Narrabri Gas

The rate at which we are destroying the earth does my head in. And for what??? You cannot possibly weigh the pros and cons of this project and allow it to continue. It is ludicrous.
Protect nature at all costs.

The Narrabri Gas Project runs a great risk of polluting Australia's largest groundwater aquifer, the Great Artesian Basin. Any risk to our aquifers is unacceptable, and given the unpredictable outcome of the technologies used to extract gas, a proper risk-benefit analysis cannot be accurately performed. The Murray-Darling Basin is similarly vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water that the wells will produce.

The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for this coal seam gas project.
They are concerned about the hundreds of cultural sites, and song lines and stories connecting their people to the forest. Gamilaraay people are deeply opposed to this project, and do not want their country sacrificed for this project. They are in the frontline of the battle against Santos and this coal seam gas.

Local farmers do not want the project to go ahead. Community surveys show approximately 95% opposition to this coal seam gas project. Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike any previously seen in the region.

Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely, as the Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic water. This technology cannot be safely employed, and should not be used in Australia. Several disastrous coal seam gas projects in the USA, such as Pavillion, Wyoming, provide all the information we need to ascertain that we do not want to risk similar outcomes in Australia.

Santos cannot be trusted. It 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 more than 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic coal seam gas water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads.

The Pilliga is a nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots'. It is vital to over 200 bird species, and also 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 gas field proposed by Santos would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelines, damaging vital habitat and threatening endangered species with extinction.

Coal seam gas fields are dangerous to people, and especially to children. Various hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds are released into the air from coal seam gas operations. Health hazards include eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination and have been documented in populations near to gas fields in Queensland, Sydney, and America.

Coal seam gas fuels climate change, as methane is the major component of natural gas. Methane is a greenhouse gas 72 times more powerful than CO2. Coal seam gas fields demonstrably contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane during the production, transport, processing and use of coal seam gas.

The operation of the Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, will be compromised by light and dust pollution if the Government approves the Narrabri Gas Project.


8. The viability of our nation's most important optical astronomical observatory, The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles, adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution, and proposed 50m high gas flares.

Santos has no solution for disposing of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced by coal seam gas mining. This industry would leave a toxic legacy of salt waste in NSW.

The Pilliga is prone to severe bush fires, however this Santos gas filed would increase fire risk throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions, as methane flares up to 50m high would be burning day and night, even on total fire ban days.

It is unconscionable that the Government would choose to approve this project in spite of the documented risks.

This plan is very short sighted and a desecration of an important environment

Dear Santos,
Please think Big. Please do not touch the Pilliga. Think of the future of our land, our wildlife, our people and our country. Use the great amount of $$ invested in searching for fossil fuels and put it in the direction renewable energy. The same money, same energy could be used to make Australia a leader in renewables bringing prosperity to individuals and corporations instead of putting money into fossil fuels, an industry that has no future and is damaging the environment and the future of all Australians. Think Big, be strong and make the transition to renewables and Leave the Pilliga alone.

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.

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 barium. 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 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.


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 coordination. 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 wish to lodge my objection to the application having regard to the following factors:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Artesian 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
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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.
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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.Â
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3. Farmers and other local community reject the projectÂ
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.
Â
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 safelyÂ
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.
Â
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.Â
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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.Â
Â
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.
Â
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'⁶Â and the 50m high gas flares proposed by Santos threaten the viability of the facility.Â
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9. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the projectÂ
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.
Â
10. Risk of fires would increase throughout the PilligaÂ's tinder-box conditionsÂ
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. Â

Sincerely
Sylvia Arzey

This unique piece of country must not be raped.
The Artesian Basin is too important to be endangered.
The Pilliga Scrub is of more value as it is rather than another area of desicrated land, for some shareholders profit margin.

Thankyou for the opportunity of making a submission on the Pilliga gas project proposed by Santos.

I am writing to oppose the project in its entirety for the following reasons:

1. Gas extraction has proved to be incompatible with most if not all existing land uses that generate real economic benefits fort Australians, as well as those that generate real social benefits. Coal seam, or unconventional, gas is the worst offender in this regard, as it damages much more of the surface of the land by requiring many more wells spread about at very small intervals of a few hundred metres from each other. This fragments natural bushland, posing extra threats to already endangered animals, and completely destroys the quality and viability of farmers and graziers' paddocks. For this reason the Santos proposal should not be allowed to proceed.

