FRACKING can be safe and have a low impact on the environment if it is well-regulated, British environment secretary Elizabeth Truss said.
The method of extracting unconventional oil and gas resources is proving controversial in Britain and Ireland but Ms Truss told the parliamentary environment, food and rural affairs committee she wanted to reassure the public it could be done safely.
The British government has committed to going "all out for shale", claiming development of the gas and oil resource is needed to improve energy security, boost jobs and the economy and bring down energy prices.
However, opponents say fracking causes disruption and damaging development in the countryside, can cause minor earthquakes and the risk of water pollution, and that exploiting new oil and gas resources is not compatible with tackling climate change.
Ms Truss said: "I appreciate when there's a technology that might have been tried overseas, but not yet in Britain, people may have concerns about it.
"I want to address those concerns and make sure they have confidence in the process."
She told MPs: "Provided we've got the right checks and balances in place, through the Environment Agency as well as the Health and Safety Executive, planning process, and DECC's [Department of Energy and Climate Change] own permitting process, we've got a wide range of government departments making sure it's done properly, we can be confident it is safe and does have a low impact on the environment."
She said there was a need to "demystify" the process of fracking.
"This is about getting wider understanding of how fracking works. In terms of some of the aspects of operation it's very similar to what goes on onshore oil and gas, which people are comfortable with.
"Getting that information out more broadly is one of my interests," she said.
"There can be misinformation out there but it's our job to get that message across and reassure the public that all of these things have been thought about, the water table, air quality have been thought about."
The public were able to express their opinion about impacts of fracking, such as traffic movements and the effect on the landscape, through the planning process, as well as through consultations conducted by the Environment Agency, she said.
Environment Agency chief executive Paul Leinster said companies carrying out fracking would be monitored and analysed to make sure there were no environmental problems such as leaks from the fracking wells.
He said: "We don't allow any drilling to happen that would potentially cause pollution of an aquifer."
Questioned on whether the Environment Agency [EA] had the resources to carry out the required monitoring, Ms Truss said discussions with the EA suggested there were enough staff for the job at present, and that it was in everybody's interest, including the industry, that the relevant resources were in place.
There have been concerns raised about the amount of water being used by the process, which pumps liquid down deep underground at high pressure to fracture shale rock and release gas, but Ms Truss said the Environment Agency would look at the available water in a local area.
There would also be conditions to prevent abstraction of water from groundwater and river supplies if a drought hit the area.