Narrabri Gas

The land of Pilliga is home to many threatened species such as Spotted-tailed Quoll, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse as well as being home to 200 bird species. The Santos Gas Fields would destroy 95000 hectares of precious habitat for these animals. This would reduce the survival chances of these threatened species and thus reduce biodiversity within Australia.
Pilliga also contains the cultural sites of the Gamilaraay people.
The Gamilaraay people are also heavily against the construction of the coal seam gas field on their land. The Santos Gas Fields would destroy their cultural sites, leaving the Gamilaraay people unable to practice their cultural and belief.
Community surveys show that 96% of people oppose the CSG(Coal Seam Gasfield) and local farmers are heavily involved in the protest against the CSG. The construction of a coal seam gas field will compromise human health as the coal seam gas field release volatile organic compounds into the surrounding atmosphere. The volatile organic compounds cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headaches, nausea and loss of coordination in people, leading to a reduced quality of life. Evidence for these symptoms occurring can be found in human populations which live nearby gasfields in America.

Why do we still try to drain out our planet , when we have wind and sun power . Australie has lot of open space to make sun power fields or windwill park . So stop looking for oil that can pollute the environment and start invest in endurable energie.

It is time for our government leaders to show that they actually care for the future of our planet and all that live on it. Were it to proceed, the extraction of coal seam gas from the Narrabri project will be another sad chapter in the demise of Australia and our world:

- Additional green house gases released into our atmosphere
- Huge risk that our water sources will be damaged and/or polluted by extracting CSG
- Damage to local wildlife and its habitat

NSW Government: Show some genuine leadership and stop this project from proceeding

I strongly oppose the Narrabri gas project on the grounds that it will have:
- an adverse impact from burning of fossil fuels on global warming
- an adverse impact on community health caused by CSG production
- an adverse impact on local water tables and the Great Artesian Basin generally caused by CSG operations
- an adverse impact on ecosystems caused by treated water produced as a bi-product of CSG operation
- a severe impact on the environment caused by methane leaks (cf. CO2)
- an adverse impact on revenue through the payment of the fuel subsidies, effectively subsidising fossil fuel production
- an adverse impact, through night sky light pollution, on international astronomical observatories caused by flaring from gas burn-off
- a negligible benefit to Australia as the majority of the gas produced will be exported
- a negative impact on the capital value of farming properties
- a negative impact on the ability of farmers to obtain credit
- an extremely divisive impact on the social cohesiveness of rural communities
- a limited impact on employment in comparison to the much larger number of jobs created by the renewable energy industry
- an adverse ecological impact on habitat for both flora & fauna, thus reducing biodiversity
- the potential to create stranded assets with pipelines, processing works & other capital items being written off having maximised their environmental damage
- a long term destructive impact on land holdings due to inadequate remediation or subsidiary companies accepting bankruptcy to avoid the financial impact of appropriate remediation
- little if any revenue benefit to Australia as profits will be minimised via sophisticated accountancy schemes with overseas parent companies reaping the rewards - effectively tax will be avoided.

I strongly oppose this CSG project.

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

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

The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed to the project.

Farmers and the local community are opposed to the project.

The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water, therefore Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely.

Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change and the risk of fire will increase as a result of this project.

Human health will be at risk.

The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife.

I strongly object to the Narrabri Gas Project for the following reasons -
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.
5. It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.

Thank you for the opportunity to express my concerns.

There are numerous reasons to be concerned about the Narrabri Gas Project, but for me the most pressing reason is the threat to the Great Artesian Basin and the knock on effects for farming and water quality, should the Basin become depleted or worse still contaminated in some way. In a land as dry as ours, with water such a precious resource, I don't see the sense in risking the Great Artesian Basin for short term gain, in pursuit of coal seam gas. The exploration record of those involved with regard to water management and treatment has left much to be desired, and has not engendered confidence that measures put in place to protect water supply will actually do so. Please weigh this decision carefully!

