Falkirk Herald reports on the opening day of hearing...Dart...

Falkirk Herald reports on the opening day of hearing...


Dart Energy inquiry told Airth gas plan is “safe”
Published: 19 March 2014

By Stuart Barber
Extracting coal bed methane gas will not require using chemicals that will be a threat to the environment.


On the first day of the public inquiry into a planning application from Dart Energy to drill for the gas near Airth, drilling expert Andrew Sloan claimed they would be as “hazardous” as a Sherbet Fountain, a popular children’s sweet, or a packet of indigestion tablets.

Under questioning from Sir Crispin Agnew QC who is representing objectors Concerned Communities of Falkirk, Mr Sloan said both contained the soda ash chemical which would be used to pump the gas from 3600 feet below ground to the surface.

He also said the drilling procedure which involved wells drilled vertically and horizontally being connected underground was a system which had been safely employed for over 40 years across the world.

Mr Sloan told the inquiry, which is expected to last three weeks: “It is anything but novel.”