Mod 2 - Extension of Time

Dear Sir,

I wish to lodge an my opposition to the proposed application by APEX Energy for an extension of the License for Coal Seam Gas in our community on the following points:-
- The Industry as in Coal Seam Gas cannot guarantee the existing water quality for the Woronora Dam - which is critical for the surrounding area, as the community cannot live or survive without a good supply of quality water.
- Apex cannot give any assurances to the when they leave the area that it will be in the same condition as when they first started drilling.
-The Coal Seam Gas Industry - doesn't seem to have answer or techniques to repair any damages caused by their operation of Coal Seam Gas Wells. For instance how do they stop the gas escaping from the surrounding areas and in this location of Darkes Forest which has had some major Bushfires - this escaping methane would add only more fuel to the fire, which could lead to putting fire fighting personnel at futher risk than they are already. As they could be walking through the scrub fighting an outbreak and the fire could flare up in front of them from the additional fuel provided by the Methane Gas, putting their lives at risk.
- Apex don't seem to have any "duty of care" commitment towards the community, environment, existing Agriculture and Horse riding Industries, Water Facilities only to succeed at all cost - and to put profit ahead of everything else.

My family has lived in this area for over 100 years and I wouldn't like our lifestyle, environment to be destroyed by an industry which doesn't have the answers to repair any damages caused by their operation.

- Why should APEX be able to put Water quality at risk when the community/households has great difficulty in getting any sort of Waste Septic/ Sewerage system passed by the Council, Sydney Water and NSW National Parks. What APEX is proposing has a far greater potential of devistating outcome towards our Water and Environment quality than any small Septic/ Sewerage system.

-My Family and I strongly object to APEX Energy gaining any extension to their COAL SEAM GAS MINING Application.

Yours Sincerely
David Harper

Hi All,

Please do no approve Apex an extension. I beg you. Think of your children and grandchildren and realise we need food and water more than short term economic stimulus. Apex only care about the water table and aquifers as much as necessary to ensure their project goes ahead. the truth is that it is not safe to mine CSG in fragile water catchment areas, or areas that could be used for agriculture and farming in the future.

Please do the right thing, i can attest that you dont need money to be happy, just strong morals, and a life lived helping your fellow humans!

Keep our water safe-No ifs no buts, Barry. No mining in catchments.

To the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure,

This submission is on behalf of Gamarada Indigenous Healing and Life Training Ltd. We are a community group that meet each week to support each other in dealing with the aftermath of loss of land, culture, connection and continued grief that has persisted for over 220 years.

We make strong objection to the proposal submitted by Apex Energy to extend their licence to destroy the sacred, beautiful and bountiful area of the Northern Illawarra escarpment that has been cared for by our brothers and sisters of the Wodi Wodi and Dharawal people, the traditional owners of this land, for thousands of years. It is absolutely wrong for this to be destroyed with 150 gas wells, roads and infrastructure. It is also totally wrong to threaten the safety of one of our key water supplies for growing Sydney.

The members of Gamarada urge the NSW Government to SAY NO to Apex Energy and act on the voice of the community of both Aboriginal and non-Indigenous people of the Illawarra, Sydney and the entire nation. We all want the government to put the health and wellbeing of the people, water and land at the top of the agenda- not at the bottom.

Thank you.

I am writing to advise that I am against the proposed modification to the Apex gas exploration conditions of approval. I am against coal seam gas mining and exploration generally, especially in drinkiing water catchment areas!

Stop it now

I object to this action due to the risk of the water supply for Sydney being contaminated by fracking practises. There is still not enough satisfactory research into the damages goal seam gas exploration is doing to the environment.

This will be a disaster for our water catchments and for future generations!

The drinking water catchment is unsuitable for CSG exploration and production. Allowing this development to go ahead contradicts the pre-election promise from Barry O'Farrell: "The next Liberal/National Government will ensure that mining cannot occur... in any water catchment area, and will ensure that mining leases and mining exploration permits reflect that common sense; no ifs, no buts, a guarantee

I object to this development in such a sensitive area. Development must always be considered in the context of the surrounding area, and can change over time. Given this, a modification for an indefinite start date is irresponsible.

