Narrabri Gas

At a recent meeting of Friends of the Koalas it was resolved to lodge an objection to the Narrabri Gas Project on the grounds of its substantial impact on the koala and the other threatened species in the Pilliga forest.
Our organisation's main aim is the preservation of koalas, specifically on Phillip Island, but we do make comment on proposals which are detrimental to the survival of the species as a whole.
The Pilliga is currently the largest intact woodland in eastern Australia and therefore is of vital importance to the population of koalas at that location. The koala is now a highly threatened species in serious decline through its range. The main reason for this is the continuing loss of habitat. Fragmentation of habitat is a recognised threatening process. The Santos proposal for 850 CSG wells and associated infrastructure WILL lead to the fragmentation of habitat - a highly undesirable outcome for koalas and other wildlife.
A great killer of koalas is stress. In intact habitats the species can survive. In fragmented habitat with an industrial complex stress will inevitably result in deaths.
Our group is based in Victoria where the state government has correctly banned proposals such as that by Santos.
The preservation of the genetically important koala population in the Pilliga is essential if the species is to survive Australia-wide.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment and we urge you to take our genuine national concerns into consideration.
Yours sincerely
Patricia Hunt, President Friends of the Koalas Inc.

I do not feel this project will provide a net benefit to the people on the Pilliga region or the people of NSW or even the people of Australia.
Public resource project decision making needs to move beyond "This project is viable for the stakeholders" and "This project has reduced impact to the environment" to something akin to "This project provides long term, measurable social benefits that flow through the local community up to the people of Australia through the life span of the project, including end of life decommissioning".
i look forward to watching the decision making process unfold.

Thank you
Simon

Surely it makes sense to NOT go ahead with this project The world has seen too many instances of money and power and big business being put before the environment. This is how we are already in the mess that we are. Or our children and grandchildren will be in an even greater mess and risk.

I am a very concerned parent and grandparent who gets so much pleasure from the natural environment. Please stop!

I own 33 acres at 28 Kentucky Lane Narrabri which is adjacent to the proposed project. I have 1000 gallons an hour of the most beautiful water. We know from previous drilling attempts that we live on the very edge of the acquifer. I have been to all the meetings and understand that the government will be monitoring the effects of the gas work on the water table, however, once the acquifer is breached ( either by contamination or leakage) it will be too late. The damage will have been done. Without the water supply that we currently have, we will not be able to live here.

How can we attack our great aquifers? Are they not thesource and storage point for our water supply? They are our reserves and aredeasparatelyneeded UNTOUCHED!
Csg is not fully tested and we do not need our vital water supplies polluted.

Please fin d a way to supply fuel without killing something!

I hereby submit my objection to the proposed Narrabri Gas Project, and outline my reasons below,

1. The proposal has no adequate plan for the disposal of the massive amount of salt, toxic salts and all other toxic substances that result from the mining of unconventional gas.

2. The threat to Australias' greatest underground water reservoir, The Great Artesian Basin, cannot be underestimated. Connectivity of aquifers has been proven.

3. The theft of precious water resources for a short term, unsustainable industry is unconscionable.

4.The economic and social impacts of the incursion of an unconventional gas project into a regional area is nothing short of catastrophic. I do not see that project proponents have made any use of the alarming reports coming from the Queensland UG fields to mitigate against the now known negative impacts. (more on this below)

5. There has been complete disregard given to the complexity and high value of Indigenous and cultural history of the project area.

6. The sustained value of agricultural area completely out weighs any perceived value of an UG project.

7. Santos have shown by example that they are incapable of rehabilitating 'spill sites'.

I speak from my experience as a resident of Chinchilla, Queensland. I have personally observed a seemingly never-ending litany of negative impacts.

Our region shares many similarities with the Narrabri region - a rich agricultural area, State Forests and vibrant small towns.

With the onset of the gas infrastructure construction, our town became a dormitory for thousands of FIFO and DIDO workers, with many commuting from Asia, Canada, U.S, Ireland,NZ and elsewhere in Australia.

