The Welsh Government: quietly supporting the Shale gas revolution.

A new application to drill a borehole for Coal Bed Methane and Shale gas exploration in the Port Talbot area poses new questions about the role of the Welsh Government in the development of unconventional gas in the Welsh coalfields. The application, lodged by UK Methane Ltd. is on land that is directly owned by the Welsh Government itself, and while novel , shouldn’t be hugely surprising.

In the midst of the barrage of claims, counterclaims and spin flying around the whole issues of “Unconventional Gas”, the Welsh Government has been largely silent on the issue, but as with most things in Cardiff Bay, things are quietly developing behind the scenes. So let’s start at the top.

At a Cabinet meeting of the Welsh Government back in November 2013, Carwyn Jones himself brought a new document to the table – a draft policy document on Shale Gas. The thrust of this document, while hedged around with caveats, is broadly supportive. What it also makes clear is that the Welsh Government is taking an active role in the assessment of the full extent of the unconventional gas resource in Wales. To this end, they have commissioned the British Geological Society to undertake a survey of the potential Welsh resource. The BGS are due to report back shortly.

The recommendations of this document were approved by the Cabinet but strangely for an administration usually eager to crow it’s achievements from the rooftops, it was agreed not to publicise this determination in the press.

One very interesting piece of information is the onus placed on the new Regulator, Natural Resources Wales, to ensure that all the appropriate environmental safeguards are in place. Yet questions are already being raised from a number of quarters about potential conflicts on interest with a body which is supposed to on the one hand pursue a conservation agenda, while also issue permits for new energy projects.

Which brings us neatly back to Port Talbot.

For in the case of the Port Talbot application, it’s quite clear that the body responsible for giving out the environmental permits is also the body that manages the land on behalf of the landowner, the Welsh Assembly Government. It appears at this point that this body has consented to allow an activity with unquantified environmental consequences to take place on land under it’s care.

So what reason do we have to assume it’s not going to continue in this vein and give out the permits too?

The Vaughan Legacy

Letter to the Western Mail (and shortly all the other main local papers in Wales)...

Dear Editor,

On the face of it, Derek Vaughan’s voting record in the European Parliament – at 93%  - makes for an impressive statistic. In my experience, however, it always pays to get behind the statistics to get the real story.

So, for example, in a vote in the European Parliament on March 12th, 2014, Mr. Vaughan backtracked on a prior commitment (made in a vote on October 9^th,  2013) to ensure that all unconventional gas projects were subject to mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment. This follows a vote on November 21^st, 2012 in which Mr. Vaughan opposed a motion – co-sponsored by fellow Welsh MEP Jill Evans – to place a moratorium on “fracking” until key safety concerns are fully addressed.

So as readers can see, statistics do not tell us the whole story. In fact they disguise the abject betrayal by Mr. Vaughan of coalfield communities that are being earmarked for the large scale exploitation of our abundant gas resources without even mininal environmental safeguards.

It’s not just about the impressive size of Mr. Vaughan’s voting record, it’s what he does with his vote that counts.

Yours Sincerely,

Jim Dunckley.