This article is from page 27 of the 2012-11-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 27 JPG
A FINAL decision on whether fracking will be allowed to take place in the West Clare Basin will not be made until 2014 at the earlier, it was revealed yesterday. The terms of reference for a major Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on the viability of fracking are currently being drawn up and the report will not be completed until 2014.
The Minister for Energy, Pat Rabbitte (LAB), has confirmed that no decision on whether to grant a licence for commercial fracking will not be taken until after the EPA report in completed.
British-based company, Enigi Oil, was granted limited exploration right in an area around Doonbeg earlier this year and provisional data indicates that a commercial fracking operation could be sustained in the area. This prompted a large anti-fracking campaign locally which resulted in councillors at Clare County Council voting to change the County Development Plan to ban fracking earlier this year. This move is of little legal value however, as the power to grant a license for fracking lies solely with the Minister for Energy.
The EPA produced an initial study on fracking earlier this year but Minister Rabbitte requested that a second, more detailed, study be produced. The steering group for this research was announced last week and will include representatives from the EPA, Department of Environment, the Department of Environment, in Northern Ireland, the Commission for Energy Regulation, An Bord Pleanála and the Department of Energy.
The Clare Basin is one of two locations in Ireland where the possibility of commercial fracking has been identified. Fracking involves drilling large vertical tunnels deep underground and then using pressurised water and other material to crack and shatter the shale rock located there and release the natural gas trapped inside. The technique has been blamed for causing earthquakes in some parts of the world and has also be sighted a possible major pollutant to local water system.