BERLIN, Germany – Although big businesses and environmental groups rarely agree on much, both oppose the German government’s new controversial proposals for fracking within the country.
The proposed law announced, in early April and currently being debated in Parliament, takes a middle-of-the-road approach on the polarizing issue, and thus satisfies nobody. It imposes strict rules on fracking, irking corporations, but fails to outlaw the controversial gas drilling procedure outright, as environmentalists desire.
“The fracking bill should be an outright ban,” said Ann-Kathrin Schneider of Friends of the Earth Germany. Like many Germans, Schneider is afraid of the ecological risks associated with injecting compressed, chemical-laden water and sand into the ground to break up shale rock that contains oil and natural gas.
“Fracking presents a clear danger in a time of climate change, because more CO2 enters the air through this method of gas extraction,” Schneider added. “There is also irreparable harm done to the earth as well as pollution of drinking water.”
But talk to the other side, like the Federation of German Industries, and they're also opposing the new bill – except they say it’s anti-business.
“It’s a positive sign that fracking is not being forbidden in Germany,” said the Federation. “But the regulations for the technique are completely out of control and are putting unnecessary restrictions on gas extraction methods that have been used in Germany for decades.”
Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, who helped write the proposed legislation, told German daily Die Welt that it's not a question of permitting or restricting fracking so much as regulating an existing industry. "We are taking care of an unregulated situation," said Hendricks, and "it will prohibit a lot of what is currently allowed.”
The proposal’s regulations are designed to ensure safety and clean drinking water. It would prohibit commercial fracking below 3,000 meters (9,850 feet) in shale and coal, but allow fracking for scientific research in shale, clay, marlstone and coal to greater depths.
The bill also addresses potential liability for environmental damages linked to fracking. Reversing the burden of proof as it is upheld in the U.S., the German bill would hold the fracking company responsible for proving that it did not cause ecological harm. German officials didn’t see that approach as unfair, arguing that fracking companies are well-equipped to address allegations that they’ve tainted groundwater or caused other pollution.
Despite the environmental protection measures in the bill, Schneider fears the proposed legislation will increase fracking throughout Germany.
“There is currently a bit of fracking that goes on in Germany in conjunction with standard methods of retrieving gas from sandstone,” Schneider said, noting that the proposed law would allow for widespread fracking in shallow depths. “This law would allow gas to be harvested from slate and coal stones for scientific and commercial purposes.”
Yet the Federation of German Industries maintains that the law would put such a high burden on frackers that it would discourage investment. “We need legal security so that investors feel safe to invest in the German natural gas industry,” said the Federation's managing director, Markus Kerber.
"The potential of the industry is great," said Kerber, who argues that fracking would reduce Germany’s reliance on other countries for 88 percent of its natural gas use.
The Green Party disputes those assertions. “We can’t be certain how much more natural gas could be provided through fracking,” said Julia Verlinden, a Green Party lawmaker.
“There are estimates of around 1.3 trillion cubic meters that could be retrieved in Germany, but these numbers do not account for areas where fracking would not be possible, such as cities and near water sources. Overall, the data does not show a significant offset to domestic gas use," she added.
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MEANWHILE, RT reports that Denmark has suddenly suspended fracking over hazardous chemical use:
Denmark has suspended the first exploratory drilling for shale gas which lasted only one day after it discovered that French gas-giant Total, in charge of the project, had used “unauthorized” chemicals.
"They used a product that was not part of those authorized" for the procedure, Ture Falbe-Hansen, a Danish Energy Agency spokesman told AFP Wednesday.
The type of defoamer known as Null Foam is used in fracking to extract shale gas and is considered hazardous to the environment, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.
The chemical is not illegal, according to Henrik Nicolaisen, who leads the drilling project for Total.
"We have been in dialogue with both the municipality and the Danish Energy Agency since February and we felt that we had a common understanding that the substance could be used," he told DR, as cited by AFP.
Environmental committee chairman of Frederikshavn Council Anders Brandt Sørensen said Total’s use of the non-approved product “makes [him] very mad.”
“We will simply not accept this kind of violation of our EIA [environmental impact assessment],” he told broadcaster DR.
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process of extracting shale gas by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure deep underground in order to release hydrocarbons from between layers of rock.
Total’s unit in charge of the project said drilling on the northern tip of Jutland had started only on Monday. The Danish Energy Agency, which is part of the energy ministry, said Total was told to stop exploration on Tuesday.
Total’s shale gas project was given the go-ahead in June despite strong protests from the local community and environmentalists.
The project’s cancellation came as another blow to Total's shale plans, having previously suffered protests over its Danish project, faced a fracking ban in its own home country of France, and exited its Polish licenses.
It is unclear when, if ever, Total could resume operations, first needing to explain its actions to the Danish authorities.
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