The risks of CSG mining are well evidenced and the Premier has acknowledged that the current legislation is not adequate to manage development of the industry. In this context, no new applications or modifications should be approved and existing projects should be frozen, to conduct an investigation into the full impacts of CSG development.

The drinking water catchment is unsuitable for CSG exploration and production. Allowing this development to go ahead contradicts the pre-election promise from Barry O'Farrell: "The next Liberal/National Government will ensure that mining cannot occur... in any water catchment area, and will ensure that mining leases and mining exploration permits reflect that common sense; no ifs, no buts, a guarantee."

The Illawarra Escarpment is a high risk bush fire area, exacerbated by its highly combustible peat base. Indeed, in August 2012 a bush fire burnt through AI09 and AI10 in this project. Extracting and piping gas in this environment will increase fire risks.

The development of this coal seam gas project is being layered on top of extensive coal mining and a fault line, without an assessment of the combined impacts.

There is widespread public opposition to CSG exploration and mining in the area. This includes a public petition of over 30,000 signatures, formal votes against CSG mining by local councils and two actions opposing CSG development attended by over 3,000 people each.

Please DO NOT grant any additional permits or extensions to existing permits until there is peer reviewed, reproducible and incontrovertible evidence that it can be enacted safely.

CSG Exploration should not be allowed in the Illarwarra region until alternative forms of energy supply are investigated and compared directly to the enviornmental, socio-economic and cultural impact possed by all forms of energy supply. According to Apenx Energy's web site, the proposed scheme is estimated to realise only 15MW electricity production. The enviormmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions and direct impact to the plants and animals across the area will be very high. This application must be compared directly with alternative energy supplies, such as wind power or solar power, for effective use of our regions natural resources. For example, 5 to 6 x 3MW wind turbines will likely produce equivalent energy supply to the 150 CSG wells proposed by Apex Energy. The physical impact will be far less in the case of wind turbines. As a further example, a 15MW solar farm would occupy approximately 75 hectares of land (that's less than 1km2), which could be placed on existing agricultural or industrialised (present or past) lands.
There are alternatives, all of which need to be investigated before proceeding with further exploration of coal seam gas in the Illawarra. We have magnificient limited resources in the Illawarra. We are the lucky ones. Let's make sure we used them wisely, in the best intrests of today and for tomorrow.

I strongly oppose any extension to Apex exploration as it is too risky for both water catchment, fire risk and on top of all the previous coal industry, a huge risk to other consequences like seismic shifts.
Please do not grant any extension to the drilling.
Regards,
Amanda

Clean drinking water is the life blood of any community.
There should be NO CSG mining in the Sydney water catchment.

I am totally against coal seam gas mining and exploration within my community. All other methods of generation should be investigated such as solar and wind before such invasive and environmantally damaging methods are considered.

In the interests of the environment, the water supply, the health of the community and of common sense this project cannot be allowed to go ahead.
Surely protecting our water supply should be of paramount importance. The area where this drilling is being considered has previously been off limits for people to even walk in. It seems to me if it was considered dangerous to the water supply for people to walk in this area it would be madness to allow the questionable practice of Coal Seam Gas (CSG) mining with all its documented polluting effects.
Are you aware that a bushfire recently (August 2012) burnt through A109 and A110 in this project? It would be another demonstration of madness and total irresponsibility to allow gas mines in a bush fire prone area.
Before the last election Barry O'Farrell guaranteed that his government would not allow mining to occur in any water catchment area. I want this guarantee to be honoured. As Mr O'Farrell said at the time it is common sense.
The Government has ignored public sentiment on this topic of CSG exploration and mining in this area. A petition of 20,000+ signatures was treated with contempt by the Government. Mr O'Farrell did not even show his face to accept the petition and he was absent from Parliament when it was debated. It is way past time that he started listening to the people he represents.
Local councils are also opposed to CSG mining in this area. They have also been ignored.
I wish the decision makers the wisdom and strength to make the right decisions.

