WA's environmental watchdog has moved to tighten the rules governing the so-called gas exploration technique of fraccing, demanding that any proposal near towns or environmentally sensitive areas be scrutinised.
Amid growing concerns over the effects of hydraulic fracturing - or fraccing - in Queensland and NSW, the Environmental Protection Authority has released a set of guidelines for the practice in Western Australia.
In a statement on its website, the EPA said the Department of Mines and Petroleum would be required to notify it any time a proponent wanted to carry out a fraccing operation within 2km of a town site.
The authority also said the department, which oversees the regulation and licensing of the gas industry in WA, had to refer any proposals that fell 500m from an "environmentally sensitive area" or within 2km of the coast or a water resource.
The guidelines signal a crackdown by the Government on regulating the controversial practice.
The West Australian
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