Narrabri Gas

People before profit.

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 a land where arable soil and adequate fresh water supplies ar so rare, where Heritage-listed natural wonders such as the Great Barrier Reef are so vulnerable, one would think any sane government that had its own population's interests at heart, should be looking at developing our naturally self-sustaining resources rather than allowing the raping the land in the financial interests of big business and thereby lining the pockets of Australian politicians. Yes! I am calling out the politicians and so-called Public Servants who facilitate such traitorous 'deals'.
It is obvious to all of us who are watching that this is NOT in the interests of the Australian People, so whose interests are being served? It can only be those who are facilitating it against the protest of the Australian People. YOU will be called to account!

CSG extraction is a ruinous process that imposes cultural, geological, ecological, hydrological and agricultural peril.

Apart from the potential impacts on cultural and agricultural aspects of the surface, poisoning and depleting the already challenged Great Artesian Basin is only going to lead to the situation in other countries that do not have sufficient clean potable water. Contributing to such an outcome is extraordinarily short-sighted and irrational.

The impact on the observatory at Sidings Spring will likely be significant. Located in a rare `dark sky park', that facility should be protected from extraneous light and dust.

Similarly rare are adequately sized wildlife sanctuaries. Fragmented pockets of forest are known to be much less effective for the preservation of endangered species, with road kill a significant factor. Please let Australia keep the large areas that we still have - including the Pilliga.

Dear Department:

I am a resident of NSW and I submit the following for your review and assessment of the Development Plan and EIS for the Narrabri Gas Project (NGP).

Importance of gas in NSW.
* A reliable and affordable gas supply is critical to our way of life, as evidenced by the gas supply crisis we are now experiencing on the East Coast of Australia.
* In NSW more than 1 million homes 33,000 businesses and the jobs of more than 300,000 workers rely on an affordable and secure supply of natural gas. Yet NSW imports 95% of its gas supply from interstate.
* Industry groups and the Federal Government have been calling for new gas projects to support jobs, manufacturing and large scale production - The Narrabri Gas Project can deliver just that.
* The NGP could supply up to 50% NSW gas demand and deliver significant benefits to the local community and the state, including up to $120 million for a local Community Fund, and up to $1.2 billion in royalties for the State.
* The Project will also create up to 1300 jobs during construction and 200 ongoing positions.
* Natural gas has a vital role to play in delivering energy security, whilst having the additional benefit of being 50% cleaner than coal resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions.
* The development of new natural gas resources is crucial in increasing the gas supply to the East Coast and assisting Australia's move towards a clean energy future.

Narrabri is an ideal place for a gas project and Santos has the depth of experience to develop it.
* Santos is an Australian company with a 60 year history of operating safely and sustainably, as evidenced by its exploration and production activities in the Cooper Basin, where local beef stations have achieved and retain organic certification for their beef, which demonstrates the agricultural and the gas industry can mutually coexist.
* The majority of the project area is in a section of the Pilliga which, after a thorough ecological review has been set aside by the NSW Government for logging and extractive industries.
* The Project area does not include National Parks or Nature Reserves.
* The Project area does not contain strategic agriculture land as mapped by the NSW Government. Santos has stated it will only drill on private land with landholder agreement.
* The local geology ensures that there is no requirement to use hydraulic fracturing technology (fracking) in the NGP, and Santos has stated it does not require the use of fracking to meet its delivery target projections for gas supply.
* There is quite a strong local base for the NGP, and there are many employment and social benefits which could accrue to the local Community.

The EIS has concluded the Narrabri Gas Project can be developed safely with minimal and manageable risk to the environment.
* The EIS is a very comprehensive document that includes extensive studies and modelling on the environment in the Project area, including studies on water, flora, fauna, soil, noise, air quality and cultural heritage.
* The Proponent has drawn upon more than 13,000 hours of on ground environmental surveys, carried out by environmental scientists who are experts in their fields, and the information in the EIS will be the basis to prepare detailed management and mitigation plans for the Project.
* The EIS demonstrates an environmentally sensitive plan which will allow the NGP to proceed delivering much needed natural gas for the NSW market safely.
* The EIS concluded:
o Water available to farmers and the community will be unaffected
o Drilling will be carried out safely using the NSW Well Integrity Code of Practice which has been reviewed by the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer
o Significant impacts on threatened and endangered flora and fauna will be avoided
o Aboriginal cultural heritage sites will be protected
o The Project will coexist with current land uses including agriculture and forestry.


As such, I support the development of the NGP, providing it complies with the respective laws and planning and environmental regulations which apply within the State of NSW and Australia.

The ongoing liberty that has been provided to oil companies is astonishing. the Piliga Forest is a majestic natural wonderment that can only be destroyed by us which is what allowing this project will do. Coal Seem Gas is what is now an ancient process and it will only be left behind in the history books and if we allow this project to move forward then so will we as a nation. We have close ties to the United States but what we forget is that we ARE NOT the United States. We do not need to actively seek out oil and take over land in pursuit of it. To destroy natural land with unknown ramifications of the effects that coal seem gas mining would have on the area is absurd especially in relation to a process that is on its way out of mankind's development process as we venture in uncharterd waters of progression. We know the detrimental effects of using this type of power, why do we insist on the self destruction that it promotes.