Most were accommodated in 'worker camps' both in and out of town. Noticeable, was the strain on town water supplies, the immense amount of roadside litter, the increase of alcohol and drug related incidents, rise of assaults and sexually transmitted diseases with the follow-on affect straining the medical, hospital, police and court resources.
The regional road trauma rate blew out to a 25% increase in fatalities in one year. Injuries added to the public health costs - all of these costs are borne by the taxpayer.

Real estate developers, facilitated by Council, contributed to a short lived real estate 'boom' that saw many low income earners and pensioners,unable to afford massive rent rises, leave the district - never to return. When the boom period ended less than three years later, our town saw rental vacancy rates at an unprecedented level. As are the bankruptcies and mortgagees-in-possession of investment properties and local businesses.

Council rate rises of almost 100% in under three years, placed further financial strain on local home owners. Land valuations are now well below that of ten years ago. An example of this is my own property. 2007 valuation of $58,000 to 2013 value of $182,500. The present land valuation is now $35,000. Rates do not decrease to reflect the loss of value.
Despite the massive increase of rate revenue, our Council is now operating at the highest ever level of debt.

It should be noted that Federal GST funds that flow to the States have a component calculated on land valuations.

My greatest concern is the negative impacts to the residents who now find themselves living in a heavy industrial zone.
Farmers, landholders, families, business owners who are now living with the noise, air pollution, traffic and water issues that have arisen solely due to the incursion of the heavy industry into their vicinity.

The physical and mental health impacts are clear to see - despite government and company denials.
I witness this daily.
It is clear that 'regulators' have behaved in a manner that is indeed in breach of their duty of care responsibilities.

This, in itself, should call into question the culpability of governments, legislators, regulators and companies.

I have yet to see any company or government department seriously address the concerns of impacted residents, despite repeated requests.

These are just a few of my concerns regarding the unconventional gas industry.

I have no evidence that the industry has improved the quality of life for local residents. None.

I would urge the NSW Government to seriously consider ALL aspects of this proposal and to also consider their exposure to risk and culpability when entertaining the foray into such a disastrous and unsustainable industry.

Yours sincerely,

Karen Auty
Chinchilla

The Pilliga is too pre ious to pillage. Coal Seam Gas should be banned in NSW as it has been in Victoria before more damage is done.

I object to the Narrabri Gas Project and believe it should be rejected.

I am a 4th Generation farmer on my family farm at Narrabri. I grow grass fed beef and intrinsically value the vital importance of clean soil, air, water and food. I understand the importance of a diverse ecology in our grazing system - a diverse habitat of shelter, clean stock water, improved pasture and tree canopy is a healthy ecological system that is robust and productive.

Within the context of my professional background I wish to outline my objections to the Narrabri Gas Project:

"Produced Wastes":

Massive amounts of "produced" groundwater will need to be treated as the project authors acknowledge. However a major concern I have is that it contains toxic and radioactive compounds, salts and heavy metals.
The treated water still remains highly alkaline and is proposed to be used as irrigation water and also disposed of by piping into the very naturally acidic Bohena Creek at staggering amounts. This will have very negative effects on the natural endemic creek corridor vegetation.
The salts that are taken out of the water are intended to be disposed of in ground fill. These salts are also produced in staggering amounts, in the order of 115 tonnes per day. This waste problem of produced water and salts is problematic.
The holding ponds for the produced water have their own issues as they have a large surface area which creates a large footprint in construction, they have potential for overflow in intense, unusual rainfall events, as evidenced in recent years, and also have the possibility for leakage due to faults in the liner material.

Impact on our Great Artesian Basin(GAB):

The drawdown of the GAB will occur over the life of the project and we should not allow any new projects that have an effect on the GAB. Historically we have over allocated this essential resource and have had to implement a whole suite of measures and legislation in the grazing and irrigation industries to reduce the amount of consumption to a more sustainable level. It is imperative that we continue to acknowledge that farmers need this water supply to be reliable and clean. Without that protection of this vital resource there is no certainty that we can grow food. We can't rely on rainfall alone in Australia to produce food.


