG) carries out peer reviews of these determinations, before recommendations are then put to public consultation. Substances that were proposed for use for hydraulic fracturing of shales in Lancashire have been assessed and were determined as non-hazardous. These were consulted on in 2012 following peer review by JAGDAG.

Information about JAGDAG, including minutes of meetings, can be found at: http://www.wfduk.org/stakeholders/jagdag-work-area-0

The potential health impacts of chemical or radioactive exposure from shale gas activities have been considered by Public Health England, which published a draft report for comment in October 2013 and a final report in June 2014 entitled ‘Review of the Potential Public Health Impacts of Exposures to Chemical and Radioactive Pollutants as a Result of the Shale Gas Extraction Process’:

http://www.hpa.org.uk/Publications/Environment/PHECRCEReportSeries/PHECRCE009/

Public Health England considered the University of Missouri study as part of its review of the literature and data for the final report (see section 8.2).

The report concluded overall that:

“An assessment of the currently available evidence indicates that the potential risks to public health from exposure to the emissions associated with shale gas extraction will be low if the operations are properly run and regulated.”

It noted that

“Where potential risks have been identified in the literature, the reported problems are typically a result of operational failure and a poor regulatory environment.”

In the UK, all chemicals which are proposed for use in the hydraulic fracturing process are assessed in advance by the environmental regulators. Operators will not be able to use chemicals for well stimulation unless the Regulator considers them acceptable for use.

Allowing the use of a chemical at one site does not automatically mean the Regulator will allow it to be used elsewhere. This is because the environmental risks may be different, for example, due to local geological conditions.

The Industry body UKOOG, which has drawn up these arrangements which the Government has welcomed, set out on 13 January details of how they will operate.

At exploration stage the operator will provide £100,000 per hydraulically fractured well site. To ensure these community benefit funds are managed and distributed independently of the operators themselves the UK Onshore Operators Group will be partnering with UK Community Foundations (UKCF), which works for communities through a UK-wide network of community foundations. UKCF and its appropriate local community foundation will manage a consultation process to engage the local community in defining local priorities and needs, including the appointment of a community panel to decide how the money will be spent once the consultation is complete.

The operator is liable for any damage or pollution caused by his operations. As a part of the consenting process under the licences, DECC checks that operators have appropriate insurance against these liabilities.

When operations finish, the operator is responsible for sealing the well so as to ensure safe retention of all fluids, in accordance with HSE regulations and industry standards. The operator is also responsible for restoring the site to its previous state or a suitable condition for re-use, in accordance with site restoration conditions specified by the relevant planning authority. The operator must also comply with any relevant conditions of Environment Agency permits, and remains liable for any remediation which may prove necessary after the abandonment of the well.

For the longer term, DECC and the industry are also working to put in place a robust scheme that would cover liabilities even in the event that the relevant operator is no longer in business.

The operator is liable for any damage or pollution which his operations may cause. An operator's liability to prevent and remediate environmental damage is set out in the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2009. These regulations implement the Environmental Liability Directive (Directive 2004/35/EC).

When operations finish, the operator is responsible for safe abandonment of the well(s) and for restoring the well-site to its previous state or a suitable condition for re-use. The relevant planning authority will require suitable restoration of the site as a condition of the planning permission.

DECC is discussing with industry arrangements to ensure that site restoration and aftercare will be secure even in the event that the operator goes out of business.

I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Environment Agency's work to regulate individual shale gas sites is financed through the charges raised for environmental permits and licences. Operators of shale gas sites will submit an initial application fee, followed by a yearly 'subsistence' fee, which is used to ensure compliance with permit conditions.

The rates retention scheme allows business rates income in England to be retained by billing authorities (district councils, metropolitan councils and unitary authorities), county councils, fire and rescue authorities and the Greater London authority. We will consider how the 100% retention of business rates income on shale gas production sites will be shared among these authorities in an area which hosts a site and consult upon draft regulations prior to implementation from 1 April 2015.

Public Health England will consider the University of Missouri School of Medicine's research as part of its review of the potential public health impacts of exposures to chemical land radioactive pollutants as a result of shale gas extraction. Public Health England's final report is due to be published in the summer of this year.

Operators will not be able to use chemicals for well stimulation unless the Environment Agency considers them acceptable for use. Any substances, including endocrine disruptors that are sufficiently persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic would be defined as hazardous. The Environment Agency will not permit the use of substances that are hazardous to groundwater in hydraulic fracturing, where there is a risk that these will, or might enter groundwater. The chemicals proposed for use will be listed in the operator's waste management plan, which will be publicly available.

The Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering's report “Shale Gas Extraction in the UK: a review of hydraulic fracturing”, published in June 2012 concluded that environmental (and health and safety) risks associated with hydraulic fracturing could be managed effectively in the UK

“as long as operational best practices are implemented and enforced through regulation”.

