Narrabri Gas

This is an an important project (among many) which helps secure Australia's clean energy sources for now and into the future. The operator has a track record if environmental compliace, safety and rehabililitation.

As a local resident, conservationist & ex-farmer I am most concerned about the risk to water source in the Great Artesian Basin.
1. Drilling & fracking through the reservoirs
2. Chemical pollution of water
3. De-pressuring of the aquifers when wells fail
4. Loss of access to water due to draw down
5. Disposal of 'produced' water
6. Disposal of produced salts - currently there is no plan for this

San Toss

Santos plans to construct 850 wells, lines and associated infrastructure but produces no maps as to where they are to be located in the Pilliga East State Forest, Bibblewindi State Forest, and Jacks Creek State Forest. That is a huge amount of land clearing which Santos recognises will impact on threatened flora species, threatened fauna species, endangered ecological communities and critically endangered communities. No offsetting will ever compensate for the environmental damage that will be done.

Santos makes a big deal of providing NSW with its future gas needs but neglects to say that it is currently pumping gas through three states and exporting it from Gladstone. If Santos was really concerned, that gas would be pumped into the NSW market, thereby preventing the need to develop these gas wells at all.

In its submission Santos is asking to be trusted about what it will do, where the wells go and what will happen to the environment. That is not good enough and the submission should be tossed out, delivering a San toss.

I strongly object to this proposal for development of Coal Seam Gas Wells. It is unacceptable that this level of environmental destruction could be allowed to occur, on land which rightfully belongs to the First Peoples of Australia. Our country needs to be thinking toward a greener future, not destroying our precious ecosystems.

This is a submission to the Narrabri Gas EIS.

I object to this project.

I am a mother, midwife, nurse and rural landholder.

Coal Seam Gas is very harmful to health. Neither Santos nor the NSW Government have investigated or dealt with the serious health effects of coal seam gas now appearing in peer reviewed research in the United States. The health of communities should be a high priority for any government and projects that risk our health should never be considered. The Government must insist that Santos conduct a proper health impact assessment including modelling exposure pathways, reviewing literature and engagement with the Narrabri community of which 96% are opposed to this toxic industry. There is mounting evidence for health damage from unconventional gas operations including respiratory illness and water contamination.

The air quality assessment fails to include health damaging fine particulate pollution with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. With diesel generators at each well pad and at the water treatment plants and gas compression plants there will be significant PM 2.5 emissions. There is a failure to model the likely substantial escape of fugitive methane emissions.

It will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic ground water. 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 the significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by many across NSW.

Close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest will be cleared, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in NSW, which is home to unique wildlife. There has already been an 80% decline of koalas in the Pilliga Forests!! The gas field will clear habitat for the Pilliga Mouse which is not found anywhere else in the world.

The Pilliga is a cherished natural and cultural icon and must be protected from becoming an industrial gasfield. I want my children to be able to enjoy this place as much as I have.

The Pilliga is a spiritual, social and cultural icon for the Gomeroi and Gamilaraay people. Industrialisation and fragmentation cuts people off from their heritage and connection to country.

The Santos EIS is very short on detail, has no social licence and no justification when the risk far outweighs the benefit.The social impact assessment is 3 years old and utterly inadequate.

Coal Seam Gas is not needed as a source of energy. We have the technology needed to replace gas with clean renewable energy sources.

In the interests of current and future generations the Santos Narrabri Gas Project must be rejected as to allow it to proceed would be culpable.

Sincerely,
Heather Dunn

I'm concerned about the potential environmental impacts of this proposal. Due to the lack of detail, it is impossible to assess its environmental impact. Allowing Santos to self-regulate according to a "Field Development Protocol" is inviting trouble. Given the history of non-reporting or late reporting of other environmental infringements within the CSG industry in NSW, this proposed planning mechanism is unacceptable.

Given that Santos propose to clear nearly 1,000ha of the Pilliga, the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, the potential impact on endangered species and biodiversity more generally is inestimable and cannot be adequately offset. Habitat reduction for critically endangered species such as Koalas, the Regent Honeyeater and the Pilliga Mouse is inevitable and unacceptable.

