Marmion told Energy News this morning that while developing the state's resources was an important imperative, the community must also be brought along too.

"The state government is committed to the responsible development of the gas industry but the protection of public health and water supplies is imperative," he said.

There are effectively two sets of Resource Management and Administration Regulations for petroleum and geothermal activities that start today: the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Resources (Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2015 and the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Resource Management and Administration) Regulations 2015.

The DMP said these two sets of regulations would provide a risk-based management scheme for the exploration for, and production of, petroleum and geothermal energy resources.

A range of resource management and administration matters are covered by the regulations, including:

• mandatory well management plans for the approval of all drilling activities,including shale and tight gas, that must include details of well design and integrity management
• mandatory field management plans that must include details of groundwater quality management including baseline water quality monitoring
• the regulations ensure work is conducted in accordance with good oilfield practice and is carried out in a way that reduces the risk of aquifer contamination

"While production of natural gas from shale and tight rocks is still in the early stages, with significant commercial projects likely to be five to 10 years away, it is important that the legislative framework is place," Marmion said.

"The state government wants to reassure all Western Australians that there is strong regulation to ensure best practices are implemented."

Marmion said the "comprehensive" regulations would minimise any risk of aquifer contamination and should help maximise community confidence in the responsible development of the gas industry.

This latest factor - community acceptance - is a key ingredient of projects progressing, given previous Department of Mines and Petroleum's petroleum chief Bill Tinapple admitted during his tenure that regulators were caught on the hop by the intensity of opposition to hydraulic fracturing.

Though fraccing has been done for decades, strident opposition was sparked by the Gaslands documentary in the US - even though it was about completely different geology and regulatory environments - and the level of investment that suddenly poured into shale exploration in WA by the likes of Japanese titan Mitsubishi and US major ConocoPhillips.

Before drilling programs are approved, the DMP assesses applications to ensure they comply with state laws protecting public health, the environment and water resources.

Any application likely to have a significant impact on the environment must be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority for further assessment.

All companies proposing to conduct hydraulic fracturing must submit a complete list of chemicals to be used for publication on the DMP website.

Marmion said the department would assess all projects on a site-by-site, project-by-project basis with safety and environment auditors conducting inspections to check compliance.

"I am confident Western Australians will benefit from the shale gas industry, with jobs and local community opportunities flowing from the production of this lower-carbon energy source," he said.

The regulations follow a review of WA gas industry regulation by Bond University petroleum specialist Dr Tina Hunter.

A multi-agency framework including the departments of Water, Health, Environment Regulation, Agriculture and Food, Parks and Wildlife and State Development is being developed to assist industry with the legislative changes.