A WEEK-LONG trip to areas in the United States which have been heavily fracked to extract shale gas has strengthened the resolve of some to ensure the South East does not replicate this development.
But Member for Hammond Adrian Pederick has criticised the itinerary as highly biased towards "fractivists" and organised with pre-conceived ideas.
The 11-member group which recently returned included SA MPs Greens Leader Mark Parnell, Independent John Darley, Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell, Mr Pederick and SE community members.
They visited gas fields in Pennsylvania and neighbouring New York State, which has banned fracking, and also heard evidence from scientists, public health experts, farmers, economists, lawyers and industry representatives.
Mr Parnell said the trip had vindicated his decision to push for a ban on high-volume, hydraulic fracture stimulation in farming, conservation and urban areas in SA.
"It is one thing to see a couple of test drills at Penola but in Pennsylvania there are thousands upon thousands of gas wells," he said.
"Interestingly, next door New York State - a state of 20 to 30 million people - has banned fracking for gas in the Marcellus Basin. They have looked at the evidence and said the price is not worth paying.
"The lesson for SA is simple - don't do it and follow New York State's lead."
Mr Parnell said the area of great concern was not underground contamination of aquifers but dealing with high volumes of water once they returned to the surface and were contaminated.
"One fracking operation we passed had a sign saying they used 5 million gallons of water per day. They have had huge problems taking away this waste water including leaks from ponds and lines failing," he said.
Mr Parnell said that although they did see evidence of landholders making money, in many circumstances payments were far less than promised.
"I don't doubt there is money to be made but it doesn't mean that we should do it," he said.
"Everywhere we went local people had come together and local communities had been supported by academics. The message was that it was too dangerous to exploit the resource.
"We also saw large numbers of people where their water supplies were contaminated and the gas companies were paying for fresh water to be delivered to their houses."
Mr Darley was yet to adopt a position on fracking but said it was undoubtedly a divisive issue across all the communities they visited.
