Narrabri Gas

As a member of a former farming family from the Coonamble baradine district I truely understand how important and vital the ground water is to this area. How can anyone put this at risk? Once contaminated, the communities that rely on this water have no other options. It has existed for such a long time that I find it impossible to comprehended that the decision to go ahead with the gas drilling could be the very end to uncontaminated water and the existence of farming families, primary production and many communities for hundreds of kilometres. Can we risk it.... no!!! This country was built on the farmers back not the damn foreign gas miners back. How ridiculous!!

the wilderness is protected fro all until there's money to had by the government then its fair game to be had by large corporations, to the government of Australia please stop the rape and pillage of our wilderness and look seriously for alternatives

our future is limited if we continue to treat our Earth like this.

I highly oppose the coal seam gas drilling in this area.

PLease don't disrupt wilderness for coal seam gas exploration. Fossil fuels need to be phased out, and the longer you let companies try to squeeze the last dollar of profit out the worse it will be for everyone.

Water is worth so much more than csg. Producing csg necessitate the pollution of water. Use of csg necessitate pollution of air. We become losers in every aspect and a multinational a short term winner only if our government subsidises them.
It makes no sense to allow this destruction.

The point is quite simple: the community doesn't want CSG. The people of NSW stand behind communities that don't want CSG because we also don't want CSG. We want clean water for our future. We want arable land to grow food. We want to protect precious ecosystems. We want to invest in clean technologies for fuel and we want the government to truly represent us, not the interest of only a few.

Before we, as people of Australia, allow greed to overtake & dictate the impact, we have on the natural beauty & irreplaceable reserves of our wonderful land, we should consider the long term impact, not just the short or long term gain.
We should look to renewables that have a lesser impact on our country, flora & fauna, and our people.

I object to this

Please DO NOT go ahead with the drilling. It is dnvironmentally harmful, there are many more eco friendly ways of making money for your business and of creating energy to keep the human race going.
Thank you.

Drilling in such a sensitive, vital area should never be allowed to proceed. Vital ecosystems will be lost and never regained, all for corporate greed because renewable energy sources could be accessed instead.
The government should move into the 21st century by putting a stop to all environmentally destructive practices. Other countries are doing this, why can't ours?

Please..This is insanity. PLEASE WAKE UP!!! NO!! This must NOT happen.

I wish to register my strong objections to the establishment and development of Coal Seam Gas exploration and mining in the Pilaga.
This area is highly significant in terms of the natural environment, containing deep artesian wells and must not be laid waste.
It must be preserved for future generations.

You know why.

I strongly object to the santos gas project in our Pilliga Forest. If our traditional custodians are against this proposal, then morally we would be compromising. We are better than this. Secondly, Australia's largest aquifer would be at at risk, and we should be protecting the little water we have. We need to consider clean energy which will not have an impact on the local threatened wildlife, with new technology becoming cheaper this project would not be benefiting Australia in the long run. The company has not come up with a solution for the salt waste it will produced throughout the project . This is not acceptable.

92 members of Pets and Wildlife of Pottsville Beach are against Santos

It's time to move away from this "fast cash now" industry and invest in long term clean and sustainable energy. No more raping our planet to make a small pcocentage rich. This is clearly not the will of the people. The people have spoken against this industry and with a heavy majority. If you continue to push this, then you are simply announcing that you are not representing the people but In fact the oil and gas giants best interest. In which case, we do no longer live in a democratic society and that's a dangerous thing to announce. Think of future generations. We only have one planet. Don't ruin it for them.

Please don't do this.

The project puts the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin in danger.
The Gamilaraay people are opposed to this as it puts their heritage and past in danger of being destroyed and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field and I support them. I would not want a gas field to ruin my land.
99 communities will be affected by this project and hundreds of farmers also oppose this project. They have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region and we should listen to them.
Santos has already contaminated a freshwater aquifer in the Pilliga with uranium at levels 20 times higher than safe drinking water guidelines, we shouldn't trust them to be able to drill safely.
Thisarea is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area. This project would threaten the survival of these precious species.
CSG fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.
As well as the above reasons, the risk of fires could increase, again, threatening our environment.

I strongly object to the Narrabri Gas Project. As someone who has extensively toured Santos' operations I know how shoddy and indiscriminate this company is. Quite apart from the dangers of fracking listed below, this company cannot be allowed to mine in our sensitive and irreplaceable natural resources.
1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest. In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could reduce water pressure in the recharge areas--potentially stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.¹

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi River--a part of the Murray Darling Basin. This system is vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells.

2. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed
There are hundreds of cultural sites as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath. Gamilaraay people are deeply involved in the battle against CSG, and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field.

3. Farmers and other local community reject the project
Extensive community surveys have shown an average of 96% opposition to CSG. This stretches across a massive 3.2 million hectares of country surrounding the Pilliga forest, including 99 communities. Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region.

4. The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water--Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely
Santos has already contaminated a freshwater aquifer in the Pilliga with uranium at levels 20 times higher than safe drinking water guidelines, as well as lead, aluminium, arsenic and barium². In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads. Santos cannot be trusted.

5. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
The Pilliga is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area². The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelines--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

6. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Methane is by far the major component of natural gas, and is a greenhouse gas 72 times more powerful than CO². CSG fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.

7. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
A range of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds can be released into the air from coal seam gas operations, including flaring of gas wells. The effects of volatile organic compounds vary, but can cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination⁴. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

8. The nation's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution⁵. The area has been internationally recognised as a `dark sky park'⁶ and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

9. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project
Santos has no solution for disposing of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced. Between 17,000 and 42,000 tonnes of salt waste would be produced each year. This industry would leave a toxic legacy in NSW.

10. Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is prone to severe bushfires. The project would increase ignition sources as well as extracting, transporting and storing a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest.

- See more at: https://www.wilderness.org.au/final-push-pilliga#sthash.c7xeJbfx.dpuf