Cabinet adopts far reaching restrictions on fracking

Today, the German Cabinet introduced a set of stringent fracking regulations. The legislative package contains bans to protect drinking water, health and nature in certain regions and also far-reaching restrictions on fracking in shale, clay, marl and coal seam rocks. In addition, the package contains supplementary, stricter regulations on conventional natural gas and crude oil extraction.
Federal Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks stated: "I am pleased that after many discussions we have finally adopted regulations for fracking, which up to now was unregulated. With this legislative package we can limit fracking in such a way that it no longer endangers people or the environment. Fracking is prohibited if the risks cannot be justified or fully evaluated."
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel commented: "Today's Cabinet decision gives legal security not only to the people but to the industries and jobs affected. Our main focus is on protecting the environment and human health. Fracking can only be carried out in strictly limited and exceptional cases for scientific purposes, and only then when the risks can be controlled and justified and when it has been approved using a transparent procedure with public participation. In addition, we will ensure that from now on existing domestic crude oil and natural gas extraction takes place in compliance with strict basic requirements and using the highest technical standards."
Fracking has so far not been used in Germany in shale, clay, marl and coal seam rocks above a depth of 3000 metres (unconventional fracking). Thus, there is a lack of sufficient knowledge and experience on the impacts of fracking, in particular on the hydrological balance, drinking water and hence on health. To close these knowledge gaps testing measures need to be permitted for research purposes, however only if the fracking fluid is not detrimental to water quality. These key bans are regulated in the Federal Water Act.
The proposed law also specifies complete bans in certain areas such as water protection areas, medicinal spa protected areas, catchment areas of reservoirs and natural lakes, from which untreated water is taken for public water supply and the catchment areas of water intake points used for public water supply. These bans may be extended by Länder regulations to cover the catchment areas of mineral spring reserves, water intake points for beverage production and coal mining areas. The package also takes into account the risks associated with storing reservoir water underground and which arise in the course of natural gas and crude oil exploration and extraction.
Furthermore, the Federal Nature Conservation Act prohibits the erection of fracking facilities, including the underground storage of reservoir water in nature preserves and national parks. The law makes clear that on Natura 2000 sites it is forbidden to erect facilities for the exploration and extraction of shale, clay, marl and coal seam rocks by cracking these rocks using hydraulic pressure or to erect facilities for the underground storage of reservoir water needed for the extraction of natural gas in shale, clay, marl and coal seam rocks. Comprehensive requirements to protect people and the environment are planned in areas where fracking has not been banned. Such requirements are a number of disclosure and reporting obligations, for instance on all materials and mixtures used.
The BMUB legislative proposal on water and nature conservation law is supplemented with drafts from the Federal Economic Affairs Ministry (BMWi) for an act extending mining damage liability to include drilling boreholes and caverns, for an ordinance introducing environmental impact assessments and on requirements for fracking and deep drilling. The ordinance extends the obligations for carrying out environmental impact assessments and introduces more stringent rules on borehole integrity in light of the possible causing of earthquakes and on the monitoring of crude oil, natural gas and geothermal energy projects. In future, more environmental impact assessments will be required for both conventional and unconventional fracking for the extraction of crude oil and natural gas and for the disposal of reservoir water. This will ensure comprehensive transparency and public participation. Additionally, the highest standards in line with the latest technology will be required for the disposal of backflows and reservoir water. The act on mining damage liability will also strengthen the position of those concerned on possible mining damage. In future, individual citizens must no longer prove that mining damage has been caused by fracking, deep drilling or similar measures. On the contrary, the onus of proof is reversed. This means that in future the company that carried out the fracking activity must prove that the damage was not caused by fracking. The draft legislation can be accessed via the BMWi and BMUB websites.