I adamantly object to the Narrabi Gas Project.
The thought of 850 gas wells and up to 425 well pads being drilled into the environmentally and culturally sensitive area of the Pilliga concerns me greatly.
Protection of the Pilliga is vital in ensuring dependable groundwater for our farmers as well as our environment. The Pilliga is also home to 25 nationally-listed and 48 state-listed threatened species which would be placed at further risk if the Narrabi Gas Project were to be approved.
I trust that the government will reject the Narrabi Gas Project proposal and thereby support local communities and ensure the continued protection of our environment.

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.

The Pilliga is precious and scared land and should be protected. Coal Seam gas is not the way of the future it does too much damage and is way to risky. Stop this now.

1. It is already causing trauma to many local people, due to the potential impact on their lives and destruction of their livelihoods. It will also cost the NSW economy millions, due to the damage to agricultural production. Time and time again, Santos and other mining companies have shown their contempt for local people.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
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.
9. 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 do not want the aquifer to be touched as it will affect the water table and surrounding farm lands. Once it is affected it can never again be as it was.

I oppose the planned development of the gas fields at Pilliga forest

To whom it may concern,
The water pollution cased by the Narrabri as Project will be permanently detrimental to the health of native flora, fauna and people.
We already know the dangers of contaminating water tables, therefore it seems unconscionable to me that you are trying to move this project forward.

I urge you to think about the people whose land you are planning to desecrate. This cannot go forward. Proceed and you will be wilfully destroying precious lands for the sake of short term financial gain.

Yours sincerely,
Rick Sabbatini
Senior Vice Chairman at Festeroo Industries.

I am writing to register my opposition to the Narrabri Gas Project.

This project has a high level of opposition in the local communities closest to it (an average of 96% of locals are opposed to it) and from the traditional owners of the land, the Gamilaraay. In a properly functioning democracy, when levels of opposition are this high, the government is obliged to support the people who live and work there over the interests of corporations looking to make a profit.

Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction and Santos, both have a questionable record on environmental safety. Reports of uranium contamination of an aquifer and risks to the Great Artesian Basin - one of Australia's most important groundwater sources - both illustrate that the risks of irreversible damage being done by this development are unacceptably high.

Recently it has come to light that Eastern Australia's so called gas shortage has more to do with the sale of gas to export markets than it has to do with inadequate supply. This undermines claims of economic or energy supply benefits that this project may bring.

As well as risks of groundwater damage and contamination this project would fragment an important biodiversity hotspot and increase the risk of bushfires - potentially harming people and property as well as wildlife. All of this is set against the backdrop of climate change which is acting as a threat multiplier for all of these risks and more.

In conclusion, Santos' poor environmental track record, the high environmental risk level and the irreversible nature of any damage coupled with the extraordinarily high levels of community opposition should outweigh the questionable economic benefits of this project and on these grounds I strongly recommend that the project not be granted permission to proceed.

I regard the proposed technology and extraction methods to be an irreversible detriment to the environment both above the ground and to the aquifers below the ground.

To Whom it may concern,

Coal Seam Gas is wrong, simply and truly wrong. The damage to the deep matrix of the earth is inexcusable.

Please find other solutions to our energy needs and protect precious water and land for our current earth community and our future here...

This is a disastrous and treasonous idea, to destroy forest, land water and air for profit. You should all be ashamed of yourselves, every single person who goes along with this project.

I bring into question the sanity of anyone who can look at a forest and consider it a sound idea to destroy it, the wildlife in it and the greater environment (through water supply damage and methane leaks) for money.

Then I question the ethics of a state government determined to push ahead with the idea of an insane person (or entity santos) flying in the face of mountains of evidence demonstrating the disastrous environmental repercussions of unconventional gas mining. Perhaps it has more to do with the generous political donations given by santos than it does concern for the state and it's people.

I suspect this objection will be completely ignored along with the many similar ones which no doubt have been submitted. Because this state is obviously hopelessly corrupt and has zero concern for the welfare of it's citizens or the land, water and air which it is charged with caring for. I hope I am wrong and your organisation truly "assesses important projects to ensure the need for new jobs is balanced with the needs of the community and environment" as you say you do.

We, as Australians must remember that we are custodians of the land. It is a precious and delicate resource. I come from a family which has a long history of farming both livestock and crops. We understand the profound devastation wrought on our landscape in North-Western N.SW.( and elsewhere) though the ignorance and the arrogance of past European farming practices. The waterways and aquifers are a precious resource and they should not be trifled with.

It is inconceivable to anyone with eyes who has close connection to our land, that this complete disregard for the natural and agricultural environments continue in his age. Apparently we have not learnt the difficult lessons of the past. Those officials who are tasked, under solemn oath, to serve their communities and protect our future are squandering this resource.

This arrogance and deliberate ignorance must stop.