2. Gas extraction of the type proposed by Santos also poses grave risks of pollution, as demonstrated by Santos on many previous occasions when this company has failed to comply with reasonable safety requirements and laws. The chemicals used for fracking are usually kept a close secret from the public and even regulatory agencies, but it is known for certain that many of these chemicals are deadly toxins. Millions of litres of these chemicals, diluted with the pure natural water of the Great Artesian basin, are used once in the fracking process and then returned to the surface where they must be stored in hastily constructed dams. It has proved impossible to inspect all these dams adequately, so it has been common practice for companies like Santos to not bother themselves too much about the quality of their construction. All it takes is one good shower of rain to make such dams overflow, sending their deadly cargo of toxic waste into the nearest waterway. In the case of this project that will be the Namoi River, and from there the Darling and Murray rivers. In flood conditions, made ever more likely by the extraction and burning of fossil fuels like gas, the release of the entire load of toxic chemicals is guaranteed, potentially turning Australia's biggest riverine system into a poisoned sewer, unable to support life, and a threat to all agricultural and drinking uses downstream. As it is a proven fact that Santos is incapable or unwilling to take proper precautions against this disaster, rendering it inevitable, it is necessary for the government to protect the lives of downstream communities and agriculture/ grazing enterprises by declining permission for this gas project to proceed.

3. The damage to groundwater posed by unconventional gas extraction is similar to the risk posed on the surface, but potentially of far greater extent as all the water stored over millions of years in the Great Artesian Basin is connected. Fracturing the geological formations in which the gas is trapped unavoidably creates fissures through which the toxic chemicals pollute the pure artesian water on which is based so much of inland Australia's rural economy. On top of that, fractures in the rock can also drain aquifers near the surface- where farmers' bores tap into the available water- and send all that groundwater a long way further below the surface, out of reach of farmers. Offers by gas companies to drill deeper boreholes for farmers are of no use, because the deeper water in areas devastated by unconventional gas extraction is normally contaminated by fracking chemicals and therefore useless for anything except killing animals and crops. And people. This unacceptable risk, approaching a guarantee of destruction of the ability of whole areas to support life on which any economic activity can be based, requires that this project be rejected.

4. The risk to human health caused by unconventional gas extraction cannot be disregarded. I know of people who live near a gas well such as the ones Santos proposes to inflict on the Pilliga. This family suffers permanent nosebleeds, which has transformed the inside of their home so that it looks like the killing floor of an abbatoir. No matter how much cleaning is done there is always an abundance of blood on the tiles and carpets, and no small amount around light switches and door jambs. The permanent headaches are likewise crippling. A headache and a nosebleed do not seem such terrible things to bear, but imagine what it must be like to have these afflictions never go away until you leave your home. Not just to go outside, this family must travel away from their home before the bleeding and throbbing stops. Their lives are a misery. Their property, a first home for which they have saved and sacrificed, is worthless. The only thing they can do with it is live in it, and it is a living tomb. All this is thanks to a coal seam gas well operated by cowboys like Santos, who have the government's tacit permission to ignore any and all safety precautions, just as Santos will have if they are allowed to pollute the Pilliga. If a member of this family is killed by the gas well, the owners may suffer a $2000 fine. Nothing more. Human life must come before the dubious profits of corporate criminals. That's another reason for denying Santos a licence to kill.

5. Santos' proposal to extract gas in the Pilliga has a silver lining. They have managed to unite over 96% of the community in opposition to their plans. People who have not spoken to each other for decades, divided by class, race, political or sexual orientation, whatever, are all staunchly opposed to the insane proposal that their lives and livelihoods should be risked, and the value of all they have worked to build be trashed, just so that Santos can make a killing out of selling Australian gas overseas, and paying little to no tax on it here in Australia. It's clear that no matter how much money Santos manage to make out of their activities, it will be dwarfed by the value of already existing and more sustainable economic activities that will be destroyed by the effects of the gas extraction on the land and water, people and animals of the Pilliga and perhaps even further afield. It is beyond question that the overall economic consequences of allowing coal seam gas extraction will be negative. There is therefore no economic argument that can possibly support permitting the Santos application to proceed.

