Saturday meeting to oppose Maltby fracking

THE article in the August 9 issue, “Fracking licences issued for two sites in borough”, discussed two licences granted for ‘fracking’ of shale gas north and south of Maltby.

Residents and businesses in Maltby are alarmed at this news, as shale gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking) involves forcing millions of gallons of water, sand and a cocktail of chemicals down a well bore and then piping it horizontally at high pressure to fracture shale rock and so release the methane gas trapped inside it.

There are many potential hazards. These include contamination of our groundwater with methane and chemicals, methane escaping into our atmosphere (it is odourless, flammable and is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide) and earthquakes under our homes. Add to that an intensive industrialisation of our countryside on a scale we have never seen before: several well pads per square mile, each of a size between one and two football pitches, each one serviced by an industrial waste pool and dozens of water tankers thundering up and down our roads.

We know that Maltby Colliery sold its Coal Mine Methane assets to Alkane Energy of Edwinstowe for methane gas recovery. Alkane Energy has been granted ‘Petroleum Exploration and Development Licence’ PEDL043, covering an area including Maltby, Braithwell, Micklebring and Stainton. By the way, the word ‘petroleum’ includes shale gas.

The second licence, PEDL200, granted to multinational Dart Energy, covers Thurcroft, Stone, Laughton, Firbeck, Letwell and further south and eastwards. I understand both companies are extracting methane gas from coal seams, not shale, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has said that fracking is not currently involved.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) has given assurance that there have been no planning applications to explore/drill for shale gas. So we’re ok then. No shale gas fracking after all. Everybody relax. Well, no. The shale rock is here; part of an area called the Bowland Shale extending from the west coast to the east coast of northern England. Once methane gas has been extracted from the coal seams, the energy companies will turn their attention to fracking the shale rock underneath. In fact the British Geological Survey has already produced a comprehensive Bowland Shale Gas Study for the DECC.

Furthermore, Dart Energy revealed on their website this week that “Seven East Midlands licences are believed to contain potential for shale gas.” One of these is PEDL200. And Alkane Energy say on their website, “Alkane retains a full 100 per cent interest in the majority of the PEDLs, which extend to all of the hydrocarbons recoverable from these licence areas. This includes any CMM, natural gas, coal bed methane and shale gas.”

What is more, there will be another round of licences next year, covering additional areas. What can we do? Well, there’s a meeting, this Saturday August 31, at the Wesley Centre, Blyth Road, Maltby, for anyone who wishes to start a group to oppose fracking underneath Maltby and surrounding areas until regulations and guarantees are given to ensure that there will be no negative effects on our environment, livelihoods or health.

Meeting is 10am to noon. Further public meetings will then be held around the area to raise awareness, to inform and to attract support. I would like to thank Linda McAvan, Yorkshire and Humber MEP, Kevin Barron, Rother Valley MP, and their offices, the clerk to Maltby Town Council, and the Environment and Development Services of RMBC for their assistance in this matter.

David Burley, Maltby