Narrabri Gas

I object strongly against this development for the following reasons:
1. It has detrimental environmental consequences:
a. Groundwater pollotion
b. Surface water pollution
c. Soil pollution.
d. It contributes to climate change.
2. It can cause earthquakes (like in Groningen, The Netherlands)
3. It affects cultural heritage.
4. It does not solve the Australian gas shortage problem as it is
exported for financial gain.
5. It is costly for Australian farmers, who already have so many
problems to deal with.
These are the most important reasons for me to object but I could mention many more.

This is a disastrous plan not only for the Narrabri community but the rights of all Australians to clean air, food and a safe climate future.
The Narrabri Gas Project is not the answer to cheaper gas. We cannot be the largest global exporter of gas but also have a gas supply problem. This is a policy problem not a gas crises. It is pure spin from those that wish to make more money.
The Narrabri Gas Project will jeapordise the health of the Pilliga forest, the great Artesian Recharge Area and the draw down will have significant effect on the pressurised aquifers that make up the GAB.
The Great Artesian Basin has been described as the "life blood of Australia". It is what makes our agricultural sector viable in the driest continent on Earth. With the continued pressure the GAB is facing from the outrageous free water access from mining, when will we really understand the value of this incredible resource? It runs below four states and is a vital part of our agriculture sector.
The toxic underground water removed during depressurisation, so the gas will flow, will be "treated". But there is still the question of what the industry will do with the salt and other heavy metals. It is expected to generate tens of thousands of tonnes this muck. There is no safe disposal plan. And this process will use huge quantities of energy, no doubt supplied by coal. Definitely not the clean green energy spruiked.
The flaring associated with the CSG operation will pose a significant threat to this dry bushland, with fire and will also have a devastating effect on the beautiful Siding Spring Observatory. Why would we risk this southern astronomical resource for the short term profit of Santos?
The fugitive emission of methane which are x25 worse than coal will pose a significant impact on the unfolding climate emergency.
And then there are the health implications of this industry. We know the health impacts on the Queensland communities have been devastating. There have been spikes of cancer rates and endocrine induced issues, especially in the children and pregnant mothers.
We know that Santos's application only covers the 850 planned wells in the Pilliga. But we also know they have licences across some of our most strategic cropping land. And just as this industry in Queensland started in the scrubland near the Darling Downs, slowly it has made it's way into it. Some of Queensland most fertile agriculture land is now pocked marked with this insidious industry. It spreads like cancer, while spreading cancer.

As a mother of two young children I am horrified this would even be considered. Have we not learnt from the USA? Have we not learnt from our Northern Queensland neighbours? We cannot keep destroying our air, water and food resources. We cannot open up these fossil fuel resource. It's time to stop living in the greed of the past and transition to a clean viable future. Where we actually recognise the valueable resources in front of us. We need to ask ourselves "what kind of future we want? What will we leave our children?"
Please STOP this project.

I feel it is important to stand against the SantosÂ' Narrabri Gas Project and support the local community of Pilliga in their efforts to protect the Pilliga Forest. The 850 gas wells that the Narrabri Gas Project plans to develop will harm the surrounding environment.

STOP THIS UTTER ECOSYSTEM-DESTROYING INSANITY!

AUSTRALIA IS SO SUNNY WHY DON'T YOU HAVE SOLAR PANELS EVERYWHERE?

Here are detailed reasons I 100% agree with from the Australian Wilderness Society why this monstrous boondoggle must never happen.

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?utm_source=phplist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=April_17_wildnews-%5Bmessageid%5D&utm_content=story2#sthash.ZGowUFe8.dpuf

The ruin of the environment everywhere concerns me greatly.