6. There are a lot of Great things about Australia. The Great Barrier Reef is being rapidly destroyed by the coal lobby, threatening the continuance of 70,000 long term jobs in order to preserve a tiny fraction of coal jobs for a handful of years longer. The peril of the Great Artesian Basin has been outlined above, with a similar proportion of long term jobs threatened for the sake of short term jobs that are as likely to be terminated by terminal disease as by a responsible government waking up and shutting down the gas industry, or at least imposing a similar rate of tax on it to what the rest of the world charges. Another great Australian thing is the access to a dark sky enjoyed by optical telescopes in the Pilliga area. The telescopes at Siding Spring enjoy the best view of the southern cosmic hemisphere, unimpeded by light pollution. This is very rare, and enables them to make a valuable contribution to the world's knowledge of space. This advantage enjoyed by Australian astronomy will be killed off by allowing Santos to fill the district with gas flares up to 50m high that will be burning 24 hours a day. They do not need to be adjacent to Siding Spring to have this effect. Part of the economic value that will be destroyed by Santos' proposal is that bought with millions of taxpayers' dollars by CSIRO. And you can be sure that Santos will not replace those millions of dollars lost to the Australian public.

7. Another risk, or guarantee of damage, associated with 50m high gas flares operating 24 hours a day is that of bushfire. The Pilliga is a dry woodland, and in summer it gets tinder dry. The farms, communities and nature reserves around the Pilliga do not deserve to become burnt offerings to the petty god of the coal seam gas rush. But there is little chance that a catastrophic fire will not be started by these flares if they are allowed to be set alight. A bigger risk, though one with a less immediate effect, will occur if the flares are not set alight. That is the risk of catastrophic climate change catching up with us much faster through the release of hundreds of tonnes of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, around 80 times more, and it is the majority ingredient in the gas that Santos wants to extract. The only safe thing to do with this gas is leave it in the ground.

To conclude, there is no economic case to be made for drilling for unconventional gas, other than that it will make a gang of cowboys rich as long as they avoid paying the tax on it and cleaning up the mess they will inevitably make if they are allowed to get it out of the ground. This gas is not needed for electricity as there are now a range of cleaner, safer, cheaper alternative sources of energy that also have the potential to yield more jobs and taxes. And those jobs will not threaten the lives and health of the people who fill them nearly as much as jobs in CSG extraction are doing now, nor will they threaten the lives and property of the neighbours far and wide. There is no social licence or political support either for unconventional gas mining in Australia, except among politicians who are careless of their chances of re-election in the near future, or have been deluded into expecting a retirement generously funded by the fossil fuel lobby. They are an exceptionally small demographic.

What Santos proposes to do offers no net benefits to Australia, but a multitude of threats which range from serious to catastrophic. There is no justification for allowing them licence to do any of it. They would be much better off, and so would the nation, if they were given the opportunity to invest their capital in some more useful and less destructive enterprise. Please give them that opportunity.

Yours sincerely,
John Bartholomew

I oppose the Narrabri Gas Project which involves the progressive development of a coal seam gas field comprising up to 850 gas wells. As an environmental scientist i fully understand the impacts on the community and the environment.
Impacts such as contamination of aquifers, air pollution, disposal of large volumes of toxic producer water, release of toxic fracking fluids, fragmentation and destruction of habitat, and lowering of aquifers. The removal of water from the coal seam.will cause subsidence of the overlying strata resulting in land subsidence, changing surface hydrology, altering water courses and cracking roads and buildings.

Even though mining companies claim they do not need to frack coal seams they always do to extract the gas faster however they cannot control where the fractures go which can easily reach the surface and release large amounts of methane to the atmosphere as shown by Dr Isaac Santos from Southern Cross University making CSG a far worse greenhouse gas producer than coal.

Then there is the community impacts, headaches, bleeding noses, sick children and people being forced off their land with no hope of ever selling it.

Add to that the insanity of adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere increasing the effects of climate change in an already heating world. At Bentley the people stepped up and made a stand when the government failed them, do we have to do it again, is the government still blinded by money or are they in bed with the mining industry.

