EMERGING FINDINGS of the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PRESTON NEW ROAD Contents Who We Are: Introduction
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EMERGING FINDINGS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT PRESTON NEW ROAD Contents Who we are: Introduction ....................................................................................1 01 The planning process and programme .................................2 02 A summary of the proposals .................................................4 03 What have you told us? .........................................................14 04 Our emerging findings .........................................................16 Cuadrilla is the UK’s leading Arup is a independent 05 Assumptions for Environmental Impact Assessment ........31 shale gas explorer. A UK multi-disciplinary consultancy company with offices in with the full range of 06 How can you respond? .........................................................32 Lancashire, London and specialist expertise required 07 Bibliography ..........................................................................33 the Midlands, we hold a to undertake comprehensive number of exploration environmental impact licenses granted by the assessments. Department of Energy and Formed in 1946, the firm Climate Change (DECC). The now has 11,000 employees, largest of these licenses lies offices in 38 countries and in Lancashire and it is within has worked on a range of this license area that the major infrastructure and proposed Preston New Road oil and gas projects. exploration site is located. Cover Image: Indicative visualisation only. Introduction In February 2014 we announced two new proposed completed local surveys and investigations as well as sites for shale gas exploration in the Fylde, at Roseacre their extensive experience on other projects in the UK Wood and Preston New Road. These sites were and overseas to undertake this assessment. chosen following extensive technical and geological analysis. From these sites we believe we can gather the A consultation event for the Preston New Road information we need to make an assessment of how proposals will be held at Pipers Height Caravan Park nd much natural gas can be recovered from the Bowland on 2 April 2014 (3pm - 7.30pm). At this event, experts Shale. An information day for the Preston New Road site in traffic, hydrogeology, landscape, noise and other was held on 13th February 2014. topics will be available to answer your questions. Francis Egan I am extremely grateful to all those residents who Taking into account your comments on our proposals we Chief Executive attended the information day and I thank you for your intend to finalise our environmental impact assessment Cuadrilla comments and questions. I also thank you for the work for the Preston New Road site over the coming comments made through our website and through the months. The final Environmental Statement will include online community map. These have helped shape our more details and background studies on environmental proposals and where we can, we have been seeking issues associated with the proposed exploration site. to address them through our technical work. We have We then intend to submit planning applications and now developed our proposals further for the proposed the Environmental Statement to Lancashire County new exploration sites and have assessed many of the Council. Lancashire County Council will then undertake environmental impacts. We would now like to share with their own consultations on the planning application you the emerging principal findings of our work. providing further opportunities for you to comment on This document outlines the proposed exploration the proposals. activities and design for the Preston New Road site. Details on how to comment on our proposals can be It also summarises the emerging findings from the found in chapter 6 of this booklet. We look forward environmental impact assessment work, undertaken to hearing from you. by Arup. Arup’s professionally qualified team of environmental specialists has drawn from recently 1 01 The Planning Process Cuadrilla is applying to Lancashire County Council for planning permission to undertake testing for shale gas at a site at Preston New Road. Four exploratory wells would be located within the site. The works would involve Preston New Road drilling, hydraulic fracturing and testing the flow of gas from the wells. These are known as exploratory works. The exploratory works would be temporary. The drilling, hydraulic fracturing and initial flow testing works would last for between two and three years. After this all drilling, fracturing and associated Separate planning applications will be submitted for each element, equipment would be removed from the site. There may be a although the potential impacts of the three elements have subsequent period of flow testing with the site connected to been considered together as part of one Environmental Impact the mains gas pipeline which could last for a further period of Assessment (EIA). An Environmental Statement, which presents approximately two years. the EIA findings, will be submitted with the planning applications. The works would enable us to make an assessment of how much gas The EIA has identified measures to minimise potential impacts on could be extracted from the shale rock. In the future, if we want to the environment and the local community. Key findings from the produce shale gas from the site on a longer term basis, this would be emerging EIA are summarised in Section 4 of this booklet. subject to a separate planning application to Lancashire County Council. Plans and other supporting documents will also be submitted The works at Preston New Road include three elements: with the planning applications. These include location plans, site 1) Exploration and testing activities located on the site layout plans, Flood Risk Assessment, Utilities Statement, Statement of Community Involvement and Planning Statement (including 2) An array of approximately 88 monitoring stations positioned Sustainability Appraisal, Restoration Plan and an Environmental around the site to monitor the fracturing process Risk Assessment summary). 3) Connection to local gas distribution networks 2 Planning Process Stages The Planning Process Consultation Process Technical Work Key Terms Preliminary Public Involvement and Site selection and Shale gas – a natural gas produced from Engagement with Regulatory Bodies initial Environmental organic rich shales (sedimentary rocks). Risk Assessment work Shale reservoirs are organised into tight impermeable formations and therefore hydraulic fracturing is required to enable the 1 & 2 Preliminary shale gas to flow and be retrieved. Public Involvement design and site layout Exploratory well – a deep borehole drilled into the shale rock and used to extract Environmental gas as part of the exploration works. Impact Assessment Scoping Engagement with Lancashire County Hydraulic fracturing – the process Council and Regulatory Bodies Environmental where fracturing fluids are injected into Impact Assessment boreholes at high pressure. This opens up fractures in the shale rock and allows for Preparation of the gas from the shale to flowback up the 3 Planning Application Public Involvement borehole and be recovered. We are here Design work Gas flow testing – tests to determine the including landscaping and consideration of environmental rate at which gas flows from a well and how mitigation and issues raised this changes over time.3 Finalise and Submit during consultation Planning Application Lancashire County Council Consultation on Planning Application Lancashire County Council Decision Discharge Planning Conditions 3 02 A summary of our proposals The location of the proposed Preston New Road site is shown here. It is currently in agricultural use and is located west of the village of Little Plumpton and south-west of the village of Great Plumpton. The site would be accessed from a newly constructed road running between the site and the A583. Why has this site been selected for shale gas exploration? • It is within an area of suitable geology • The local topography and vegetation give opportunities for screening of the site within the local landscape • There are no local heritage, ecological or landscape designations on the site or the nearby areas • There is access to mains water supply • There is access to an existing mains gas pipeline • The site is not at risk from flooding or close to any groundwater extraction zones • Existing land uses can be restored once the exploratory works have been completed Location of well pad site and access 4 What is the seismic monitoring array? A network of seismic monitoring stations is proposed to record any slight vibrations deep underground and provide data readings to inform the hydraulic fracturing process. The network is made up of a combination of surface and Example of a buried array sensor location Example of a surface array sensor location buried array equipment. The surface array is a network of eight shallow buried seismic sensors to monitor the hydraulic fracturing process and to detect any minute vibrations that might occur at the surface. A surface array monitoring station would comprise of a small glass reinforced plastic cabinet approximately 1.1m high that would be located between 1m and 3m from the below surface seismometer (see photo). In addition to the surface array, there are proposals for a buried array, with seismic monitoring equipment to be installed in boreholes up to 100m below the ground, at 80 locations around the Preston New Road site. This array Preston New Road site