ABC News: WA Water Department tells inquiry it has no veto over shale gas fracking

Western Australia's Department of Water has told a state parliamentary inquiry it has no veto over fracking for natural gas below proclaimed groundwater areas such as aquifer systems.

But it says it would advise authorities against the approval of shale gas fracking underneath a public drinking water source.

The Water Department made the admission on the first day of the inquiry into the implications of hydraulic fracking, the fracturing of hard rock to release natural gas. Tad Bagdon, executive director of policy and innovation at the department, told the parliamentary committee there was the potential for conflict over protection of water supplies and expanding the gas industry.

But he said his department was working closely with other agencies including the WA Department of Mines and the Environment Protection Agency "to ensure approval processes have the appropriate level of assessment".

The Conservation Council of Western Australia told the inquiry that new draft regulations to control shale gas fracking are not tough enough. MORE