Ms Laura Burke:

I thank the Chairman for inviting the Environmental Protection Agency to assist this committee in formulating its views on hydraulic fracturing. I hope my statement will assist the committee. As members are aware, the Environmental Protection Agency is an independent statutory body, established in 1993 under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. We have a wide range of responsibilities in the environmental field. Today, we are discussing hydraulic fracturing.

The main role of the EPA with regard to projects involving hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is commonly termed, is its regulatory role through the IPPC licensing process as set out in the EPA Act, whereby an IPPC licence is required for onshore extraction of shale gas on a commercial scale. The EPA does not have a regulatory role at the exploration stage of these projects, but will be a statutory consultee with respect to any environmental impact assessment conducted by the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, as indicated earlier. The Environmental Protection Agency is also involved in research into the environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

The EPA has a number of roles. First I will discuss our research role. The EPA is responsible for the development, co-ordination and management of environmental research in Ireland and has provided funding for environmental research since 1994. The current research programme STRIVE has been running since 2007 and is focused on major environmental challenges and the provision of policy relevant analysis and research. The study Hydraulic Fracturing or 'Fracking': A Short Summary of Current Knowledge and Potential Environmental Impacts was published by the EPA in May 2012. This short desk study was conducted for the agency by the University of Aberdeen. It provides an introduction to the environmental aspects of fracking including a review of regulatory approaches used in other countries and areas for further investigation and research. In brief, some of the key findings of the study included the importance of well integrity for preventing groundwater contamination; the importance of knowledge of local geology regarding potential impacts on groundwater quality and the possibility of tremors; and the uncertainty regarding the carbon footprint of shale gas in comparison to conventional natural gas. This is an important climate change issue. There are a small number of published, peer reviewed, scientific studies in the area. This study also examined regulatory approaches in Europe, North America and elsewhere and identified areas where further research is required to determine best practice.

The information provided by this preliminary research project will now be used to inform a more comprehensive study to be commissioned by the EPA, in co-operation with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. This project will be administered by the STRIVE programme, and steered by a committee with representatives from the Departments of Communications, Energy and Natural Resoaurces, Environment, Community and Local Government, the Commission for Energy Regulation, An Bord Pleanála, the Geological Survey of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. The EPA expects to commission this study in 2012. The scope of the research, while not finalised, is expected to address, among others, the areas of environmental best practice; identification of potential environmental impacts, local and global, and associated mitigation measures; baseline studies to characterise the existing local environment; and an examination of regulatory frameworks in the Republic, Northern Ireland, and the EU. The study will take account of existing international research in the field, and a public consultation process is also planned. While elements of the research will relate to specific regions where options have been granted from the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, it is the intention that the study will generally be applicable to the island of Ireland.

With regard to international research on hydraulic fracturing, there is currently much research underway, particularly in the EU and US, on the environmental and human health aspects and impacts of fossil fuel activities involving fracking. As recently as September 2012 the EU Commission has published two studies in this area, on climate impact and the environment and human health. The EU Commission has also recently invited tenders for research aimed at supporting possible Commission initiatives on managing impacts and risks arising from unconventional gas developments, and assisting the Commission in developing best regulatory practices. In the US, the US EPA is currently conducting research on the potential impact of these projects on drinking water resources. This research is expected to be completed in 2014, and an interim report is expected in late 2012. The Environmental Protection Agency will be keeping abreast of all such research with a view to being in the best possible position to perform its statutory duties.

The primary role of the EPA with regard to fracking is our licensing role. Any proposed project involving the commercial scale extraction of shale gas would therefore need to apply to the EPA for, and be granted, an IPPC licence in order to operate. Any licence issued for such an activity would also regulate the environmental aspects of any hydraulic fracturing operations taking place as part of the extraction activity. The IPPC licences aim to prevent or reduce emissions to air, water and land, reduce waste generation and use energy and resources efficiently. Applicants are required to demonstrate that they meet the criteria set out in the legislation to be considered as "fit and proper" persons to hold such a licence. They must also make adequate provision for closure and environmental liabilities.

