Narrabri Gas

I have visited the Pilliga and the Siding Springs observatory. The bases for my objection to this project include the following:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
Santos cannot guarantee to not damage 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 potentially stop 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 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. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project
Santos has offered no solution for how they intend to dispose of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced. This industry would leave a toxic legacy in NSW.

3. Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions
Santos cannot guarantee how they will safely extract, store and transport a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest. 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.

4. Farmers and other local community reject the project
Santos cannot even convince the local community of the benefits of the gaswells. Extensive community surveys have shown less than 5% community support for 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.

5. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed
Santos has shown no respect for the views of the traditional landowners. 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.

6. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
Santos offers no viable plan to safeguard the biodiversity of the Pilliga. 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 Area. 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.

7. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on climate change. Methane is by far the major component of natural gas, and is a greenhouse gas many 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.

8. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
Santos is happy to ignore the effects this project will have on human health. 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 coordination. These impacts have been documented in human populations nearby to existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

9. 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 pollution. The area has been internationally recognised as a `dark sky park' and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.

10. 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 barium. In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads.

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian 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.


¹SoilFutures Consulting 2014, Great Artesian Basin Recharge Systems and Extent of Petroleum and Gas Leases. http://www.gabpg.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GAB-Report1.pdf
²http://www.smh.com.au/environment/santos-coal-seam-gas-project-contaminates-aquifer-20140307-34csb.html
³BirdLife International (2017) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Pilliga http://www.birdlife.org
⁴Marion Carey Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA), Air pollution from coal seam gas may put public health at risk The Conversation, November 20, 2012
⁵https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/oct/21/siding-spring-observatory-threat-coal-seam-gas-light-pollution
⁶http://darksky.org/first-dark-sky-park-in-australia-designated/

I have always been opposed to CSG and the method of Fracking. I believe it to be a geologically unsound practice which will have wide and permanent negative impacts long into the future, especially in an Artesian basin.
I believe the practice should be banned altogether.
GS

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

Contamination of an aquifer with uranium caused by Santos' exploration of the Pilliga is only one reason the continued development by Santos of this area for gas must be halted for good. It is time for the government to accept that the people of Australia do not want this country destroyed by industrial concerns for the sake of fossil fuels.

As a santos shareholder i am distressed to see santos destroy the company. Working with people and not against them will improve the profitabilty. Csg is destructive! It is not a good option. Think outside the box and look for environmental opportunities.

I care about the water table and what we drink. Santos should too.

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.

Furthermore, 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.

In addition, 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.

Moreover, 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.

The Pilliga is also 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.

Finally, I would like to make a plea to the NSW Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton. The permission of this atrocity is dumbfounding. How anyone could be so stupid as to let this project receive approval is beyond belief because of the blindingly obvious negative environmental impacts, as well as the impacts on the community and the long term effect it will have on our earth. So I ask you that surely something can be done to prevent this crime against nature. Surely, you, as Minister for the ENVIRONMENT, possess some power to prevent this. Surely.

My parents have been going there for years on holidays, its wrong what you are allowing this to happen

I have visited the Narrabri region while working for Sydney University's Faculty of Agriculture and after retirement on pleasure trips. The region is dry. The area can not afford to have groundwater used and ultimately contaminated by the coal seam gas project.
There is no study which can accurately predict how long it will take to replace the groundwater supply. Indeed, no matter what the developer may offer as evidence that all will be well, there is not any valid proof that the groundwater will be replaced within the lifetime of my grandchildren or their grandchildren. So shall we ruin the region for generations for the sake of short term jobs, indeed jobs that will not be taken by the current inhabitants of the region who will lose their agricultural livelihood.

I object to the CSG proposal Please do not publish my email address on the site

The benefits of the proposal are outweighed by the negative impacts, which are likely to include detrimental impacts to the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin, in addition to massive risk to biodiversity in the nationally significant region, that is home to endangered and critically endangered species.
Santos have a poor environmental record in their projects and this is likely to be the case for the Pilliga. The EIS does not satisfactorily address the waste salt that will be generated-the MDB has enough issues with dry land salinity already.
How about we invest in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable projects in the renewables sector instead of this bad idea??

I am totally opposed to drilling for CSG in the Pillaga. This is environmentally dangerous technology which may irreparably damage our aquifers, being used by a company with a very poor environmental record.

I object to CSG mining in the Pilliga because of the risks to the Great Artesian Basin. Mining companies including Santos have an appalling record in underestimating risks involved, and environmental damage is scarcely ever repairable. there is no plan to adequately deal with the highly salinated water mining will produce. The Pilliga is a prime area for the recharging of the Artesian Basin, which provides water for the many bores essential for farming. Very large numbers of the farming community are also opposed to CSG mining because of the threat it poses to agriculture. The lower reaches of the Murray Darling catchment are already highly stressed, and CSG can only increase the potential to harm the agricultural breadbasket of Australia, and our overseas balance of trade through agricultural production lost. Scientifically illiterate politicians make decisions on the pressure placed on them by their political donors, especially mining companies through false assertions about providing jobs. Do not approve this application.

I protest on grounds of land rights for the Indigenous people

I strongly object to the proposed CSG project on several grounds. These include well-founded objections from both traditional owners and farmers; threats to human health and wildlife; fuelling climate change and, most importantly, the enormous risk to precious water sources.
Australia simply cannot allow such a threat to our most critical resource - once it's gone, it's GONE - especially by a company which cannot be trusted.
As a voter and taxpayer who cares about the long-term future of our country, I expect the NSW government to do the right thing and put a halt to this project immediately.

Santos has no right to drill 850 holes in the Pilliga

This is a submission to the Narrabri Gas Project EIS.

I object to this project and believe it should be rejected.

This project, if approved, would:
1. Extract over 35 billion litres of salt laden groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and will generate almost 500,000 tonnes of salt waste, for which there is no safe disposal plan.
2. Clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife.
3. Drill through a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin and draw water down from a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
4. Lead to large deliberate and emissions of methane from venting and leakage, adding to climate change.

The project will also 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.

The project 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 urge the Government to reject this project and make the Great Artesian Basin recharge off-limits to gas mining.

Please lets protect our home Australia. Do not destroy my land my country.

I do not want CSG extraction by Santos to be allowed because of the importance of the Great Artesion Basin to agriculture in Australia. This is too important to take the risk of contaminating the quality of water for all farming which is covered by the Great Artesian Basin. Food production is more important than gas! We do need gas but not at the expense of agriculture.

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian 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.