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Signs adjacent to a proposed fracking site in Little Plumpton where a protest camp was set up in the summer, 17 December 2014.
Signs adjacent to a proposed fracking site in Little Plumpton in Preston, Lancashire, where a protest camp was set up in the summer. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian
Signs adjacent to a proposed fracking site in Little Plumpton in Preston, Lancashire, where a protest camp was set up in the summer. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Labour seeks ban on fracking near aquifers

This article is more than 9 years old

Party says it wants to protect Britain’s drinking water sources and reinstate the right of homeowners to be individually notified of nearby fracking

Fracking would be prohibited on the land that collects the nation’s drinking water, under a Labour proposal published on Wednesday. The party also wants to reverse the government’s decision to stop shale gas companies having to notify residents individually of fracking in their area.

David Cameron has said his government is “going all out” for fracking, which it says could be a valuable source of domestic energy, and already plans to remove the right of homeowners to block fracking under their land. Opponents argue that fracking brings unacceptable health and environmental risks and will add to climate-warming carbon emissions.

The new Labour proposals are put forward as amendments to the government’s infrastructure bill. The bill already includes provision to allow fracking companies to put “any substance” under people’s homes and leave it there, a move opposed by Labour. In December, other Labour amendments proposed independent inspection of fracking wells, baseline monitoring of methane gas in groundwater and extending the protection of national parks to other protected areas.

The proposal on water catchment areas would ban fracking in all groundwater protection zones, areas defined by the Environment Agency as the 15% of England and Wales that feeds aquifers. Government rules already ban shale gas exploration close to water extraction sites, but not in the wider catchment. Many of the groundwater protection zones cut through areas licensed for fracking.

“Shale gas extraction can only go ahead if we have a system of robust regulation and comprehensive inspection,” said Tom Greatrex MP, Labour’s shadow energy minister. “Despite clear flaws in the existing framework, David Cameron’s government has repeatedly side-lined legitimate environmental concern and seem prepared to accept shale gas at any cost.”

“With eight out of 10 homes still relying on gas for heating, shale gas may have a role to play in displacing some of the gas we currently import and improving our energy security,” said Greatrex. “But that potential benefit cannot come at the expense of robust environmental protections or our climate change commitments.”

Labour is also proposing making payments to affected communities legally-binding, rather than voluntary.

“Labour’s call for a ban on fracking near aquifers and for other safeguards is the right one – it is basic commonsense to not risk Britain’s drinking water,” said Friends of the Earth climate and energy campaigner Donna Hume. “While Labour’s proposals are a welcome break from the government’s gung-ho pursuit of controversial fracking whatever the cost, the truth is that any fracking is highly risky for people’s health and the environment and has no place in any community.”

Greenpeace UK energy campaigner Simon Clydesdale said: “The government clings on to the fig leaf of its supposedly world-class fracking regulations [but] Labour’s proposal to ban fracking close to aquifers is a matter of such basic commonsense that it’s hard to see what excuse ministers could come up with to oppose it.”

Note: This article was amended to clarify that government’s intention to remove the right of homeowners to block fracking under their land has yet to passed by parliament.

More on this story

More on this story

  • Parliamentary aide to Vince Cable resigns over anti-fracking stance

  • Tories forced into U-turn on fast-track fracking after accepting Labour plans

  • Don’t dash for shale gas without thinking about the alternatives

  • Controversial Lancashire fracking plans 'should be refused'

  • Lancashire planning officials to reveal shale gas fracking recommendations

  • What the UK could learn from New York's fracking ban

  • A county divided: is Lancashire ready for its fracking revolution?

  • Regulators grant environmental permits for Lancashire fracking site

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