Santos has already been appallingly casual regarding their fracturing, environmental damage and contamination during their exploration drilling in the Pilliga. Now they want to do more!
How do they get away with the damage they have caused so far and how can this mining process even be trusted on any site on this planet: it's methods are far from reliable and come with absolutely hollow guarantees of environmental care. They cannot be trusted to drill through aquifers or anywhere in this major artesian intake bed. Why is our government not protecting a site that is a part of the geological mechanism of the Great Artesian Basin.
Get out of the people's Pilliga Santos. This site belongs to its traditional guardians and to the people of Narrabri and other nearby towns who regard it as a part of their familiar landscape. It also belongs to the people who rely on Artesian water for survival and a living.
The Pilliga also has a unique environmental and multicultural history. It should be a treasured historic/environmental/ geological site and therefore left alone.

There is no way that the Pillaga can be put at risk by this proposal for mining coal seam gas.
We have seen too much go wrong with CSG mining in other areas to place this precious area at risk like this.
Please listen to the Traditional Owners of this land and take their wishes seriously.
Given the serious problems that have occurred both within Australia and also internationally with CSG mining, please apply the precautionary principle and reject this proposal.

All politicians, we have raped this country too much already. What do you wish to leave your grandchildren and their children? For everyone's sake, wake up.

Dear Sir,
Coal Seam Gas exploration is like the Court Government felling WA's ancient hardwoods for woodchips to Japan; it's like filling Australia's rivers with carp and wetlands with cane toads; it's like our contribution to the amount of plastics in the ocean and the death of the reef. It's an insanity and it's a sin.

Thanking you,

Don Meloche

We have no need of a new gas field. Renewable energy and storage have the capacity to meet our domestic needs. If gas is still needed as an interim measure for industrial purposes then do as other countries do and prevent export until Australian needs are met.
Farmers and indigenous communities at strongly opposed to this massive development in a fragile environment which should not be further endangered.
Santos has already established a poor environmental tack record and government penalties for damage are alarmingly inadequate.

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/

- See more at: https://www.wilderness.org.au/final-push-pilliga#sthash.N2ryxSo9.dpuf

Santos has just submitted its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
I oppose the approval of the Santos project which aims to build 850 coal seam gas wells in the Pillaga, in north west NSW.
Australia has joined other countries in the world to keep global warming below 2 degrees. Projects like this cannot go ahead. Australia and NSW need to stop approving all further CSG, coal and gas projects and invest in sustainable renewable energy research and industries, if we are to meet this target. We cannot take any risk in allowing CSG extraction, no risk in altering the air, land and water environment and carry-on effects on plants animals, people and agriculture through CSG.

I oppose the Santos Pilliga CSG, in addition to the reason above, because there is no guarantee that the current health of the Great Artesian Basin will be preserved if CSG extraction is allowed. The water in this Great Artesian Basin feeds the streams that flow through the Pilliga to provide clean water into the Murray Darling Basin. The Murray Darling Basin Plan sets water allocations for the whole river system from NSW through Victoria and Adelaide. Any impact on the water quality of the Great Artesian Basin affects this huge area, it's communities and it's industries. Agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin is very important to Australia.

I oppose the Santos Pilliga CSG, in addition to the reasons above, because CSG industry in the Pillaga threatens the Pilliga forest. The Pillaga 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, such as the Pilliga Mouse, which rely on the Pilliga for survival.
I do not believe that Santos can assure us that there will be no environmental risks resultng from CSG extraction in the Pillaga.
I do not believe that Santos can assure us that they could and would repair any environmental degradation resultng from CSG extraction in the Pillaga.
I do not believe that the CSG extraction proposed by Santos in the Pillaga is safe for Australia.

Any one of the following objections should be enough to oppose this project. People who have voted for this government have shown their opposition. Please consider it!
1. The Narrabri gas field poses a real risk to two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin.
2. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed.
3. Farmers and other local community reject the project.
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.
5. The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife
6. Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change
7. Human health is compromised by coal seam gas

Please don't poison our water source, somehow I think we're gonna need it!! If not for our lifetime stop this for our children!

This project is far to risky, the main water aquifer will be badly affected, the local farmers are against it, as are the local custodians. This needs to stop, surely we can find better ways than having to destroy this beautiful region.

I object to any form of extraction of coal or CSG in the Pilliga. There is immense ecological value in any woodlands west of the Great Dividing Range, as intact woodlands have become so rare. I value this as koala habitat which should not be disturbed by the surface infrastructure required by CSG extraction.

I also object to any use or fouling of the groundwater resources of the Great Artesian Basin, the use of either salt or any chemicals in the extraction process, and the creation of waster water.