Project Lacks Detail:

Clearly it is not possible to object in detail to the impact of this project when the Narrabri Gas Project EIS does not specify where the gas wells and all the infrastructure is going. This approach is nonsensical and I object strongly on these grounds. We only know that the damage to biodiversity will be across 95 000 ha and around 1000 ha will be cleared in total for well pads, access roads, pipelines and holding dams.
This is the industrialisation of author Eric Rolls's "Million Wild Acres" - the largest unfragmented temperate woodland in NSW.
Noise 24 hours/day, traffic and humans moving between the infrastructure, lighting, gas flares, odours and holding ponds where birds and other fauna that can get through the fences will drink toxic water.....it's like an ugly, noisy, toxic part of industrial Sydney across a massive area of endemic bushland.
The fact that the EIS finding states that "Visual impacts will be small as most infrastructure will be screened by vegetation or blend into the landscape" is evidence that there is no understanding of the habitat requirements of our native fauna - especially endangered and threatened species who don't have any concerns about what things look like. They need uninterrupted habitat which means natural sounds, natural light, no vegetation fragmentation, no toxic water in ponds, and clean air.

Fugitive Emissions and Health - Global and Local :

I am deeply concerned that there will be fugitive emissions of methane, the main component of CSG, at any point along the extraction path as there has been in other CSG mining areas. It is a naked gas that can't be detected by the eye. Methane has a far greater irreversible effect - more than 20 times - on global warming than carbon dioxide.

There are many opportunities for fugitive emissions, particularly as a result of freeing up the movement of methane. When the water has depressurised the gas then it is able to move through rock fractures and into other unanticipated areas such as nearby stock bores, or equally concerning when the well infrastructure degrades over time.

We need to think far further ahead than a few decades if we are to mine this unconventional gas resource. Indeed significant seismic events were listed as a possible risk in Prof. Mary O'Kane's report into CSG mining.

There are other compounds that can be released in to the air by the venting, flaring and holding ponds. There are some studies done that suggest that health is effected by CSG particularly for those living nearby to the gas wells. The United States has acknowledged that there is hazardous pollution however Australia hasn't followed through in the light of the recent studies to conduct our own inquiry into the health impacts.
So there is insufficient peer reviewed Australian research on health impacts, and no comprehensive environmental research or monitoring.
Clearly this Gas Project EIS cannot be able to claim, as it has done, that there are no health impacts from the Project. Surely the "Precautionary Principle" must be applied before any further action is sanctioned.


Australia's Strategic Energy Policy Direction:

I believe there is no valid justification for the Narrabri Gas Project. Massive CSG mining development in Qld hasn't secured a domestic supply, in fact it has contributed to the unreliability and rising gas price due to over commitment to the export industry.
We should be demanding that the existing industry be reconfigured to favour domestic supply, rather than use this industry crisis as a reason to further develop another environmentally harmful non-renewable mining project.
This is a proposal for a very large CSG mine in the middle of rural NSW that has been deemed will be the most expensive gas on the eastern seaboard.

Australia needs to develop and transition further into renewable energy for our energy security and to meet our energy demands without adding to global emissions. We have the capabilities and experience to pioneer more efficient renewable technologies and grow the renewable industry with smart, global desired technology.
This would be a deeply justified, clever response to address climate change. The Narrabri Gas Project would be just another large harmful step along the non renewable energy infrastructure pathway.

I thank you for the opportunity as a local landholder and farmer to be able to state my objection to the Narrabri Gas Project.

On behalf of my children and all future generations, I vehemently object to this plan to allow Santos to destroy the Pillaga forest and contribute to global warming in the name of corporate profits. Opening this huge, inland forest to extract coal seam gas is absolute madness, and the NSW Government will be viewed with disbelief and shame by future generations for allowing this to happen when the evidence against it is so overwhelming and clear.

