LONDON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A British government minister says "there are genuine concerns" but shale gas fracking is safe and will come soon, possibly throughout England.
Michael Fallon -- minister of state in the Department of Energy and Climate Change -- said a soon-to-be released report by Water UK will conclude fracking does not pose a serious threat to the country's drinking water, the Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.
The report follows a report released in October by Public Health England that concluded that fracking was safe.
Franking is a form of natural gas extraction that involves pumping pressurized water underground to force the natural gas to move to where it can be harvested.
Many fear it will contaminate the water supply or harm the environment.
"There are genuine concerns, but there are also myths and we are tackling them," said Fallon, who said he would block wind power initiatives because of the low odds that they would be approved.
Most of the gas exploration so far has been done in the North, but the British Geological Survey will publish a study of the "southern basin" of England in 2014 that is expected to highlight the potential for fracking there, as well, Fallon said.
