Narrabri Gas

I believe this project is not in the best interest of the Australian people for the following reasons:
The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to important 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 areasÂ--potentially stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi RiverÂ--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.

The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed to this development. There are hundreds of cultural sites and other cultural connections between the Gamilaraay, the forest and 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.

Farmers and other local community also reject the project as shown by extensive community surveys. There is 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.

The Narrabri Gas Project has a poor environmental record, with a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water. 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 barium. In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads.


The Pilliga is a unique ecosystem and one of 15 nationally listed Â`biodiversity hotspotsÂ' 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. The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelinesÂ--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

I am particularly concerned about climate change. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change and 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. Australia already has a poor record when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and this project will only make the problem worse.

Local human health will also be compromised by coal seam gas. A range of hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds are 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 coordination. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

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 pollution. This is one of the nationÂ's premier optical astronomical observatories. The area has been internationally recognised as a Â`dark sky parkÂ' and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

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

The risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga, as the 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.

In combination I do not believe all these risks are worth the investment in the Narrabri gas project. The potential impacts are very long term or even permanent and the benefits are few, if any. The only people likely to profit from this venture are Santos, not the Australian people.
Yours sincerely
Jonathan Stark

STOP IT

I object to this project on the basis that:
1. The short term financial gain to profit a private entity may significantly undermine Australia's water and food security given the impacts on ground water.
2. Environmental impact and clear evidence of damage done in the mature US fracking market.
3. Australia has more than enough gas to keep the lights on, but we export it all.
4. I understand that ICAC and other investigations have revealed unhealthy relationships between the politicians, political parties, and individuals and corporations profiting from fracking.
5. I believe that poor government policy and government corruption (e.g. exporting the majority of our natural gas), has placed Australian critical infrastructure and hence pubic safety and national security at risk .

The solution is not more lobbying dollars going to politicians, not more environmental damage and not more Australian natural resources and funds going offshore. The solution is to revise government energy policy and create a national energy strategy.

I impore you not to allow this gas fracking project to go ahead. The Great Artesian Basin is far to precious and important to risk permanent contamination. To allow this risk to be taken would be nothing short of environmental vandalism.
Australian needs to working much harder to establish a viable sustainable energy industry, not recklessly endangering our environment.

The project would extract over 35 billion litres of toxic groundwater and drill right through the recharge area of the Great Artesian Basin. It would generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt waste for which Santos has still not offered any waste disposal plans. This gasfield would fragment over 90,000 hectares of the the Pilliga forest, industrialising the largest temperate woodland in eastern Australia.

This would be a total disaster for all the farmers who depend on the Great Artesian Basin for their stock and irrication water, and those whose properties adjoin the Pilliga Scrub Region.

2/3rds of the natural gas, that is currently being extracted from wells in Eastern Australia, is being exported. If we need more natural gas, those exports should be ended and the Pilliga left alone.

Renewable energy is the only sustainable and safe option for the future of Australians. I am opposed to this NGP for the reasons outlined below
1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian BasinÂ--AustraliaÂ'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 areasÂ--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 RiverÂ--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 waterÂ--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 Â`biodiversity hotspotsÂ' 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 pipelinesÂ--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 nationÂ'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 Â`dark sky parkÂ'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 PilligaÂ'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.GcRYufJy.dpuf

Coal seam gas should be banned in prime agricultural areas in Australia such as Narrabri and the Liverpool Plains. It is irresponsible not to protect these assets and allow environmental degradation from coal seam gas to occur. I strongly object to any coal seam mining activity in this region.
Camilla Cropper

I am writing as a previous wildlife biologist with CSIRO, son of one of the founding fathers of the NSW Soil Conservation Service, Public Health worker, secondary Science teacher and previous Tamworth resident of 30 years.

I have visited the Pilliga Forest to see first hand the damage done to the local landscape as a result of Eastern Star/Santos Gas exploration phase activities; namely the overflow from a well-head holding pond that sent toxic water downhill, killing all vegetation for several hundred metres.

We have to stop treating the remaining remnants of 'wild' vegetation, including the inhabitants that depend on them (from microorganisms to mammals), as if they were expendable. We depend on the water, air and soil for human existence. Biodiversity is not some cute coffee-table conversation item. It is a real connection that we have with the environment that sustains us, and every time we trash another bit of it we diminish that connection. And despite the state member for Tamworth commenting last year, that similar land in the Liverpool Plains "wouldn't feed a goat," that shouldn't be the measure of the worth of landscape. If other decision makers share that view then that demonstrates a grave paucity of understanding about the value of natural landscapes.