Santos' project is expected to remove more than 35GL of groundwater over the life of the gasfield. It is my understanding that the target coal seam lies beneath the Pilliga Sandstone, which plays a crucial role in recharging the Great Artesian Basin. The impact of the proposal on the GAB is unknown, but potentially catastrophic and irreversible. In addition, Santos has yet to indicate in any detail how they intend to dispose of the more than 100 tonnes of salt the project would produce each day. Allowing them to make it up as they go along is inviting disaster.

The proposal also has the potential to accelerate climate change through escaped methane. There is currently no adequate mechanism in place for monitoring and controlling this problem in existing CSG extraction projects, let alone a new one of this scale.

In summary, I believe that the environmental risks posed by the proposed Narrabri Gas Project are of such a huge scale that the far outweigh any potential financial benefits that may flow to the local community, let alone Australians in general.

The Coonabarabran township has had a policy of keeping lighting reduced for many years due to the Siding Springs Observatory and now the Warrumbungles National Park has become Australia's first Dark Sky Park. These places are an important part of the NSW Tourism and Astronomy industries. CSG wells, with their flares, gas production and fugitive gas emissions seem an incompatible industry to locate near these two. Why compromise the asset we have: a dark clear sky. If energy is needed a solar energy farm would make less impact on the night sky.

The EIS states "a leak detection and repair program approved by the NSW Environment Protection Authority will be implemented to identify and minimize fugitive emissions"
1. How will this be implemented - weekly, monthly, yearly checks?
2. Who will have the power and finances to insist the leaks be repaired?
3. What amount of leak will be considered "acceptable"

I object to this project and believe it should be rejected.
Our property is in close proximity to this project and we believe our family is at high risk of adverse impacts on both our health, livestock (and therefore livelihood) and property value. We also own an irrigation groundwater licence and we believe the aquifer will be adversely affected by this development. The likely environmental damage of this project, both in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and damage to the Pilliga and resident wildlife, is also unacceptable.
* Health - There is evidence from Tara, Queensland and from the United States that residents in close proximity to gasfields have suffered severe health impacts from gasfield pollution. Fine particulate pollution from likely PM2.5 emissions is of great concern.
* Insurance - Damage to water, air, health, property and business are currently uninsurable, so we have no way of mitigating the risks.
* Productivity - Health impacts on livestock will reduce our farm's productivity and viability.
* Devaluation - Queensland properties have been devalued due to close gasfield proximity and we believe we would suffer the same. We would not be able to sell our property to contribute to our retirement.
* Water - The science is not convincing about the potential risk to the integrity and productivity of the groundwater aquifer. The EIS admits that the project will result in a loss of water from the Great Artesian Basin recharge aquifer over time.
* Environment
o Santos plans to remove up to 115 tonnes per day of salt and dispose of it in landfill. The risk of this enormous landfill leaking to the water table and causing severe environmental damage is unacceptable.
o Gaseous pollution from a number of gases such as methane and ozone poses an unacceptable health risk to people, livestock and native wildlife.
o Methane and ozone are also high impact greenhouse gases ad will contribute to the worsening of climate change.
o The Pilliga is the largest temperate woodland in NSW, and clearing 1000ha for this project is a significant threat to a number of resident endangered species.

As an Environmental Science Graduate from Southern Cross University, and someone who lives in the Northern Rivers - where invasive gas industry attempted to establish many wells around our region, and lost; I know the importance of mantaining ecological integrity, protecting agricultural land and listening to the concerns of the community.

I am extremely concerned about the Narribri Gas Project by Santos, and as a young person concerned about damage to the climate and our biodiversity - I would be heart broken to see it go through.

Please consider the following points:

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian 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.
- See more at: https://www.wilderness.org.au/articles/final-push-pilliga#sthash.TjXbilNT.dpuf


Yours sincerely,

Maddie Braddon

The Environmental Impact Statement for this application declares on page 11-45

"The groundwater modelling predicts that the initial depressurisation in the target coal seams for the project would be transmitted very slowly into the overlying and underlying strata that host the seams. Vertical transmission of depressurisation into shallower overlying water sources is predicted to be impeded (reduced in magnitude and delayed in time) by the thick sequences of intervening strata with low permeability."

This is unacceptable.

