British government issues ruling on local appeals to hydraulic fracturing, siding in favor of the energy industry. Photo by photostock77/Shutterstock Industry appeals to local challenges to hydraulic fracturing operations were upheld and that work can now proceed, the British government said Thursday. The British Department for Communities and Local Government sided in favor of oil and gas companies, issuing a 600-page ruling that said shale natural gas work in the country was a national interest. “The need for shale gas exploration is a material consideration of great weight in these appeals, but that there is no such government support for shale gas development that would be unsafe and unsustainable,” the ruling read. The government overturned an appeal at the so-called Preston New Road site, but held off appeals for now on the separate Roseacre target. Campaigners opposed to hydraulic fracturing, known also as fracking, said national infrastructure policies were […]