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<p>When operations finish at shale gas sites, the licensees are responsible for safe
decommissioning of their well(s) and for restoring the well-site to its previous state
or a suitable condition for re-use. As set out, in the joint Written Ministerial Statement
of 17 May 2018, as a matter of policy the financial resilience of all companies looking
to hydraulically fracture is now assessed, including their ability to cover decommissioning
costs.</p><p>Only three onshore wells have been hydraulically fractured in the UK
and one of these, Cuadrilla’s site at Preese Hall, has been decommissioned and the
site fully restored to its previous state. The groundwater at Preese Hall has been
monitored post decommissioning in April 2015 and results have been supplied to the
Environment Agency and the other regulatory bodies. There has been no evidence of
environmental harm. The remaining two wells are at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road site
in Lancashire. As part of its application for Hydraulic Fracturing Consent, Cuadrilla
was required to undergo a financial resilience check to ensure that it had sufficient
funding to cover the full decommissioning of their site.</p><p>If, in the unlikely
situation there was an issue with the well in the longer term, the Environment Agency
would seek to identify the person(s) responsible for any pollution and has powers
it can apply in specific circumstances, to remediate the issues.</p><p>The Department
is considering whether any further mitigations might be appropriate.</p>
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