Fossil fuel industries cause and contribute to climate change. Fossil fuels MUST stay in the ground! Renewable energy is the answer for the future.

Coal seam gas destroys precious fresh water supplies. We must treat our water with care - not poison it with toxic chemicals. [I cannot even believe that I need to write these sentences!!]

It is my understanding that the local indigenous peoples (the Gamilaraay people) strongly oppose this gas project. Let us honour their wishes to protect their cultural sites.

Threatened plants and wildlife depend on the Pillaga remaining as an intact ecosystem. We are not the only living creatures on this earth. We are merely the ones who have the power to protect or to destroy.

Human health and farmers will be adversely affected by this project going ahead. We need FOOD and LOCAL JOBS - not pollution and fly in/fly out (or robotocised) labour who has no attachment to the local community.

I don't really know what else to say, except, that science and wisdom and common sense all say that this project should not go ahead. If you decide to approve it, it can only mean that unethical and untrue factors have taken control.

Please make the right decision and reject this application.

Attn:
Executive
Director,
Resource
Assessments
Department
of
Planning
and
Environment
GPO
Box
39
Sydney
NSW
2001
This
is
a
submission
to
the
Narrabri
Gas
EIS.
I
object
to
this
project
and
believe
it
should
be
rejected.

1. It is the wrong site for this development for many reasons that I have researched. I have taken the trouble to consult my peers in existing gasfields including on farm visits and meeting with LGA and community Leaders in these areas.

2. From what I found, at a social level our towns do not need the dysfunction and damage wrought on Dalby, Tara and Chinchilla by the energy industry.

3. The environmental damage manifested in streams, vegetation, fire-risk and damage to underground water are significant and ongoing in the Western downs LGA.
The Santos EIS admits "the duration and ...extent of depressurisation of groundwater head within the coal seams and adjacent strata WILL cause a SIGNIFICANT impact to the groundwater resources of the Gunnedah - Oxley Basin...."!

4. Santos continually fail to understand or choose to ignore the community reliance on spring-water and bores up to 400m depth in the area. [Even some our villages are named after the springs]

5. The Santos project
will
extract
over
35
billion
litres
of
toxic
groundwater,
much
of
it
in
the
first
five
years.
This
water
will
be
treated
and
in
the
early
years
will
generate
tens
of
thousands
of
tonnes
of
salt,
for
which Narrabri LGA [among others] admit
there
is
no
safe
disposal
plan.
6. Santos
will
clear
close
to
1,000
hectares
of
the
Pilliga
Forest, that the State Govt wasn't even prepared to allow sustainable cypress harvesting [thinning] in,
fragmenting
the
largest
temperate
woodland
in
New
South
Wales,
home
to
unique
wildlife, micro flora and fauna.
7. Santos
will
cause
significant
diversion
of
water
from
a principal
recharge
aquifer
of
the
Great
Artesian
Basin,
which
is
a
water
resource
relied
upon
by
rural
communities
across
western
NSW.
8. It
will
add
to
climate
change
through
large, unmanageable
fugitive
methane
emissions.
9. It is common knowledge in our community that the proposal
will
cause
trauma
to
the
regional
Aboriginal
community
because
the
area
of
impact
is
crucially
important
to
the
spiritual,
cultural
and
social
life
of
Gamilaraay
people.
10. The Projects'justification doesn't stand scrutiny and
is
not
justified:
Santos'
own
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 is widely known that Santos have been shown to be poor stewards of their "failed show-piece" Kahlua pilot gas wells west of Gunnedah.
*11.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.
12. Coal
seam
gas
is
harmful
to
health.
Neither
the
NSW
Government
nor
Santos
have
dealt
with
the
serious
health
effects
appearing
in
peer-­‐reviewed
research
in
the
U.S.
I
urge
the
Government
to
reject
this
project
and
make
the
Great
Artesian
Basin
recharge region
off-­‐limits
to
gas
mining.
Signed, Xavier Martin

I grew up in Coonamble NSW and still have family there.
I am writing to register my objection to the proposed Narrabri Gas Project.

