Fracking slammed by activists

KAROO NEWS - Members of the public have until Monday 22 August to submit written comments or input on the proposed regulations about the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas requiring hydraulic fracturing published by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, on 11 July.

Dr Stefan Cramer, Science Advisor for the South African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI) and retired hydrogeologist renowned for his resistance against fracking in the Karoo, recently released critical comments on the proposed regulations.

According to Cramer the “new” regulations solve neither of the two competing tasks of giving investors a clear path of the legal framework under which they can operate in the onshore environment of South Africa, and giving the water user of South Africa a clear signal that their overriding concerns for clean and affordable drinking water are heard by Government.

He raised the following important points:

• The new regulations do not address the particular risks of onshore oil and gas exploration and production to the scarce and sensitive groundwater resources of South Africa.

• The lack of understanding or recognition of the Karoo groundwater systems leads to a huge deficit in protecting public water facilities.

• The new regulations do not protect private water facilities.

• With very few exceptions, the “new” regulations are not new, but mostly stating the obvious as contained in previous NEMA and other legislation. They try to look tough and caring, but rather give a false sense of security and try to paint the department as being strict, whereas it is not.

• Some of clauses are outright nonsense and show the absence of geotechnical or hydrogeological input into these regulations.

• Many clauses are contradictory in themselves and will ultimately lead to legal challenges instead of clarity.

Cramer is in communication with the Graaff-Reinet based Support Centre for Land Change (SCLC), as they are gearing up for a renewed resistance, in collaboration with The Green Connection, 350.org, groundWork (Friends of the Earth, South Africa) and others, against fracking in the Karoo.

TKAG respond

Responding to the proposed regulations, Jonathan Deal, CEO of Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG), said that the scale and magnitude of fracking operations have proven to be beyond the grasp of established oil and gas producing countries and states, such as the United States of America, where air pollution and drilling incidents, including the contamination of water resources, have continuously been recorded, posing a public health risk.

This even though oversight bodies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the United States are equipped with 15 000 trained and organised staff and an annual budget of $10 billon.

It is well known that the regulation of mines in SA is an absolute failure and that local communities always carries the cost of pollution whilst a few connected individuals who champion the industry walk away with great riches.

According to Deal, the government’s interest in shale gas is motivated by a facile assumption around promises of jobs, a so-called abundance of energy and financial gain.

These ridiculously inflated figures have fallen like dominoes in the past decade as the claims have been disproved by unparalleled local research, such as the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Academy of Science of South Africa’s report on South Africa’s technical readiness for supporting a shale gas industry.

Nevertheless, the government appears to be determined to forge ahead despite scientific data to the contrary.

Deal stated that TKAG and AfriForum are in the process of preparing a joint robust response and has urged South Africans to submit their comments on the proposed regulations.

“After ten years, this fight will go down to the wire and it is up to the local communities to stand together against this great risk – just the same as they did in the e-toll saga. This government has proven itself incapable of managing even day-to-day services, let alone a complicated and dangerous technology steered by profiteers.”

In 2019 TKAG and civil rights organisation AfriForum succeeded in its appeal against the Ministers of Mineral Resources and Environmental Affairs to aside the regulations on petroleum exploration and production, as promulgated in 2015, which allows for fracking in South Africa.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is currently conducting public engagements on the published Unconventional Gas Regulations, particularly with affected communities where unconventional gas activities are currently being piloted or are envisaged for the future.

These communities are Theunissen in the Free State, Richmond in the Northern Cape, Beaufort West in the Western Cape, Lephalale in Limpopo, Volksrust in Mpumalanga and Matatiele in the Eastern Cape.