They also commended the UK's goal based approach which fosters innovation and continuous improvement to risk management.

The UK has over 50 years of experience of regulating the onshore oil and gas industry nationally; and the Health and Safety Executive and UK environmental regulators are widely recognised as excellent organisations. We have a strong regulatory regime for exploratory activities and we will look continuously to improve it as the industry develops.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member on 17 December 2013, Official Report, column 447W. The industry will come forward with more details shortly on how and to whom the community benefits for shale gas will be paid.

A recent report by Public Health England, titled ‘Review of the Potential Public Health Impacts of Exposure to Chemical and Radioactive Pollutants as a Result of Shale Gas Extraction’, looked into the potential of radon contamination from shale gas operations in the UK. This concluded that:

“it is unlikely that shale gas extraction or related activities would lead to any significant increase in public exposure from outdoor radon levels or indoor levels in nearby homes”.

The environmental regulator (Natural Resources Wales in Wales) will consider any application on current best practice and information as is relevant to the specific site in the application.

The potential volumes of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) will depend on the scale of production, which cannot be estimated until there is exploratory drilling and testing. In the US disposal of NORM is regulated state by state and in some includes reinjection of waste waters underground, a practice that is not permitted in the UK. In the UK, we have established regulatory processes for disposal of NORM and, as with mining or mineral processing, the relevant environmental regulator is responsible for assessing the risk, if any, from NORM at any particular site and licensing or permitting activities appropriately. Water UK, who represent the water industry and the UK Onshore Operators Group, have recently signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to help minimise the impact of onshore oil and gas development in the UK on the country's water resources, this includes the expected volumes, composition of waste water and preferred disposal routes. UK Water Industry Research are modelling the demand for waste water services to advise the water industry.

Shale gas has the potential to create investment, support jobs and increase growth nationally and in local communities. Community benefits will form a part of this and will allow the industry a social license to operate.

The shale gas industry has published a community engagement charter which sets out their voluntary, industry-led scheme of community benefits. The industry has committed to engage with individuals and organizations in the local communities from an early stage in order to define how the community benefits are paid.

Public Health England (PHE) has identified that radon may be present in natural gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing of shale reserves, as is the case for natural gas derived from some other sources. Further information can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/shale-gas-extraction-emissions-are-a-low-risk-to-public-health

Radon in domestic gas supply has been assessed previously for its radiological significance in relation to natural gas from the North sea and it leads to domestic gas customers receiving very small radiation exposures, compared with other naturally occurring radiation.

Measurements from the United States of America of radon in shale gas methane suggest that the concentrations are similar to those found in natural gas from other sources, and that radiation exposure to domestic gas users from this source will also be very low.

Radiation exposures received by domestic gas consumers are related to the concentration of radon in gas delivered to homes. This will be lower than the initial well-head concentration because of radioactive decay of radon during transit or storage, which is assessed in relation to the 3.8 day radioactive half-life of the relevant radon isotope, and of dilution of radon resulting from blending and mixing of methane from different sources.

PHE has recommended that it will be appropriate to determine the initial radon concentrations in natural gas from shale sources in the United Kingdom.

PHE has further recommended that the existing radiological assessment, of radon in natural gas, should be reviewed using measurements of radon in UK shale gas together with assessment parameters that reflect the processing and transport network that will apply to UK shale gas methane.

The Government is considering PHE's recommendations and will respond in due course.

Public Health England (PHE) has identified that radon may be present in natural gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing of shale reserves, as is the case for natural gas derived from some other sources, see:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/shale-gas-extraction-emissions-are-a-low-risk-to-public-health

Radon in domestic gas supply has been assessed previously for its radiological significance in relation to natural gas from the North Sea and it leads to domestic gas customers receiving very small radiation exposures, compared with other naturally occurring radiation. Measurements from the USA of radon in shale gas methane suggest that the concentrations are similar to those found in natural gas from other sources, and that radiation exposure to domestic gas users from this source will also be very low.

PHE anticipates a low risk to public health from direct releases of radioactive material if shale gas extraction is properly operated and regulated.

PHE has recommended that it will be appropriate to determine the initial radon concentrations in natural gas from shale sources in the UK.

PHE has further recommended that the existing radiological assessment, of radon in natural gas, should be reviewed using measurements of radon in UK shale gas together with assessment parameters that reflect the processing and transport network that will apply to UK shale gas methane.

The Government is considering PHE's recommendations and will respond in due course.

Any development that is planned near a main river or a flood defence will require flood defence consent from the Environment Agency. It is a statutory consultee in the planning process and can object to any development that it considers to be at high risk of flooding. Similar processes apply in other parts of the UK.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has found no evidence of pollutants from oil and gas spills in rivers and streams affected by the flooding. The Environment Agency has made no assessment of the relevance of flooding of shale gas sites in Colorado in September 2013.