If the politicians and bureaucrats making these decision from ivory towers overlooking the harbour, can't represent the views of the people most affected by the results, then perhaps they should stand aside. Instead they/you need to go out and sit under the trees with some local Pilliga indigenous representatives and hear their stories of how they are connected to the area from thousands of years ago - not the measly 200-odd years of European occupation.

Then you need to go and spend a week or three meeting with local landholders who depend on the Great Artesian Basin and Namoi catchment for their water, and listen to their concerns, given Santos' current track record with environmental contamination.

One Google-look at Sonora, Texas - where gas fields have been in operation for much longer, should leave one in no doubt about the end result of similar activity across the Pilliga. The well pads, the holding ponds, the access roads and pipelines etc. In short the desecration of the landscape. To say nothing of the summer-time fire risk from the well flares that run permanently.

Decision makers need to stop treating rural NSW as some sort of rubbish dump, put there to support comfortable harbourside lifestyles. It would be very sad in 50 years to see the residents of NSW all moving to a narrow coastal strip east of the Great Dividing Range because of lack of vision by politicians in allowing western NSW to be turned into an industrial wasteland.

I urge you to think very carefully about the sort of NSW you want to leave to your grandchildren, before approving such a potentially damaging operation as being proposed by a company with such a poor history of managing environmental contamination.

I am a voter in Malcolm Turnbull's electorate. I will not vote for him or any other person or party who supports coal seam gas development in agricultural or national park areas of Australia. There is no gas shortage in Australia. We have more than anywhere. If it is all committed on contracts that is shortsighted management or a cynical way to mandate exploration in unsafe areas. In any event, its place can be better taken by renewables. Put solar near the Pilliga (not in it) or further west. Real estate is cheap and there's lots of sun out there. I've seen it many times. Security of agricultural production and boidiversity are paramount. Energy can come from lots of other places. I strenuously object to coal seam gas exploration and exploitation in the Pilliga.

I strongly object to the government giving approval to Santos to frack for coal seam gas in the Pilliga region. There are so many reasons why this is a catastrophic idea but the most compelling is that it would be sheer madness to put at risk our most precious asset: the Great Artesian Basin. Santos' history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water mean they are not to be trusted.

Submission against mining in the Pilliga

TO add more coal seam gas mines in the Pilliga is to sign the death warrant for this amazing area. Damage to the great Artesian basin should be deemed a criminal act by any coal seam gas project current or future. What happens to the "waste water" from the mining. Is it held in a holding pond? Do the mine owners wait until a major storm that floods this pond and it destroys rivers and woodlands. What do they do but say "oops". to agree to allow more coal seam gas mining in the Pilliga is criminal coal seam gas mining is NOT the answer for australias gas supply. NOT when coal seam gas mining already has a history of environmental damage. stop this project please do not allow more coal seam gas mines in the unique environment called the Pilliga. christine Linder

Please go ahead with this project. We need the gas.
Please ensure that the gas is legally required for local use at a reasonable price, not for export overseas.

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.Q9SmYnFf.dpuf

I have visited the Pilliga forest and read Eric Rolls book on the history of the area. It is a shock to find that anyone could contemplate mining in this area, especially given its connection to feeding the the Murray-Darling basin. The demand for gas is significant but the solution is not a short term fix. This is the more so as it seems that any gas shortages are because any gas produced in Australia is being exported for maximum gain by multinational companies.

Dear Sir,
Please do not allow Santos to drill for coal seam gas in Pilligra State Forest. Coal seam gas has been shown to pollute the environment with toxic chemicals which will pollute the water, kill wildlife and plants including many threatened species. It will only help increase global warming with the excess methane that is burned which is far more potent green house gas than carbon dioxide. The traditional owners oppose it also.
Listen to reason and the people, do not allow coal seam gas exploration in the Pilligra. End the Narrabri Gas Project.
Thanks,
Dennis

Please help save the little wilderness that remains!

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.1WpSTQaU.dpuf

I feel that this project is a potential threat to the Great Artesian Basin basin and future of water. from this basin.

This threat comes both from thu drilling and potential "leaks"
and future sequestration of water for gas field requirements.

An additional threat is from the large amounts of toxic water discharged from gas treatment processes which will prove too large for containment and end escaping as already demonstrated into the river system, eventually as far as the Murray mouth killing of much of our agriculture and environment..
For these few reasons I object to this project tho it may be profitable to the company in the short term it will prove disastrous and unrecoverable in the long term to the nation.

I/we object outright to the Santos' Narrabri Gas Project. Despite being environmentaly dangerous and ruining great farmaland, there is no need for the gas. There is more than needed from the crrent gas fields, even if just 20% were diverted to the national need.

I would like to object to this proposal. Please reject any coal seam gas mining in the Narrabri area and protect the water, environment and future of this area.

Do not destroy this natural environment with Coal Seam Gas exploration and drilling.