The IPPC licence is a single integrated licence which covers all emissions from the facility and its environmental management. All related operations that the licence holder carries out in connection with the activity are controlled by this licence. In order to grant a licence, the EPA must be satisfied that emissions from the activity do not cause a significant environmental impact. Any application to the EPA must demonstrate the use of best environmental practice in order to minimise environmental impact. Applicants are also required to demonstrate that the proposed activity would not cause any breaches of national legislation or European directives. For example, with regard to protection of groundwater, an applicant would be required to show that no breaches of the EU Water Framework Directive or national water quality standards would occur.

No applications for IPPC licences for commercial extraction of shale gas have been received by the agency to date.

Any applications received in the future will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the requirements of the EPA Acts. The key environmental issues to be addressed in any future application include the potential for groundwater contamination from methane migration, the impact of any chemical additives in the fracking fluid, the treatment and disposal of flowback fluid, greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.

I would like to speak about European work on this issue. The EPA, representing Ireland, participates in an EU technical working group on the environmental aspects of unconventional fossil fuels, in particular shale gas. The working group consists of representatives of member states, the European Environment Agency and the EU Commission. The purpose of this group is to assist in identifying and addressing knowledge gaps, potential key issues and priorities in relation to environmental protection, to act as a platform for information exchange on environmental aspects of and best practices for shale gas projects and to contribute to the Commission's efforts to assess whether existing EU environmental legislation ensures there is an appropriate level of protection of the environment and human health.

Climate change needs to be considered as part of any discussion on fracking operations. The EPA plays a number of key roles as part of Ireland's response to the challenges of climate change, for example by drawing up Ireland's annual greenhouse gas inventory, which is reported to the EU and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and used to determine compliance with emissions targets under the Kyoto Protocol and the future EU climate and energy package. The EPA also provides official projections of future emissions of greenhouse gases in the context of projected policies and measures. EPA projections for the period from 2011 to 2020 show that Ireland can comply with its Kyoto obligations with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. Even in the best case scenario, however, Ireland is predicted to breach its annual obligations under the EU 2020 target from 2017 onwards. Our total emissions are projected to be above the EU 2020 target by between 4.1 million and 7.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Globally, carbon dioxide and methane are the two most important long-life greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. In this context, it is important to note that methane is the main constituent of natural gas. At the point of conversion to energy, fossil methane is less carbon-intensive than other fossil energy sources, such as coal, oil or peat. Fuel switching from coal, peat or oil to natural gas has a climate benefit at the point of use, in so far as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per equivalent amount of heating or electricity generation is reduced. The conversion of home heating from coal to gas in Dublin is a good example of this. That measure has had significant benefits for air quality and has contributed to lowering Ireland's emissions from this sector.

Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas exploration, production and processing are included in greenhouse gas inventories. For Ireland, such life cycle emissions are currently low because most of our natural gas is imported. Approximately 93% of it was imported in 2011. Any methane emissions from fracking, or during exploration drilling, would be reported in Ireland's inventory. While uncertainties are significant, the use of locally produced shale gas to replace imported gas is likely to increase associated emissions for Ireland. While the level of such an increase is uncertain - it might not be large - it would add to our total emissions and have implications for other sectors, such as the agriculture sector. If such gas is used to replace coal or peat or certain oil-using systems, it may reduce the associated emissions. However, such a transition needs to be assessed in the context of overall climate policy.

As the committee will know, the National Economic and Social Council has been tasked to report on the development of climate policy in Ireland. The first part of its report, which relates to 2020 targets, was published earlier this month. The second part of it, which will consider Ireland's transition to a low-emission economy, is due to be completed by the end of the year. Natural gas will have an important role in such a transition. However, its use needs to be factored into a clear transition scenario. For example, relatively lower-emission methane systems could replace higher-emission coal, peat and oil systems, which would then be replaced by sustainable energy sources over a certain period of time.

Further research is required to fully understand the potential impact on the environment of the use of this technology. The key questions this research needs to answer are whether this technology can be used while fully protecting the environment and human health and, if so, what is the best environmental practice in using the technology. The question of whether the existing EU environmental regulatory framework is adequate for unconventional fossil fuels projects is also being addressed. The answers to these questions will assist the agency and other regulators in fulfilling their statutory roles with regard to these projects. I hope I have given the committee an overview of the possible environmental implications of hydraulic fracturing. Along with my colleagues, I will be happy to answer any questions the members of the committee may have.