Marcus Kuhn's family would be amongst those directly affected. I feel privileged that he allowed me to reproduce his submission. Markus wrote

"I object to Santos's proposal to contaminate and dewater my home and urge the Government to reject it outright.

My heart feels sad as I write this submission. I am upset knowing the legislative process leads this Government to accepting Santos's false promises.

How is it that humans would design a process that ignores the basic rules of life? I see there is little hope in a country that has so much life, yet lost to greed.

Yet, we are a critical point in Australia's history. We need our Government to be strong and brave and stand up for what is right; not hide in Santos's 7000 pages of words.

My question is: "Under what circumstances would a Government reject coal seam gas in this country?

WATER is by far the most important resource we have. Surely WATER should be our utmost priority to protect when considering this project.

Your decision directly impacts the lives of so many, especially other Australian families like mine, and as our Government; you will be responsible for the outcome.

I have written many submissions and not one acknowledgement that someone in Government even cares. (ATTACHMENT A) But, I live in hope."

I stand with Marcus, his family and many others in objecting to this project.

I call on you to reject the application.

Sincerely yours,
Dr Bea Bleile

Dipl. math. ETH Zurich
PhD, University of Sydney

Dear Sirs

I, Lynda Fletcher, am making this submission to the EIS Exhibition for the Narrabri Gas project for Santos to develop 850 gas wells and associated production infrastructure in the Pilliga in north-west NSW. I wish to register my significant concern over this CSG mining EIS. My submission outlines the substantial and growing body of evidence that coal seam gas mining poses substantial risks. These risks, which are not fully understood or researched in NSW, include:

1. CSG mining contaminates water * CSG mining always involves contaminated water and so poses unacceptable risks to water supply, the environment and human health.

2. Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking) is a dangerous and unsuitable technology to employ * Hydraulic fracturing or `fracking' is used to release CSG. It involves injecting large volumes of water, sand and toxic chemicals into the ground to fracture coal and release the methane gas * CSG mining uses fracking to be viable and will be used in at least 80% of CSG wells

3. CSG releases more methane gas in the environment * Much of the previously trapped methane is not captured by CSG mining. Estimates of over 35% have been made by leading US universities. Therefore substantial fugitive methane escapes into the atmosphere. The greenhouse house effect of methane to be 100+ times that of CO2 over 20 years, as bad as, or far worse than, coal over its lifecycle.

4. CSG infrastructure has a large and damaging foot-print * Production fields typically require drilling well pads every 400-900 metres, with networks of pipelines and roads to get plant and equipment in and wastewater and gas out. This requires extensive land clearing for well heads (100 sq m+), storage tanks, containment ponds, roads, pipelines and fire lines.

5. This project is proposed for the sensitive Pilliga forest which is well known as the 'lungs on NSW' due to the abundance of tress to filter our atmosphere.. It is also situated on the Great Artesian Basin, a beyond measure, precious resource in this dry continent. As well, these proposed wells are adjacent to farmland which relies on this water for agriculture and stock. The risk of irreversible contamination is unacceptable.

6. NSW is not as advanced as Queensland in the production and extraction of CSG and so the state has an opportunity to avoid the mistakes made in Queensland and the USA that are leading to substantial damage to environments and public health. I therefore call on the NSW government to reject the Santos application for Coal Seam Gas Mining in the Pilliga and exercise a precautionary approach to CSG by instigating: * a Royal Commission into all aspects of coal seam gas mining * a moratorium on coal seam gas mining pending the outcome of the Royal Commission * a ban on fracking and similar coal bed `stimulation' technologies and techniques.

I think this is a big mistake. We need to be more proactive and protect the habitat of our native animals that are quite unique to the rest of the world. We also need to listen and take on board the wishes of the farmers and community in the area as well as the traditional native landowners who are all against this project.

To whom it may concern
I wish to object to the Narrabri Gas Project,
With climate change bringing with it water and food scarcity I believe that it is our government's responsibility to protect our future water and food supplies, so ask that you reject this proposal in favor of renewable energy sources

I would also like to add that it is the government's responsibility to protect our environment into the future for generations yet to come, so that they can lead a long and prosperous life. Supporting this project does not ensure a viable safe environment, so I ask that you reject this proposal.

Yours sincerely
Chrystal kahler

The Narrabri Gas Project already has a list of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water--Santos cannot be trusted to manage the project safely.