I travelled through what was called the Pilliga Scrub in about 1996. I have never forgotten my experience. As a person born in the UK I have always been astounded by how much of the Australian landscape is original, old growth, not built on or 'developed'. Pilliga Scrub is one of the places I often talk about when discussing that journey in 1996. When I read in the media that there were proposals to drill in this area for gas I was equally astounded. I was certain that this area which is a haven for wildlife and an area where there are bound to be still undiscovered natural life would be protected. I understand that energy is needed and until now humanity has felt that it is our right to use whatever resources the earth has to offer without any accountability. However we now know far more about our environment and we know the dreadful costs of environmental carelessness. I am asking respectfully for this gas project to be cancelled. In the same way that we have learned about the necessity to protect our social institutions and rights such as equality for all, special protections for those who are disabled or vulnerable and the right to express ourselves with respect and consideration, I consider that we have also learned how important it is to protect our environment for our own and future generations. Please do not think I am writing about protection purely for aesthetic reasons. The Pilliga Scrub I drove through was not particularly beautiful but it does hold significant environmental values such as the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray Darling basin. Water is vital to life and healthy water even more so. A further consideration is that the water used in the drilling processes could easily contaminate the creeks and rivers in the area. In addition there are human inhabitants in the area likely to be severely affected by gas works. These are the Indigenous peoples of the place - I believe they are called the Gamilaray people and the local farmers who have established farms providing food for the region. There are many other concerns with gas like this such as pollution of the area and sky - which will affect the observatory in the area, salt waste and salt waste water, the risk of fires as this area is already very dry and finally and most importantly the added risk of adding to our climate change - the biggest environmental threat to our and all future generations. I understand completely that when a new technology is discovered or developed then there is an itch to use it. I understand too that large companies today hire their own environmental experts and even in some cases ethical experts to guide their work. Unfortunately and ultimately what governs companies is the necessity to make profits and to give back to shareholders and increase wages for the executive teams. I urge you most strongly to please consider the big picture, the long term impact and the overall aim of what is good for the whole country together - the people and the land. Gas mining like coal mining is a short term 'solution' for energy and for jobs but we now know the dangers of coal mining and the cost to health and the land. Please do not go down this path. Please love the land first.

I am writing this in the hope that it helps put a stop to Santos' Narrabri Gas Project and that it ends coal seam gas in NSW once and for all. In this time of extreme climate change we must do all we can to foster cleaner energy solutions even if it sacrifices profits.

Thank you for your consideration of my submission.

The Pillaga is important as a recharge point for the Great Artesian Basin. Contamination of the water in the aquifer would have a devastating effect on the environment. The Pillaga forest deserves protection in its own right too as a pristine and biodiverse habitat. I strongly oppose short-term gain by a private company that endangers the long-term future of an important ecosystem and the welfare of the people who live there. The gain is just not worth the damage done and the risk of contamination of the aquifer and fragmentation of the forest, opening it up to pests and disease. Jobs in agriculture, tourism and forestry could be lost all for this short-term gain by a private company. Please be democratic and listen to the people of Australia rather than the corporate sector. Most people who are asked oppose this development.

I am afraid I have absolutely no faith in the coal seam gas corporation, or our governments ability to care for our environment. Australia as a dry continent we rely on every drop of water for now & into the future. I worry about our future generations & have major concerns for their survival. Our First Australians lived on this Continent under the harshest of conditions & left not a mark on this Beautiful but dry continent. I truly thank them for their care of Mother Earth. They have been truly wise in their treatment of Australia & may they continue to teach their future generations the same values. I am saddened by the treatment of our farmers who work hard to provide our clean green food, I hope they are protected from mining be it coal seam gas extraction, or the mining of coal. Why do we as humans allow damage to our fragile water supply. Our wildlife be it birds or animals. We need trees, forests not only to provide habitat, but for the very oxygen we breath. In this country I am sad to say this has been of scant regard, my lungs not the best we as living beings need clean fresh air survive. Another thing that concerns me greatly is the personal fight our Australian people have had to fight, resulting in many cases of death. The thing that is most criminal is our Politicians are the ones, who sell their people & country out & show no regard for the destruction that they bring about all for greed, we the people of this Australia, need laws to protect us & this Continent from Politicians & their lack of regard for the future. Thank you for the opportunity to voice my many concerns. Yours faithfully Cheryl

The Pilliga should be protected so that the wildlife are protected. There should be no CSG or logging in the Pilliga - it's too important a region.

the lunacy of permitting a proven accident prone and

destructive industry to proceed and desecrate the heritage of

all Australians MUST stop

I write to request the preservation of the Pilliga forest. A very small percentage of Australian land is under permanent protection and when you look at the continent very little is untouched, rich and diverse. We have a small population which has done an amazing amount of clearance and remodelling of the landscape. It is vital that Australians understand the necessity to protect and preserve areas of diversity and richness. Research proves that nature offers a psychological refuge for human beings. It protects a great range of flora and fauna which is essential to avoid more extinctions. On a national level we need to protect as much as we can to try and stop global warming. Water will become an issue as the world population increases. The artesian basin is not being cared for as it should be. The Murray River is exploited beyond its capacity and has been turned into a river of ponds rather than the wild river it once was before we all turned up. This proposal fills me with dismay. At some point governments will need to look at Australia and understand the damage which has been done. You don't seem to understand environmental history and continue to take us down an ignorant path rather than an enlightened one.