The Pilliga forest is a unique and sensitive ecosystem that needs to be preserved. Clearing of this essential habitat will further threaten endangered wildlife such as the Eastern pygmy possums, glossy black cockatoos and the endemic Pilliga mouse.

The toxic effects of the exploration process alone have already killed wildlife, contaminated the land and water and destroyed habitat. Going ahead with any further mining in this area would be unconscionable.

As a kid I lived through thirteen years of drought. To say that water is limited in this region is an understatement. The processes involved in extracting coal seam gas, will divert scarce water resources needed by NSW farming communities. It also threatens the health of the waterways with heavy metal and salt contaminants. This is a risk that is not worth the returns. Water is life.
I urge the NSW government to invest in the future, instead of short term gains with such diabolical long term consequences.

Do not go ahead with the Narrabri Gas Project. For the future of trees, wildlife, our children, farmers, water, and the cultural legacy for the Gamilaraay people. Please do the right thing.

Thank you for accepting my submission.

Sincerely,
Lynette Gaff

I object to coal mining in the pilliga. Save our water table, the very foundation of life. Unsustainable choices make no sense, we've moved on. There are other options!!!

Thank you for the opportunity to lodge a submission on the Narrabri Gas Project.
I am strongly opposed to this project, or any development of CSG in the Pilliga region. The proposed project threatens human health, animal habitat, increased bushfire risk, the viability of the Siding Springs Observatory, and most importantly, Australia's major water supply, all the while significantly contributing to on-going climate change.

Community surveys have shown that on average, 96% of the people here do not want CSG mining in the Pilliga. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians of the area, also opposed to the project, have participated in many protest actions. They have been joined by hundreds of farmers, who recognise the threat this industry poses not only to their livelihoods, but to an invaluable Australian water resource--the Great Artesian Basin.
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. There have also been more than 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads--demonstrating over and over again that Santos cannot be trusted with something as precious as Australia's most important water resource!
Santos also has no solution for disposing of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced!! The Narrabri Gas  Prject will leave a toxic legacy in NSW for our children and grandchildren to clean up--if they can.

And for what? To produce more coal seam gas for export? To line the pockets of more overseas investors?  The project is totally unnecessary for Australia's energy needs, which can be more than adequately met by the reserves in the Bass Strait.

Finally, I oppose this project because of its impact on climate change. Coal seam gas extraction is touted as a `green' alternative to coal, which will help alleviate carbon emissions. But the truth is that during the production, transport, processing, and use of coal seam gas, the leakage of methane (a greenhouse gas 70 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) contributes to climate change just as much as coal.

For all of these reasons, I urges you to categorically reject Narrabri Gas Project proposed by Santos.
 
Sincerely,
Sylvie Veneque
4 Oakeshott Street
Lismore Heights
NSW 2480

To whom it may concern,

As upon inspection, I wish to advise, Santos is very capable to be well within EIS expectations, now and for many years to come.

Further to the approval of the project, I would like to see government assistance (similar to renewable energy subsidies) for privitisation of the Wilga Park Power station, to a locally formed group. Ideally, I would like to see cheap affordable electricity to our local industries and community.

This concept is similar to existing local industries utilising the energy from the upcoming Narrabri Solar Farm. A partnership between this and power generated by the Wilga Park Power Station, would mean continuous supply and reliability.

I am strongly opposed to the Narrabri Gas Project for the following reasons:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project poses serious risks to essential, irreplaceable water sources. The Great Artesian Basin is Australia's largest groundwater aquifer:
The Narrabri gasfield poses a very real and serious risk to two of our 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. The water removed for CSG extraction would reduce water pressure in these important recharge areas and risk stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin. ( Rick Wilkinson from APPEA clearly stated that "hydraulic fracturing depressurises the aquifier, lowering the water table...we can't do anything to address the flow of springs".)
Why would we risk our precious water resources? Why would we put our valuable agriculture & food production industry at risk? Especially when water is expected to be even more precious as changes to climate progress.
Depletion of water, together with contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells, would put at risk the creeks in the Pilliga which run into the Namoi River, which is part of the Murray Darling Basin.

2. Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of toxic spills and leaks. Santos should not be trusted to safely manage the project:
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 has shown it cannot be trusted and should not be allowed to further risk our water resources and environment.

3. Thousands of tonnes of salt waste:
An estimated 17,000 to 42,000 tonnes of salt waste would be produced each year. Santos has no solution for the disposal of the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of salt that will be produced from the operations. This project would leave NSW with a serious toxic problem damaging to both the environment and agriculture. Our agriculture and food production is totally dependant on plentiful, uncontaminated water resources and soils.

4. The Pilliga provides haven for threatened wildlife:
The Pilliga is on the list of 15 nationally important `biodiversity hotspots'. This forest is vital to the survival of many threatened species including the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. It provides habitat for over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area. The proposed Santos gasfield would clear forest and fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with industrial infrastructure including well pads, roads, as well as water and gas pipelines. All damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

5. CSG contributes to dangerous climate change:
Methane is the major component of natural gas, and Methane is a greenhouse gas 72 times more powerful than CO2. Coal seam gas fields contribute to climate change through the leakage of methane , both intended release and fugitive emissions, at all stages of production: during the production itself, transport, processing and the use of coal seam gas. This is an unnecessary addition to emissions, putting at risk Australia's commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement and compromising the world's target to limit warming to a maximum of 2 degrees C.

6. Human health compromised by CSG:
Volatile organic compounds, a range of hydrocarbons and fine particulates are all released into the air from coal seam gas operations, including flaring of gas wells. This industry cannot be regulated into safety. The effects of volatile organic compounds vary but can cause eye, nose and airway irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness and loss of coordination. Records of these impacts have been documented in human populations living near existing gasfields in Queensland, Sydney and in America.

7. Farmers and local community members reject project:
Extensive community surveys carried out in the region show an average of 96% residents are opposed to CSG. This includes 99 communities and stretches across a massive 3.2 million hectares of country surrounding the Pilliga forest, Hundreds of farmers have participated in protest actions unlike anything previously seen in the region.

8. Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians opposed:
The Gamilaraay people are deeply opposed to this project and committed to the battle against CSG. They have made it clear to Santos that they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field.
Hundreds of cultural sites, songlines and stories connect the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath.

9. Siding Springs Observatory at risk:
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles is not far from the Pilliga, so very much under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution. The flaring process with its 50m high gas flares, would threaten the viability and efficacy of the observatory facility. Siding Springs is internationally recognised and highly valued as a `dark sky park', rare in today's world and essential to astronomy.

10. Increased risk of fires:
The Pilliga is prone to severe bushfires. Flaring practices employed by Santos with methane flare stacks of up to 50m high would be running day and night, regardless of total fire bans, posing an extremely dangerous risk and likelihood of ignition of fires. This project would also increase the risk of fires through the process of extracting, transporting and storing a highly flammable gas right within this extremely fire-prone forest.

11. Gas too expensive, missed the boat as transition fuel from coal to renewables.
Solar, wind and battery storage are already more efficient and affordable for energy supply.
Santos and other gas companies have pushed up the price, now they are no longer competitive in the energy market. We do not need to put everything at risk in order to drill more gas fields in NSW to supply electricity for the grid. There are sufficient producing gas fields to supply the domestic market until a clean energy plan embracing 100% renewables can be put in place.


See more at: https://www.wilderness.org.au/final-push-pilliga#sthash.Dr6JVGVy.dpuf


Meg Nielsen
[email protected]

I have concerns about the continuing mining including gas and the long term effect it will have on our country and this includes the management of waste and the use and pollution of our underground water. Mining and gas jobs are a short term solution to employment look at what happened in America. We need to be investing in smart jobs not ones that are depleting and ruining our environment. To much gas is currently being exported so is not helping us as Australians to lower energy costs. STOP Digging up our country

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

It will cause significant diversion of water from the recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is the water resource relied upon by rural communities across Western NSW.

