PRESTON, England, April 24 (UPI) -- A local council at the center of a fledgling shale natural gas program in the United Kingdom said it needed more time to review planning applications.
Cuadrilla Resources estimates there may be as much as 200 trillion cubic feet of shale natural gas in Lancashire. The Lancashire County Council recommended rejecting the companies' drilling applications, though Caudrilla in January was given more time to address concerns about noise pollution and traffic in the area.
The county council said it opted to move the decision on operations at two sites in the region to June 30.
"The extension follows a request by Cuadrilla to consider additional information about the applications," the council said in a Thursday statement. An initial decision was expected by April 30.
Cuadrilla said preliminary well operations would not involve any actual hydraulic fracturing. It received federal permits to move forward in Lancashire from the British Environment Agency in February.
With campaign season under way in the country, British advocacy group Friends of the Earth said the debate over so-called fracking has become a "toxic" political debate in the country.
The British government in 2012 enacted new restrictions on hydraulic fracturing, ending a moratorium enforced after minor tremors were reported near Lancashire drilling sites. In January, the British Geological Survey announced plans to conduct live monitoring of shale exploration in Lancashire.
The British government said natural gas from shale deposits would help reduce imports. The sector is in its infancy.
There was no statement from Cuadrilla on the council's recommendations.
