Narrabri Gas

I object to the Santos' Narrabri Gas Project. It will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and in the early years will generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt, for which there is no safe disposal plan.
It will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife.
It will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
It will cause more trauma to the regional Aboriginal community because the area of impact is crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and social life of Gamilaraay people.
It is not justified: Santos' own Coal Seam Gas export activities in Queensland have caused gas prices to rise and supply to become unpredictable. NSW should respond to this by investing in more reliable and ultimately cheaper renewable energy, not by letting Santos inflict more environmental, social and economic harm.
It will cause economic upheaval in Narrabri and put agricultural industries at risk, as well as causing light pollution that will ruin the dark night sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
Coal Seam Gas is harmful to health. Neither the NSW Government nor Santos have investigated or dealt with the serious health effects of coal seam gas now appearing in peer-reviewed research in the United States.

I wish to ensure that my daughter and her children have a safe environment to enjoy their life in. We all have a duty of care to our kids. So any steps that we take today that do not guarantee protection of their environment are immoral ones. CSG creates so many issues that it is clear we need to halt all such development.
Short term gain at the expense of future generations must stop.
Thank you
Richard

I object to the Narrabi Gas Project because Coal seam gas is detrimental to the environment and more specifically water resources.
Water is essential as all Australian know.
The coal seem gas extraction process is not stable and the impact on nature is irreversible which as lead major countries like France to ban it.
The economical benefit of producing gas this way is not enough considering the irreversible impact on the environment, farm land, water supplies, communities.
It is not worth it.

The proposal to frack the pillaga scrub - much of it a state forest and or conservation area is outrageous .
Reported spills of toxic water and the potential in the long term
to contaminate rivers and aquafers is such a risk that the proponent could not guarantee long term sustainability .

What can I say that has not been said?
Probably nothing will change the minds of those fixed on monetary profit.
Especially when we will probably never have to bear the cost in our short time on this finite earth.
It is our children who will shake their heads at our ignorant greed
But it will only be some of our children
For the rest will do just as we have done
because that is the legacy we leave
why should we change that?

I believe coal seam gas extraction has nor been proved safe or necessary and it should not go ahead any where in NSW

I OBJECT to the proposed Narrabri Gas Project on the following grounds:
1. The impact of the proposal on artesian waters is entirely unacceptable to local people, farmers and the environment.
2. The impact on global warming and climate change of such a large fossil fuel project will be enormous, and there is NO social licence now to undertake any development which adds to the problem.
3. The Pillaga Forest is a place of enormous ecological and cultural importance. It must be preserved in its entirety for all and not damaged by this foolhardy and reckless proposal

fugitive gas emissions from gas mining have a major impact on the climate as methane is a very powerful greenhouse gas

Dear Sir/Madam,

The Santos Narrabri Gas Project is a terrible idea and must be struck down due to a complete lack of a social licence.

It will extract over 10's of billion of litres of toxic groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and in the early years will generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt, for which there is no safe disposal plan.


The project will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife.


The project is incredibly short sighted and will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
Santos's project will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change making the summers for our family in the Narrabri area even more unbearably hot.
It will cause more trauma to the regional Aboriginal community because the area of impact is crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and social life of Gamilaraay people.

This project is just not justified: Santos' own CSG export activities in Queensland have caused gas prices to rise and supply to become unpredictable. NSW should respond to this by investing in more reliable and ultimately cheaper renewable energy, not by letting Santos inflict more environmental, social and economic harm. Any counter argument Santos offer in this regard is complete bullshit as they help to drive up gas prices for Australian manufacturers due to LNG exports.

The project will cause economic upheaval in Narrabri and put agricultural industries at risk. Take a look at some of the hillbilly towns in the USA who have "enjoyed" a gas boom, and thats the gross future that Narribri would face if this project is approved.
In addition, the lights and flaring from gas well will cause light pollution that will ruin the dark night sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.

Coal Seam Gas is harmful to health. Neither the NSW Government nor Santos have investigated or dealt with the serious health effects of coal seam gas now appearing in peer-reviewed research in the United States.

I implore you to deny any approval for this project. Don't let them get this foothold that will be the start of widespread gasfields in NSW. Please tell Santos NO!

Regards,
Stephen Laird

Please save the Great Artesian Basin. We cannot replace it, unpollute it, give it back to our grandchildren, water our farmland, and cherish it when it's polluted, drops the water table and is worthless.
Cherish and worship your Australian heritage and what is given to us to look after through good stewardship.
It doesn't have a price, so don't pretend it does. What can I give you that you need so much, you would corrupt our Great Artesian Basin underground water that is as old as the Blue Mountains?

