PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (Appea) on Friday welcomed the Western Australian government’s formal response to recommendations made by a Parliamentary inquiry in November last year.

The state government adopted 10 of the 12 recommendations made by the Environment and Public Affairs Committee, in November, which included amendments to the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources Act, as well as greater consultation between the Department of Mines and Petroleum, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Water Corporation.

However, the Western Australian government did not adopt the recommendation that oil and gas companies carrying out hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the state would need to negotiate with landowners. Instead, the government stated that a voluntary land access agreement agreed upon in 2015 between the petroleum industry and agricultural groups would be sufficient, and as a result would negate compulsory negotiations.

The government also did not support a recommendation requiring the Department of Mines and Petroleum to refer all fracking proposals to the EPA.

Appea CEO for the western region, Stedman Ellis, said a regulatory regime based on established facts and underpinned by science was vital if Western Australia’s onshore gas industry were to reach its full potential.

“Numerous scientific studies and decades of practical experience have shown that any risks associated with hydraulic fracturing can be safely managed with proper regulation,” Ellis said.

“In committing to a fact-based approach, the government is providing the regulatory certainty required if Western Australia’s considerable supplies of shale and tight gas are to be converted into jobs and royalties for the state.”

Ellis said the government’s decision to establish a working party to consider any changes to Western Australia’s current land access arrangements was a sensible approach.

“The voluntary land access agreement negotiated over several years by Appea and peak farming organisations is providing a strong framework for coexistence and should be given more time before any changes are contemplated,” he said.

“We also note that the working party will consider the inquiry’s recommendation for a statutory body similar to the Queensland GasFields Commission to act as an independent arbiter in land access negotiations.”

Ellis added that regulation of fracking in Western Australia would be further strengthened by the government’s support for many of the inquiry’s other recommendations.

However, the environmental groups are unhappy about the state government’s adoption of the recommendations, with the Australian Greens party saying that the government had further watered down already inadequate recommendations around fracking.

“Western Australia is in a unique position where we can take advantage of other experiences in regulating the hydraulic fracturing industry, and learn from the plethora of mistakes that have been made in other parts of Australia and indeed, around the world,” said Western Australian Greens mines and petroleum spokesperson Robin Chapple.

“It is disappointing, and in fact terrifying, to learn that this government is then willing to bat for this industry without any kind of willingness to ensure we do not make the same mistakes.”

The Lock the Gate Alliance had also slammed the state government’s response to the Parliamentary inquiry.

“While we welcome some of the inquiry recommendations and the government’s decision to support these, including increasing the maximum penalties for fracking companies who breach existing regulations, and moves to increase openness and transparency in the industry, in general we are disappointed that after an inquiry lasting more than two years the best the government can do is water down weak recommendations,” said spokesperson Boudicca Cerese.

“Overall the government’s response to the fracking inquiry’s recommendations confirms the public belief that this industry is being forced on rural communities without a comprehensive, enforceable regulatory framework to manage and mitigate the likely impacts.”