I do not support the short term political gain nor insignificant mining profits that can be gained by a process that has proven to be dangerous, reckless and highly toxic to the natural environment it is being extracted from. Mining companies have no interest in safe guarding nor keeping the natural wealth of our nation for future generations, by its very definition mining recognises land only as an economic interest and view it from a perspective of 'defined' values that fit within mining economic models of what they perceive as 'value' to mean. By this omission alone, mining companies should never be given consideration over and above the objections by the traditional owners, farmers and members of community that recognise the intrinsic value of the land and respect and understand what governance of our land and water truly means.

Dear People
Even though my son and many people I know work in the resource extraction industry we all are aware that this gas project is not sustainable and we are at a cross roads in providing alternative energy and employment for current and future generations. Australia should be leading the world not dragging behind clinging to outdated practices that cause long term damage to our environment and keep us locked into a declining industry.
Friends who are dependent on the groundwater in Narrabri district know their livelihoods will be destroyed if this mine goes ahead and the promise of short term employment through the mining process is no compensation.
It is also rumoured that Santos is pushing for it to be established to the point that it looks viable, so that it can be sold.
Please do not let any of this proceed. Take this responsibility very seriously.

Development of a coal seam gas fields have already caused over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water, including the contamination of an aquifer with uranium. Our natural environment is too vulnerable to risk these contaminations. It is not safe to pursue further development of a coal seam gas fields.

To Whom It May Concern,

I write this with the hope it will add to the messages of all those others opposing the CSG mining in the Pilliga Forest Area in NSW and any other future proposals for CSG mining. Over the past five years or so I have never read anything which has convinced me that this practice is going to produce more benefits than costs. There just is never going to be any proper security against detrimental environmental impacts which could occur and past incidences have shown this can and does happen. The environment's ecology and health cannot be compromised by this as the health and benefits required of the land by future generations depends on the preservation and protection of what land is left which is robust and sustaining. The very basics needed to sustain health and vitality such as clean ground water cannot be put into such a dangerous situation for the short term gain of a few more years of gas as an energy source. We need much longer term planning for Australians and humans in general if we are to survive and thrive in times to come.

I strongly oppose the establishment of the Narrabri Coal Seam Gas project. Drilling up to 850 gas wells through the aquifer seems to me to be madness in a time when we need to rapidly move away from fossil fuel use. Santos also has had an appalling record of spills and environmental breaches during their exploratory drilling. Their CEO has admitted to shareholders that Santos is making decisions based on a global warming figure of 4 degrees, which will be disastrous for the world as a whole, and catastrophic for coastal communities.

I object to Santos, or any other company, doing any investigation, test drills or actual drilling, in the area known als the Pilliga Scrub, or on any land that is located above the Great Artesian Basin. The reasons are as follows:

1. The Pilliga is a unique environment, which will be utterly devastated by the destructive actities listed above.

2. The Great Artesian Basin is absolutely crucial to many grazing properties and the type of activity which would be carried out in searching and drilling in or near the Pilliga could cause contamination to its ancient waters that could last for untold years.

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing in regards to the way in which Governments think they can use public and private land and think nothing of the destruction they do to it.
I think it is completely disgusting. They do not live there so they do not care what happens to the residents of the areas. Let alone about any wildlife they kill, maim or leave devastated because their homes and living areas have been completely unliveable.
This goes not only for Governments but the Businesses as well.

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Bloor.

I am deeply concerned about the environmental impact this will have on the area and the impact to local wildlife, biodiversity and water security.

I am a Science teacher, and amogst other subjects have taught "Ecosystems" as a pre-University course.
The damage done to water resources in Australia
cannot be condoned. We are one of the driest countries in the world, but have a per capita use of water which far oustrips the rain supply!
We MUST conserve our aquifers!
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.

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.
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.

We need a safe climate and to keep global warming below 2 degrees.

We need to move away from fossil fuels, we need to protect our planet

We need to preserve our nature,our animal species, our farming communities and we need to honour the sacred aboriginal land .

The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer
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 -
he Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
Human health is compromised by coal seam gas
Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project - See more at: https://www.wilderness.org.au/final-push-pilliga#sthash.OxASrFGp.dpuf