Though I do not live in the area I am familiar with the Pilliga forest and would make the following comments:
1. It will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and in the early years will generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt, for which there is no safe disposal plan.
2. It will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife.
3. It will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
4. It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
5. It will cause more trauma to the regional Aboriginal community because the area of impact is crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and social life of Gamilaraay people.
6. It is not justified: Santos' own Coal Seam Gas export activities in Queensland have caused gas prices to rise and supply to become unpredictable. NSW should respond to this by investing in more reliable and ultimately cheaper renewable energy, not by letting Santos inflict more environmental, social and economic harm.
7. It will cause economic upheaval in Narrabri and put agricultural industries at risk, as well as causing light pollution that will ruin the dark night sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
8. Coal Seam Gas is harmful to health. Neither the NSW Government nor Santos have investigated or dealt with the serious health effects of coal seam gas now appearing in peer-reviewed research in the United States
sincerely
Simon Clough

I OBJECT TO THIS COAL SEAM GAS MINING PLAN! This is a total violation of our LIVES AS HUMANS ON EARTH. We need clean water to live. Such a plan is a complete disregard for our complete interconnectivity within an enclosed biosphere. It is absolutely NOT OK to take from the earth without giving back, and this kind of plan will cause irreversible damage. With all the credit you give yourselves, as logical and reasonable citizens, people, this plan shows only greed and disregard for the future of our planet, the children of this day, the creatures of the lands, the elements that MAKE US WHAT WE ARE. STOP. stop your ridiculous and upsetting threats. We OBJECT.

I object to the proposed Narrabri Gas Project on the following grounds:

Australia is already the largest exporter of gas in the world. A retention of existing production for domestic use is required, not an expansion of drilling.

Local farming communities are dependent on a high quality and quantity of groundwater. Drilling over 800 CSG wells will be a risk to the future of this groundwater and farming. There is evidence of negative effects on groundwater in other farming regions where CSG operations exist.

Inland woodlands are a critically endangered ecosystem in NSW. The Pilliga is the largest remaining stand of woodland in NSW. The proposed network of wells will seriously degrade the habitat value of this woodland. There have already been incidents of damaging leaks from exploratory drilling in the Pilliga.


Thomas A. Ferrier

This project will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and in the early years will generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt, for which there is no safe disposal plan. It will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife. It will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
This in turn will cause more trauma to the regional Aboriginal community because the area of impact is crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and social life of Gamilaraay people.
It is not justified: Santos' own Coal Seam Gas export activities in Queensland have caused gas prices to rise and supply to become unpredictable.

NSW should respond to this by investing in more reliable and ultimately cheaper renewable energy, not by letting Santos inflict more environmental, social and economic harm.
The project will cause economic upheaval in Narrabri and put agricultural industries at risk, as well as causing light pollution that will ruin the dark night sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.

Coal Seam Gas is harmful to health. Neither the NSW Government nor Santos have investigated or dealt with the serious health effects of coal seam gas now appearing in peer-reviewed research in the United States.

I am opposed to this project because of the threat and risks involved to the aquifer and to the natural environment of the Piliga. I am also concerned about emissions of Greenhouse gases.
I want to support the local people in their resistance to the project.

To the decision makers,

As a mother, I am mostly concerned about providing a future for my children, and will not support any project, company or governing body that takes their future away from them.
Coal seam gas mining is a short term profit gaining exercise that benifits only the stakeholders, and does nothing to ensure my childrens future or that of the community as a whole, and the environmental risks and damages are too great to allow and are irreversible at a catastophic level for the environment and water supply of the entire NSW region as stated in the facts below.

I personally object to the Narrabri Gas Project for the following reasons:

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 region.


Sincerely,
Melinda King

Why is Santos even able to plan to drill 850 coal seam gas wells straight through the Great Artesian Basin, in the heart of the Pilliga forest, the largest woodland in eastern Australia? Why is anyone able to do invasive mining practices that have the potential to pollute this essential and huge Australian water supply? Without clean water there is no agriculture, horticulture and business and household supplies. That mean everyone in the area of the Great Artesian Basin have the potential to be affected. Does that artesian basin affect the other underground water supplies in southern Australia? If so, it will devastate Australia as we know it.


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. Why would anyone allow any business into an area that is a vital recharge area for this amazing underground water supply? Don't you understand that water is the most precious resource in the world and that it should not be put at any risk?