The Pilliga forest is the largest intact woodland in eastern Australia, stretching across half a million hectares in north-western New South Wales. It is a unique ecological refuge, home to 25 nationally listed and 48 state-listed threatened species.

The sandstone under the Pilliga is a vital recharge area for the Great Artesian Basin, and creeks that flow through the Pilliga provide clean water into the Murray Darling Basin. These water sources are the lifeblood of farming communities throughout the southeast and inland Australia.
-

I have visited the renowned Pilliga Scrub and been awed by its natural beauty and environment. Australia is a big country and I stand with the local people who want this outstanding resource to remain untouched and and forever an experience of what Australia is in its natural state.

Just by reading the following points provided by the Wilderness Society would tell them that to go ahead with the Santos proposal is destructive to the Environment which will be longer lasting than any financial benefits especially when current governments allow low taxes, low royalties and zero clean-up costs to these Environmental vandals.
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.

I object to the Narrabri Natural Gas Project for many reasons, a few are below-

1. Santos say they are not going to interfere with a GAB recharge zone. However all government hydrogeological mapping of the GAB shows the project will straddle the most important inflow zone into the GAB in NSW (Hydrogeological Atlas of the Great Artesian Basin (2016); Department of Water Resources (NSW) Hydrogeological Series Sheet SH 55-12; NSW Department of Water & Energy April 2009 PN00799 WR2008-089)

2. There is no evidence provided which shows there is no connectivity between aquifer strata. Recent studies document migration of coal bed methane to the surface (https://www.nature.com/articles/srep15996)

3. All well casings will fail eventually. Who is going to maintain the well integrity after Santos have gone? We will have 850 leakage time-bombs through the GAB (http://www.pnas.org/content/111/30/10955.full)

4. Santos want to release treated water into Bohena Creek during high and moderate flows, ignoring in their EIS that this creek is a recognised surface groundwater ecosystem (Australian GDE Atlas).

5. Santo have completely ignored pubic health risks from fugitive emissions, including from methane, sulphides and ozone. How can this gas be so clean when all others is so dirty?

6. Recent work has shown that the levels of methane emissions from CSG operations are high to pose significant risks to greenhouse gas levels.

7. The region is an astronomy destination providing jobs, business and tourism. Flaring gas and dust creation is a huge risk to this sector and the region.

8. Fragmenting the bush of the Pilliga forest will add to pressure from fox predation on threatened species. No control program will compensate the additional areas of forest which will see increased fox activity.

This project must not proceed as the risks are too high for the environment and the community.

We are frequent travelers through NSW and travel through the Pillaga often. It is unthinkable that the Government would consider giving Santos permission to develop the Narrabri Gas Project through this huge region of beautiful bushland.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Is there no understanding that the Great Australian Artesian Basin - and water for huge numbers of people would be put at risk - by allowing Santos to get in and develop such a huge number of wells right through the region. This is not something that can be undone if the basin is compromised.There have been too many accidental spills and gas leakages to contemplate putting the environment at risk - by such proposed development.

Wildlife will be affected adversely - let alone the dangerous methane gas which would be released, affecting Climate change - and the large amounts of salt waste which would leave a toxic legacy.

We also must listen to and respect the wishes of the local people and the custodians of the land, the Gamilaraay people - who are so wholeheartedly against this proposal.

A wholehearted NO to any such development from me as a concerned world citizen, grandmother and Australian.

Please protect the Pilliga it is of enormous importance to our children that it be saved from desecration

I oppose the development of Coal Seam Gas Mining in NSW

The planned method of extraction has not been proved to be safe for our water table; there is well grounded evidence that it can be dangerous for it.

If it were to happen in areas currently used for agriculture or pasturing it should not be allowed.

I'm a Narrabri resident and work for a Pest Control business in town which contracts to santos.
I have been in the field to all santos sites including lee wood ponds, osmoflo water treatment plant and the bibblewindi Compressor yard/flare.
Seeing first hand the procedures and workmen ship of the santos employees and contractors I'm confident that all that can be done, will be done to ensure that the water table and all other environmental factors will be protected.

Leave the Narrabri Gas Fields alone, coal seam gas exploration is unsafe, can you Santos' 100% guarantee that you will not affect the water table, if you cant, leave it alone, because if you destroy the water table, you are destroying lots of peoples livelihood, how will you be able to rectify that, you can't, do not go there, unless you can give a 100% guarantee, not 99%, 100% is needed to proceed, you are only doing this for money, money comes and goes, what is left behind is what counts.