Two small earthquakes near the English town of Blackpool in 2011 were caused by fracking, a new report commissioned by the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change has found. The conclusion comes just weeks after New Zealand's Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright announced an inquiry into the controversial practice. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is the process of pumping water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressure to release natural gas, which can then be captured. The British report looked at the seismic risk associated with fracking. It concluded that the magnitude 2.3 and 1.5 quakes that occurred during fracking at a site near Blackpool in April and May 2011 were caused by the practice.