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To Launch Fracking in the UK, Property Owners get shafted
By Don Quijones
“An Englishman’s home is his castle.” Or so the saying goes, even if said castle is actually a crumbling, damp-infested two-up, two-down on the ugly side of town. In the UK, it’s the basic principle of house ownership that counts.
But what about the land upon which an Englishman’s castle is built? Who does it belong to? More to the point, what about the minerals, gas and oil contained below its surface? The reason these two questions are suddenly of vital import is that Britain is about to experience the mother of all natural gas rushes.
Thanks to a law that was just passed, over half of Britain’s landmass is now open to bids for drilling by oil and gas companies seeking unconventional hydrocarbons. As a consequence, millions of British residents face the prospect of fracking on their doorstep.
Unlike the United States, where fracking fever has been simmering for years, the UK is a densely populated country, with 660 people per square mile, compared to the U.S.’s 83. What’s more, in the U.S. landowners have full rights to the minerals contained on or under their land. This means that while they may be compelled by law to accept hydraulic fracturing on their land, they at least get some material compensation for the irreparable environmental devastation it tends to leave in its wake (contaminated water and air, water shortages and increased risk of earthquakes, etc.). Scant consolation, I know, but at least it’s something!
Bill Bard says:
BULLSHIT. This could turn Nasty. Particularly as our local MPs are just ”Yes men” AND FUCKING USELESS.
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2014/08/to-launch-fracking-in-the-uk-property-owners-get-shafted/