As defined by the 1998 Wingspread conference, the Precautionary Principle states;

* When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.
* In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof.
* The process of applying the Precautionary Principle must be open, informed and democratic and must include potentially affected parties.
* It must also involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action.


The precautionary principle must be applied to this last remaining CSG proposal in NSW.

The Pilliga forest is also 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, such as the Pilliga Mouse, which rely on the Pilliga for survival. Why would anyone allow Santos to industrialise the Pilliga with 850 coal seam gas wells, which would threaten this natural refuge, our precious groundwater, and the communities who rely on it?

We also know that if we're to maintain a safe climate and keep global warming below 2 degrees, projects like this must not go ahead.

It does not provide maps indicating where these 850 wells and the lines and infrastructure that run between and around them will go.
Santos is one of several large gas companies that threw the east coast gas market and the industries that rely on it into turmoil by opening up CSG fields in Queensland and contracting to sell more gas than those fields can produce to overseas customers. They drove up the price of gas and are plundering supplies previously available to manufacturers and power stations.
Santos' project is expected to remove 37.5GL of groundwater over the life of the gasfield, mostly in the early years. The coal seam needs to be dewatered to release the gas, but this aquifer lies beneath the Pilliga Sandstone, part of the Great Artesian Basin recharge. Santos' EIS admits that the project will result in a loss of water from the GAB recharge aquifer over time. CSG in Queensland has drawn down GAB aquifers already. We can't afford to risk this crucial resource.
Santos' social impact assessment is three years old and utterly inadequate. The compendium of health studies produced by the Concerned Health
Professionals of New York shows mounting evidence for health damage by unconventional gas operations, including water contamination and respiratory illness. The Government must insist that Santos conduct a proper health impact assessment including modelling exposure pathways, reviewing literature and engagement with the Narrabri community.
The air quality assessment fails to include health-damaging fine particulate pollution with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (known as PM2.5). With diesel generators at each well pad and at the water treatment and gas compression plants, there will be significant PM2.5 emissions. The air quality assessment and greenhouse section also fail to model the likely substantial escape of fugitive methane emissions.
light pollution from flares, compressor stations and the water treatment plant will ruin the dark sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
recent research by the Melbourne Energy Institute shows that Australia may be dramatically under-estimating the fugitive methane emissions from unconventional gas, including coal seam gas. It's not needed or useful as a source of energy: we have the technology we need to replace gas with renewable energy sources

I object to the Narrabri Gas Project for the following reasons:

1. The risk to water supplies is too great
The risks of fracking coal seams have been well documented. Damage to the aquifers will be permanent. This is an unacceptable risk to take with the Great Artesian Basin which is a source of water for our rivers and is needed for agriculture. The threat can be measured by the opposition from the local community, farmers, they know how precious the water is. Risking valuable farmland for a short term gain is unacceptable.

2. Coal seam gas extraction is a dirty, toxic activity that puts the community's health at risk
Volatile organic compounds will harm the people living nearby. This has also been well documented both here in Australia and overseas. Santos already has shown it cannot be trusted to safeguard the community's health with its history of contaminating aquifers, many reported leaks and spills of CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads. The massive amounts of salt water that will be produced by CSG is also a source of contamination. Santos has no plan for disposing of the tonnes of salt that will be produced and it is likely that tax payers will be left with the cleanup bill.

3. The Environmental risks are too great.
The Pilliga is a biodiversity hotspot, literally home to hundreds of species including many threatened species. A gasfield will be like building hundreds of roads through the state forest, fragmenting vital habitat, habitat that is almost extinct, the animals cannot simply move elsewhere. Methane leakage is an under reported problem with CSG and a major source of greenhouse gas. Once a coal seam has been damaged, ie fracked, methane can escape from anywhere in the seam, often seeping through soil into the atmosphere. The `lighting' of rivers and creeks in viral social media posts is evidence of this. The fugitive emissions alone make this CSG project an unacceptable environmental risk.

4. The Community and the Traditional Custodians do not want this project
The wishes of the Traditional Custodians, the Gamilaraay people should be respected. They have made it clear to Santos they do not want this project to destroy their country as have the farming community in this region.

There are SO MANY REASONS to object to CSG mining in the Pilliga ....
Disposal plan for toxic waste
1000hectares Pilliga forest cleared
Precious water resources wasted
Trauma to the Gamilaraay people
Siding Spring Observatory losing a dark sky
Methane gas, a huge concern
CSG IS HARMFULL TO HEALTH
Renewable energy is the future!

Please, listen to the many, many reasons why this is WRONG.
Sincerely Helen Fawell