The risk of irreversible contamination to the aquifer, soil, atmosphere is too great.

NSW should focus on more sustainable renewable energy, not risk harm to our environment.

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

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

It will cause significant diversion of water from the recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is the water resource relied upon by rural communities across Western NSW.

The risk of irreversible contamination to the aquifer, soil, atmosphere is too great.

NSW should focus on more sustainable renewable energy, not risk harm to our environment.

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

I am tired of the constant attack on our environment by companies such as giant gas co Santos with no thought to the future of our land and water sources nor to the rights of Indigenous people over their Native Title rights. Please desist from this and any more destructive processes.

Lismore Environment Centre
Lismore Transit Centre
115 Molesworth Street
Lismore NSW 2480



Attn: Executive Director, Resource Assessments

Department of Planning and Environment

GPO Box 39 Sydney NSW 2001



This is a submission to the Narrabri Gas EIS.



Lismore Environment Centre has over 35 members. We object to this project, and believe the project should be stopped and that any gas exploration and gas production licenses should be cancelled. The EIS is based on assumptions and contains misleading data.



This Group supports the submissions of the Coonabarabran Residents Against Gas, The North West Alliance, the People for the Plains, the NSW Nurse & Midwives Association, The Wilderness Society, the EDO, The Australia Institute, Artesian Bore Water Users Assn. (ABWUA), Nature Conservation Council, Gloucester Groundswell, GABPG, SOS Liverpool Plains, Mullaley Gas Pipeline Accord, Lane Cove Coal and Gas Watch, Namoi Water, Groundwater Solutions, Market Forces, IEFFA, Moree Council and Kyogle Group
Against Gas.



We support the submissions of expert individuals:



Kevin Hayley, Brett Cole, Andrea Broughton, David Millage, Rod Campbell, Hugh Sadler, Stuart Khan, David Paull, Gavin Mudd, Isaac Santos, Bruce Robb, Tim Forcey, Marion Llyod Smith, Geralyn Mccarron, Methuen Morgan, Matt Carrol, Stuart Lockey, Peter Cusky, Helen Bender, Caroline Reid, Gerralyn Mcarron, David C. Paull, Michelle Cullen and our Sovereign Gamillaraay voices that speak out in objection - Vanessa Hickey, Donna Kenny, Dolly Talbot.



AND the 20,000+ individuals who have objected.



Economic Assessment:



The economic assessment of the Narrabri Gas Project is misleading and does not comply with NSW assessment guidelines. The benefit cost analysis by consultants GHD is contradicted by the proponents' financial statements and analysis commissioned by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

(As noted by the Australia Institute in their submission).



It is not justified: Santos' own coal seam gas export activities in Queensland have caused gas prices to rise and supply to become unpredictable.



Demand for gas is falling in NSW, reverse cycle air conditioning is cheaper... NSW could and 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.



Groundwater:



It will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic groundwater, much of it in the first five years. This water will be treated and in the early years will generate tens of thousands of tonnes of salt, for which there is no safe disposal plan.



It will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.



It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change as methane is an even more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.



It will cause more trauma to the regional Aboriginal community because the area of impact is crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and social life of Gamilaraay people.



It 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. Regional Tourism is a has far greater long term economic benefit than short term on-shore gas mining.



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.



Threat to biodiversity:



SANTOS plans to clear 988 ha of native vegetation (700 ha of State Forest) for their NSW gas field. Independent studies have shown that koalas are still present in the Pilliga Forest. This would have a devastating impact on their population. Also threatened are

http://pilligapush.com/koala-survey-within-pel-238/



The description of important habitat for a number of key fauna, such as the Regent Honeyeater, Pilliga Mouse, Koala, Black-striped Wallaby and Five-clawed Worm-skink does not appear to be accurate.



Survey effort for some key fauna species appears to be deficient and would have adversely affected the ability of the EIS to adequately account some species.



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