May 4: Why we’re opposed to fracking in Ryedale

From: Chris Redston, Frack Free Ryedale.

I AM writing in response to the opinion piece written by John Dewar regarding Third Energy’s plans to frack in Ryedale (The Yorkshire Post, May 1). The phrase ‘economical with the truth’ could have been invented to describe the article.

Firstly, comparing conventional gas production to fracking is like comparing a high street shop to an Amazon delivery warehouse. A conventional gas well-site requires one vertical well, which typically produces gas for 15-20 years. Fracking involves drilling multiple wells on the same site, and then drilling horizontally for up to 2 km in various directions. Each well only produces gas for one to three years, so companies have to keep drilling more and more. Each frack requires millions of gallons of fresh water and produces huge quantities of toxic waste water.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group recently called for a full Health Impact Assessment to be carried out before fracking was approved in Ryedale, and the charity Medact has also called for a ban, saying “the arguments against fracking on public health and ecological grounds are overwhelming”.

Mr Dewar is also incorrect to claim that there are no recorded instances of fracking causing water contamination. In August 2014, Pennsylvania State authorities released details of 243 cases in which fracking companies had contaminated local water supplies, and there are thousands of other cases worldwide, from California to Queensland. Last month the US Government confirmed that the industry was also responsible for the huge increase in earthquakes in eight states, including Oklahoma, which is now the earthquake capital of the USA.

Mr Dewar also implies that the company is only planning one small test-frack at Kirby Misperton. This is not the case. On March 10, Mr Dewar told an Environmental Audit Committee enquiry that Third Energy was planning 19 well-sites across Ryedale, with between 10 and 50 wells per site. And far from being the size ‘of two football pitches’, a 50-well pad would have a footprint of about 7-10 acres and signal the irreversible industrialisation of the countryside.

We urge readers to do their own research and come to their own conclusions. Unfortunately for Mr Dewar, thousands of people across Yorkshire are doing just that and realise what a threat this industry is to their businesses, water, land and health. And it all starts with just one well.

Related topics: