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North Yorkshire Council Urges Government to Reconsider Fracking Definition

As plans are submitted for a gas drilling project on the Yorkshire Coast, the council is urging the government to look again at the scope of the current UK fracking ban.

The proposed gas drilling project at Burniston will have to meet the requirements of North Yorkshire's Mineral's and Waste Strategy.

That's according to the council's executive member for business - Councillor Mark Crane.

At a full council meeting last week, he was asked what immediate actions the council is taking to prevent industrial development in coastal areas.

It also emerged that North Yorkshire Council has written to the government urging them to reconsider the definition of Fracking.

It comes as plans have been submitted to carry out a test "proppant squeeze" at a gas well in Burniston.

The technique is regarded as small-scale hydraulic fracturing, but isn't covered by the current UK fracking ban.

Councillor Gregg White is the Council's Executive Member for Managing our Environment.

Europa Oil and Gas wants to install a 30 meter high drilling rig and use "a low volume fracking technique" to explore for natural gas at Burniston.

The proposed site is about 800m from the North York Moors National Park and within the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast Management Area.

In order to determine the potential reserves of gas, the firm states it would be necessary to undertake “a proppant squeeze” for up to 17 weeks.

While the technique to keep fissures open is regarded as small-scale hydraulic fracturing, as the UK takes the use of large volumes of fluid as its definition of fracking, proppant squeeze is not included in the government ban on the controversial gas extraction method.

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