RE: Apex Gas Exploration Project Mod 2 - Application Number 07_0103 MOD2

Rivers SOS is an alliance of over 45 groups throughout NSW committed to the protection of river systems and water sources against the impacts of extractive industries.

Rivers SOS opposes this application for the following reasons:

1. Sydney's drinking water catchment is unsuitable for CSG exploration and production. Allowing this development to go ahead contradicts the pre-election promise from Barry O'Farrell: "The next Liberal/National Government will ensure that mining cannot occur... in any water catchment area, and will ensure that mining leases and mining exploration permits reflect that common sense; no ifs, no buts, a guarantee."

2. The Illawarra Escarpment is a high risk bush fire area, exacerbated by its highly combustible peat base. Indeed, in August 2012 a bush fire burnt through AI09 and AI10 in this project. Extracting and piping gas in this environment will increase fire risks.

3. The development of this coal seam gas project is being layered on top of extensive underground coal mining and a fault line, without an assessment of the combined impacts. Existing coal mining already has resulted in unacceptable intrusion of surface infrastructure such as roads, power lines and vent shafts into the otherwise pristine Special Areas which have been set aside for the protection of Sydney's drinking water.

It would be quite reckless to permit yet more of this intrusion which would accompany the drilling of gas wells. The 16 exploratory wells would be bad enough but the likelihood of this becoming a production gas field with 150-200 wells, as quoted in the media last week, would seriously compromise the area's function as a so-called "Special Area". Not only would the surface be criss-crossed with a spider web of connecting roads, but the impacts on aquifers, some of which are already being damaged by longwall coal mining, are unknown and unquantified and therefore the development should not be allowed.

Yours faithfully,
Julie Sheppard
Rivers SOS
Management Committee

I believe the long term economic interests of this region are inextricably interwoven with its great natural coastal beauty and the unique quality of life it affords so close to the greater metropolitan region of Sydney. Developments such as coal seam gas extraction may provide some relatively short term economic return for vested commercial interests, not even necessarily associated with the region, but very likely at the expense of far greater long term benefits to the Illawarra's actual residents. Certainly the careful preservation of this regions unique environmental assets and the quality of life it supports involves arguments that are as compelling economically as they are socially. It should be the determination of responsible local and state governments agencies to preserve and secure this regions environment at all costs no matter the temptation to succumb to considerations of dubious short term economic gain from increased mining activity.

Please consider this carefully. The impact of making a wrong decision is difficult to contemplate. Can the government say for certain that this project will not impact Sydney's water supplies?

http://stop-csg-illawarra.org/csg-in-water-catchments/

I am totally opposed to the Implementation
Of Coal Seam Gas.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am greatly concerned about the CSG mining in Australia, particularly in the Illawarra region which I call home. The following points express my greatest concerns:

The risks of CSG mining are well evidenced and the Premier has acknowledged that the current legislation is not adequate to manage development of the industry. In this context, no new applications or modifications should be approved and existing projects should be frozen, to conduct an investigation into the full impacts of CSG development.

The Illawarra Escarpment is a high risk bush fire area, exacerbated by its highly combustible peat base. Indeed, in August 2012 a bush fire burnt through AI09 and AI10 in this project. Extracting and piping gas in this environment will increase fire risks.

The drinking water catchment is unsuitable for CSG exploration and production. Allowing this development to go ahead contradicts the pre-election promise from Barry O'Farrell: "The next Liberal/National Government will ensure that mining cannot occur... in any water catchment area, and will ensure that mining leases and mining exploration permits reflect that common sense; no ifs, no buts, a guarantee."

There is widespread public opposition to CSG exploration and mining in the area. This includes a public petition of over 30,000 signatures, formal votes against CSG mining by local councils and two actions opposing CSG development attended by over 3,000 people each.

I hence urge you to cease any intentions of approvals for Appex drilling projects. The future of our environment and communities health is not worth gambling away for pretty profits.

Thank you,

Lucia