The majority of Australians want to preserve, not just our land, but our world for the future. This is not a crazy ideological campaign, but a fight for our children. Deliberate blindness, caused by the short term search for the dollar colours this debate with continued arrogance and ignorance. The arguments for economic rationalism no longer fool us. We see the lies. There is no rationalism in that approach.

Another significant argument must be that this is not our land to squander. Its traditional owners overwhelming reject this violation. The erroneous falsehood of Terra nulius has been assigned to the past mistakes people who say they represent us have made. They do not represent us now in this matter.

This arrogance and deliberate ignorance of violating the Pilliga for the economic gain of Santos must stop. It is not in my name.

Keerrong NSW 2480

17 May 2017

ATTN: Executive Director, Resource Assessments
NSW Department of Planning and Environment

RE: Objection to the Narrabri Gas Project

I am writing to express my strong objection to the Narrabri Gas Project after reading the Environmental Impact Statement lodged by Santos NSW (Eastern) Pty Ltd.

I am concerned about the removal of 37.5GL of groundwater from the proposed gasfield over the lifespan of the project, with most of it to occur in the early years of development. Santos has admitted that the removal of groundwater will eventuate in a reduction of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). As a significant national store of drinking quality water, the GAB is a crucial resource for life and agriculture in Australia.

I am also concerned about Santos' treated water management plan. Santos proposes to dump up to 115 tonnes of salt per day into landfill, which poses an ecological danger of toxicity to ground and surface water. The treated water management plan indicates that untreated water will be stored in `double lined dams' and transported through pipes, which are both vulnerable to corruption over time resulting in untreated water contaminating the surrounding ecosystem, which is proven by Santos' history of at least 20 gas wastewater spills in the Pilliga.

Santos proposes to `beneficially reuse' treated water for crop irrigation, stock watering, dust suppression and construction and `managed release of treated water into the Bohena Creek'. As peer-reviewed studies suggest, even treated CSG water has potentially harmful health effects when people are exposed to it through practices such as irrigation, dust suppression and construction. Harmful chemicals can include fluoride, boron, mercury, lead, arsenic, uranium and benzene. Benzene is a known carcinogen linked to leukaemia, while `lead has been associated with nephrotoxicity, central nervous system effects, cardiovascular disease, impaired fertility and adverse pregnancy outcomes', is a `probable human carcinogen' and is associated with reduced brain function. The Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and Media Findings Demonstrating the Risks and Harms of Fracking (Unconventional Gas and Oil Extraction) (4th ed, 2016), published by the Concerned Health Professionals of New York, shows mounting evidence for health damage by unconventional gas operations.

Santos claims to have a deep respect for the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Peoples of the region and for national water policy informing the Water Act 2007 (Cth) and the Water Management Act 2000 (NSW). Yet there is no mention in Santos' environmental impact assessment of the National Water Initiative's requirement that water plans incorporate Indigenous social, spiritual and customary objectives, in addition to accounting for native title interests. While Santos is not statutorily required to consider Indigenous social, spiritual and customary objectives, it is clear from the level of discord and resistance to the Narrabri Gas Project from the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Peoples that they are deeply concerned the project will interfere with social, spiritual and customary objectives regarding the use and management of water in the Piliga State Forest. Santos' claim that they will protect sites of significance is NOT ENOUGH. Groundwater plays a significant role in the law, culture and spirituality of many Indigenous Nations, and until more information is available directly from a unified Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Nation, groundwater should be left in the ground.

If the environmental and health dangers are not enough to persuade you of the danger of this project, I urge you to consider the recent research by the Melbourne Energy Institute showing that Australia is most likely drastically underestimating the amount of fugitive methane emissions released from coal seam gas mining. Combine this with mounting evidence that humanity has underestimated the likely progression of climate change, and it becomes clear that the only option that makes any sense is to cease approving any new CSG projects and transition to renewable energy sources. Renewable energy technology is advanced enough to cater for our energy needs and will provide a commensurate employment rate, if not create more jobs with a more stable future, while also ensuring the future stability of the New South Wales and greater Australian economies.

I urge you to reject the Narrabri Gas Project application submitted by Santos to ensure our own safety and that of future generations. It is clear Santos' environmental impact assessment is lacking detail about exactly how threats to the environment and public health will be mitigated. Santos has a long and tragic history of at least 20 gas wastewater spills in the Pilliga, and that's while they've only had 56 exploration wells operational. Imagine the devastation that will be caused by the ongoing mismanagement of what is potentially a further 800 gas wells.

The community is united in its declaration that it does not want energy from coal seam gas production. The community wants investment in renewable energy sources to mitigate the immediate threat posed by climate change. Leave the gas in the ground!

Yours sincerely

Kel Raison

I think that Santos have very high ideals in relation to the environment in the Pilliga.
I am happy to have them look after their parts of the Pilliga Scrub.
What I am not happy about is the amount of feral animals allowed to roam free in the scrub. The protesters would be much better off spending their time on the eradication of cats, foxs, pigs and goats. These animals cause a lot of damage to all the native species in the scrub.