Members of Frack Off Fife raised concerns about plans for underground coal gasification (UCG) in the Forth and compared it to a “catastrophically- failed” test in Australia, which led to the Queensland Government taking legal action against a resources company for serious environmental harm.

Last week, the Press told you how Fife Council joined calls for the Scottish Government to include the process in its moratorium on fracking, with depute leader Lesley Laird saying it was “unthinkable” that they might have to deal with a planning application without due diligence being carried out.

In a statement, Frack Off Fife said, “Fife Council’s bid to make the Scottish Government include plans for UCG in the Forth in its moratorium on fracking is very welcomed at this time. Especially with the news emanating from Queensland about Linc Energy’s catastrophically-failed UCG test.” It went on to explain how a study commissioned by Queensland’s environment department found that gases released by the UCG plant caused the permanent acidification of the soil near the site. Experts also found concentrations of hydrogen in the soil at explosive levels and abnormal amounts of methane over a wide area.

The statement continued, “This is the very process being proposed by Cluff Natural Resources and other companies in the Firth of Forth. Kincardine, East Wemyss and Largo Bay, Leven, are among other locations along the river to be used. As this is not yet covered by the current moratorium, the Scottish Government need to act now and ensure that this process is included. The silence from the government on this subject is very worrying and a cause for concern for everyone.” Tam Kirby, a member of Frack Off Fife who works in Low Valleyfield, is fearful that a similar fate could be in store for the West Fife area.

“The biggest concern about what’s happening in Fife is the UCG at Kincardine,” he said. “It’s not covered by the Scottish Government’s moratorium on fracking which means it can get the go-ahead straight away if it’s given planning permission. What they plan on doing is right next to Kincardine, Culross and other West Fife villages, it’s all populated areas.

“It’s a major concern to us. We’ve had a lot of support from local communities affected by it and over the past 18 months or so we’ve regularly been getting around 150-200 people at our information meetings. We intend to oppose it at every step.

“It’s crucial that the Scottish Government does something to make it in the moratorium until the full implications can be discovered. It’s down to them to listen and get this covered.” Earlier this week, Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman said the Scottish Government did not have the “necessary powers” from Westminster to apply the moratorium to UCG.

“Since our election, SNP MPs on both sides of the Forth have been working together and last week we met with Cluff Natural Resources to find out more about their plans,” he said. “We have also been looking at local planning regulations to halt UCG should the Scottish Government not find some sort of legal loophole within the Scotland Act to extend the moratorium.

“In Fife, we’re struggling to find any safeguards through the council’s planning policies and I have a meeting arranged with council officials to ask them to pinpoint where the council might be able to legitimately reject any planning application from a developer promoting UCG under the Forth.” He added that he hoped some clarity could be brought “very soon” as planning applications are being prepared.

A Scottish Government spokesman confirmed that the licensing for UCG is not being devolved and said, “The Scottish Government is clear that the development of new energy technologies, such as underground coal gasification, must be consistent with our environmental objectives and we will continue to take a careful, evidence-based approach to such developments.”