The Proposal

Canatxx Gas Storage Ltd (CGS) an American Company have submitted to Lancashire CC an application to store 40 billion cubic feet of gas at very high pressures (700 - 800 psi) under the Wyre Estuary. This is equivalent to the amount of gas that can be stored in over 1000 conventional gasholders.

Why do CGS want to do this?

Obviously CGS expect to make a great deal of money. There is a need for gas storage in the UK to supply the extra gas needed at times of highest demand. CGS would take (buy) gas from the National Transmission Service to store when demand is low and put (sell) this gas back when demand is high. In addition there is a gas fired power station which already has been given approval on the old ICI Hillhouse site. There is a possibility that gas from under the Wyre could be used to sell to Ireland. CGS say that this is in the national interest.

How will CGS manage to do this?

The project requires that caverns be made in the salt deposits which remain under the estuary by injecting water down this boreholes to dissolve the salt. The water (80 million gallons per day) will be pumped from Fleetwood Fish Dock and the resulting brine solution pumped back and then across to a sea outfall 2.3 km off Rossall School. The construction phase will last over 10 years.

Where will it happen?

The bore holes will be drilled from 16 or more well heads aligned along the eastern bank of the estuary for 3 km from the sewage works south of Hackensall Hall to Burrows Farm near Staynall. The bores will go down at an angle under the estuary into the salt beds which lie at a depth of 1200 feet. Once the requires amount of salt has been taken out, the cavities created will be filled with gas stored under very high pressure.

Why object?

Because of the risk of explosion. However safe the storage is made there is always the risk that gas will escape. The caverns are not lined but rely on the natural state of the salt to prevent pressurised gas being forced out onto the surrounding ground. The salt beds here are not pure but split up by layers of mudstone.

The Explosion in Kansas

In January 2001 gas leaked out from an underground storage cavern excavated in salt beds and collected under the town of Hutchison (population 40,000), 7 miles away. Gas geysers erupted across the town, destroying property and killing 2 residents. A previous leak in the mid 1980’s in a less populated area nearby resulted in a whole community of 30 families having to be permanently removed.

Kansas State law now forbids the construction of gas staorage caverns within 3 miles of a town. The communities of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton, Carleton, the nothern half of Poulton, Hambleton, Stalmine, Preesall and Knott End, a total of 70,000 residents, lie within 3 miles of these proposed caverns. We do not have any such laws in the UK.

Page 3

The abandoned salt caverns

Let us be clear that this is not a proposal to store gas in the rock salt mines or abandoned brine wells which lie between Preesall and Stalmine. Because of wild brine pumping in the past by ICI, many of the caverns here are collapsing causing very large subsidences. This is occurring within half a mile of the proposed new cavities, thus increasing the danger of gas escaping. One of these caverns has been used over a period of 26 years to dump over 50,000 tonnes of toxic mercury waste.

We must learn from past experience. We are assured by CGS that “maximum safety will be ensured in all aspects of the construction and operation phases”. No doubt similar assurance was given at Abbeystead where the gas explosion claimed 18 lives. Human error will always happen whether it is in the design, the construction or the operating stage. Now there is the added threat of terrorism to be taken into account.

Property Values

We cannot forecast what effect this project will have on house prices. Will residents want to move away and will buyers be discouraged form moving in? Will insurance companies raise their premiums? We do know that if a gas leak was to happen here or an explosion occur in a similar storage facility anywhere in the world, then the potential risks of the Wyre Estuary site would become public knowledge.

Environmental Concerns

The brine from the excavations will be discharged into the sea 2.3 km off Rossall School over the 10 year construction period. The brine will be a solution containing 26% salt content which will kill off any sea bed life within 50 metres of the outfall.

Damage will be caused to the salt marsh habitats on the eastern side of the estuary which are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and to the mudflats which are important for bird life. The estuary is an internationally important site for birds and a Special Protection Area.

Over Wyre

There will be a significant impact on the eastern side of the estuary. New access roads will have to be built from Stalmine. During the construction phase (10 years) there would be 150 additional vehicle movements per day on the A588 from Shard Bridge. The Gas Compressor Station and Booster Pumping Station will be an intrusion into the landscape. The pipeline construction and the drilling of the boreholes are likely to be very noisy. The caravan parks at The Heads would be “removed” and Burrows Farm “may need to be uninhabited”. Impacts on other residents in the area would be substantial.