News from Balcombe… great news! WSCC petition reaches 3593 forcing the council to hold a debate on fracking. The petition started by ‘Keep Kirkford and Wisborough Green Frack Free’ states: "We call on WSCC to declare West Sussex a Frack-Free Zone" The petition will be debated on Friday, October 17th, 2014 at County Hall North, Chartway, Horsham. The meeting begins at 10.30am. If you wish to attend you need to send an email to OilandGas@westsussex.gov.uk or by post to Clare Jones, Democratic Services, West Sussex County Council, County Hall, Chichester, PO19 1RQ requesting a ticket. Please spread this message to all those interested. Attendance at, or outside this meeting should help to show public levels of interest in the issue. Do contact your West Sussex County Councillor before the meeting to let them know your thoughts on fracking. A list of all the councillors, their wards and how to contact them can be found at the WSCC website: http://www2.westsussex.gov.uk/ds/cttee/membersaddresslist.pdf An excellent report by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health outlines many key concerns of the fracking process and regulation problems, as well as its exacerbation of climate change: “Both the European Union and UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) have concluded that fracking may result in unavoidable environmental and health impacts even if the gas is extracted properly, and more so if done inadequately. They suggest that even if risk can be reduced theoretically, in practice many accidents from leaky or malfunctioning equipment and bad practices occur regularly. Indeed, a Texas jury recently awarded $3m to a family that filed a law suit against a fracking company for contaminating their air and drinking water, thus harming their health. The EU study found cumulative overall risk to the environment and health from releases to air and from traffic associated with fracking operations to be high. The UK is already facing potential legal proceedings from the EU as a result of its failure to improve air quality (at least 29,000 UK deaths are caused by air pollution each year). Fracking is likely to exacerbate this problem.' The report goes on to argue why Fracking, when all calculations are taken into account, will increase climate change. This is available at: http://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/shale-gas-and-fracking In support of the Kirckford and Wisborough Green petition this additional statement was published as part of the electronic petition on West Sussex County Council’s website: “The technology for unconventional Oil and Gas exploitation is untested in the UK. The Sussex Weald is rural and tranquil in nature with narrow lanes and tracks. The underlying geology is multi-faulted and completely unsuitable for hydraulic fracturing.The area is water stressed and cannot afford the huge amounts of water required for fracking. There is no mechanism for disposal of contaminated and radioactive waste water. The outstanding and highly designated landscape and its associated wildlife would be threatened. Internationally-protected bats would be disturbed. The dark night skies for which the area is famed would be threatened. Exploiting oil and gas resources goes against the global imperative of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. More Great News  Celtique’s Application to Drill at Fernhurst was refused by South Downs National Park Authority on September 1st.  Balcombe’s judicial review is going ahead in the High Court over two days, November 6th and 7th, 2014. Frack Free Balcombe Residents Association (FFBRA) have legally challenged the decision by West Sussex County Council to grant planning permission to Cuadrilla to test-flow the well. The court hearing is public. Anyone can attend. The location will be at Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand, Westminster, London.  Let’s also celebrate the fact that this petition, when combined with the paper version, has reached five and a half thousand signatures!!! Wherever you live… If you are not from West Sussex, then it is still very likely that frackers are watching land near you. Please look up who your district and county councillors are and let them know how you feel, they may soon be looking at planning permissions coming in. Drilling under homes without our permission. Well done for all those who responded to the consultation about this bill. Over 40,647 people responded, amazing! Unfortunately the proposals get worse. New amendments to the Infrastructure Bill were published last Saturday, just one working day before the House of Lords Committee Stage (today, Tuesday 14th). Current proposals would allow waste disposal under our land. One new clause approves ‘passing any substance through, or putting any substance into, deep-level and or infrastructure installed in deep-level and.’ Deep level ground within the context of this bill can be as little as 30 metres (less than 1,00 feet) below the surface. Apart from the ‘substances’ involved in the act of fracking, this could then include re-injection of radioactive waste under our property. Fracking will produce very large quantities of waste flow-back fluid, laced with radioactive substances flushed out from the depths. The amendments to the Bill now state that land under our property could be used ‘in anyway for the purposes of exploiting petroleum or deep geothermal energy.’ This moves the goal post way pas simple “access”. Another amendment to the Infrastructure Bill reads "the right of use includes the right to leave deep level and in a different condition from the condition it was in before. (including by leaving any infrastructure or substance in the land)". Sussex farm owner Beki Adam comments "That goes way beyond the claim of 'simple access' - and it is quietly added after the public consultation closed. It would allow the oil and gas industry to use our land as a dump for the radioactive waste fracking produces. Clearly few landowners would agree to that - so the government intend to take away our current rights to stop it. This is the step to far.’ Please pass this information on to all farmers and landowners you know, particularly anyone connected with the Country Land Owners Alliance (CLA), Farmers Union and also all estate agents. These changes are a serious threat to landowners’ rights as well as to the rights of all home owners. They could devalue land, which could become contaminated from below and made unsaleable. This could allow an oil/gas company to leave toxic waste under your land – without your permission. Here is the link to the government website http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2014-2015/0002/amend/ml002 -VII.htm Every small action you take helps...and is helping, thank you!