Durban - The government has been urged to put the shale gas fracking licensing process on hold until the recently announced scientific impact investigation is completed.
The Treasure the Karoo Action Group said it welcomed the government’s announcement earlier this month to launch a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) into the potential negative social, geological and environmental impacts of fracturing (fracking) deep underground rock formations to extract shale gas.
The assessment will be conducted by the CSIR, the South African National Biodiversity Institute and the Council for Geosciences.
In a letter to Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi, the action group welcomed the SEA process as “necessary, forward thinking and a huge step in the right direction”.
But action group chief executive Jonathan Deal said he was concerned about the sequence of events in granting exploration rights to shale gas companies before the scientific assessment was complete.
“Any decision (to grant exploration rights) prior to the final outcome of the SEA would be premature and may undermine several of the rights contained in the Constitution,” Deal said.
He said the current fracking regulations, due to be published in July, were “to the best of our knowledge not based on science necessarily applicable to the South African context”.
“Moreover, no consultation by the government on shale gas mining has taken place, despite several clear commitments by both Minister Shabangu and Minister Ramatlhodi that consultation would precede a decision on shale gas.”
After listening to President Jacob Zuma in two State of the Nation addresses, he said, there was a general perception among cabinet members and the population that shale gas exploration and extraction would go ahead.
“We believe the role of a SEA – within the context of a process with scientifically-documented environmental risk, in a water-scarce country with complex geology – should from the outset be focused on research of global facts, good understanding of local conditions and reliable local projections.
“This scientific process would then inform and guide appropriate regulations and a suitable approach to decision-making.
“We also believe public hearings on the matter are necessary … We believe a decision that is prudent, logical and which takes into account the duty of the state contained in section 24 of the constitution will involve the delay of any final regulations and the issuing of exploration rights until such a time that the SEA has been concluded and can inform regulations and the way forward.”
Deal said the current fracking applications before the government could involve high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing even during the exploration phase, and the government was, at this point, not properly prepared to predict or deal with the potential consequences.
He also pointed to the recent release of a similar impact assessment process by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that involved seven years of scientific investigation and public consultation.
“We believe the scope of the (New York State) report, the extent of public consultation and the inclusive manner in which the project has been concluded have offered South Africa an important guideline.”
The Department of Mineral Resources was invited to comment on the action group’s letter, but no response had been received late on Monday.
The Mercury