Surrey Earthquakes: Update and What You Can Do
On Thursday 5th July an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.1 hit Surrey, causing houses to shake, windows and doors to rattle and bottles to fall off shelves. The tremor was felt in Dorking, Charlwood, Reigate and as far away as Crawley. It was the seventh earthquake in just over 12 weeks, in an area that has not previously experienced earthquakes in 500 years.
There are serious concerns that the earthquakes may be linked to oil drilling activities at Horse Hill and Brockham, as there are well established links between unconventional oil and gas drilling and earthquakes.
There are few details at present, though we are pleased to hear that The British Geological Survey are installing temporary monitors from next week to help the experts get more accurate locations should there be any more earthquakes.
A Voice for Leith Hill, along with Friends of the Earth and Green MEP Keith Taylor are calling for an independent investigation and a moratorium of drilling activities until the situation has been fully investigated. This most recent earthquake was bigger than the one in Lancashire which led to a moratorium on fracking in that area.
What can I do?
If you are concerned about this situation, there is a lot you can do:
- Contact your MP and ask them to call for a moratorium on moratorium on all drilling, re-injection, acidising, flow testing and related activities in the Weald until an investigation has taken place. In Mole Valley the MP is Sir Paul Beresford, Mole Valley Conservative Association, 212 Barnett Wood Lane, Ashtead, KT21 2DB tel: 01306 883312 email: office@molevalleyconservatives.org.uk)
- Contact your local district councillor and ask them to call for a moratorium on all drilling, re-injection, acidising, flow testing and related activities in the Weald until an investigation has taken place. You can find your local councillor here
- Contact your Surrey county councillor and ask them to call for a moratorium on all drilling, re-injection, acidising, flow testing and related activities in the Weald until an investigation has taken place.
- find out more about the campaigns opposing the oil drilling plans in the Weald.
At Leith Hill there is A Voice for Leith Hill, Leith Hill Action Group and Leith Hill Protection Camp. At Brockham there is is Brockham Oil Watch. Across the wider area there is the Weald Action Group and Frack Free Surrey. All of these have lots of information about the risks of unconventional oil drilling, fracking and ways in which you can help.