The issue of treating the toxic `produced water' from Coal Seam Gas processes has not ever been resolved in a viable fashion. Santos has not provided any effective solution to this problem. Additionally, they have shown they cannot safely manage the produced water that contains additives and mobilised contaminants, including radioactive and heavy metal levels that are unsafe, especially for a recharge zone of 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. In addition, there have been over 20 reported spills and leaks of toxic CSG water from storage ponds, pipes and well heads. (1)

The Department of Primary Industries has also raised concerns about Santos' project and the "high risk of having significant adverse impacts and potential loss" of agricultural capacity from the use of treated CSG water for irrigation. (2)

The lack of adequate insurance protection, as pointed out by NSW Chief Scientist, Mary O'Kane (3) means Santos and other companies are underinsured for the environmental damage they will cause, and state government regulation has not proved to be a proper deterrent, with the fine imposed for the aforementioned uranium contamination being only $1500.

Not being able to safely treat or manage the produced water from Coal Seam Gas exploration and production is one of a list of unsolved problems associated with this and other unconventional mining. There is no reasonable pathway to let this proposal for 850 wells to proceed. To do so would be wanton neglect for the values and other industries in this area and those of the Great Artesian Basin.



(1) http://www.smh.com.au/environment/santos-coal-seam-gas-project-contaminates-aquifer-20140307-34csb.html

(2) http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/news/coal-seam-gas-company-dre%E2%80%99s-sights?utm_medium=email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=CN_IndustryNews_010615

(3) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-01/nsw-csg-insurance-review/5492486

To whom it may concern,
Our Group CSG Free Shoalhaven, Object to this proposal on the following grounds

*The is no independent assessment of Santos's Data
*This project does not comply with New South Wales Guidelines
*The is no water damage costing
*No health Damage Costing
*It underestimates the greenhouse gas cost
*It shows very optimistic Gas Prices
*It has wildly low production costs stated
*There is no pipeline costing
*This industry has no social license
* These wells will all leak at some stage and further add to the climates change

In this day and age of climate change and with it water and food scarcity we believe that it is negligent to put our future water and food supplies at risk.

We ask that you reject this proposal using the precautionary principal in favor of renewable energy sources as we have already witnessed the environmental damage by Santos to our natural environment with its toxic spills and feel that enough is enough

Patricia Kahler
Secretary of CSG Free Shoalhaven

I object to the Santos EIS and reject the Narrabri gas project.

Santos has a history of irreversable damage to the environment in the test stages of this project with four environmental spills so far and the permanent contamination of an aquifer. I have no faith that they can conduct their business safely as more wells and gas infrastructure would just mean more spills and environmental damage. They are unable to conduct their operations without further bulldozing of the habitat of critically endangered species in the Pilliga

Gas workers have ohs training, safety gear such as gas detectors on their belts and safety visors and protective clothing, safe vehicles and the provision of drinking water as well as Santos providing airlifts to hospital and medical care in case of accidents when in the workplace. Residents who live in the same workplace where the gasfield is being developed are exposed to the same dangers as the workers yet Santos makes no provision for their safety and they are provided with none of the gear the workers are even though they will be exposed to the same hazards.

Economically this project does not make sense as with a royalty holiday and taxpayer subsidies this project is more likely to cost the taxpayer than provide a financial return for the people of NSW.

There is no provision for any spills accidents or environmental damage from this project. The company doing the drilling - Halliburton is a company that makes its profits from war and environmental destruction. This company has not cleaned up its messes in Iraq or even from its shale drilling operations in USA. They have left a trail of contaminated water wells and land contaminated by depleted uranium in their wake. Why the NSW Government and Santos think that they will suddenly change what has been for Halliburton a very profitable business model and suddenly become a responsible corporate citizen in NSW with regard to the Narrabri Project is beyond me.

Finally, the Pilliga is the main recharge for our Great Artesian Basin and this ground water is used to feed the Liverpool plains and food production for 40% of Australia. Putting our food and water security at risk for short term profits for a small number of people is to my mind insanity and high treason against the Australian people. There are a huge number of documented incidents of land, air and water contamination by the unconventional gas industry which I hope you consider thoroughly from the many other detailed submissions you receive from this process.

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian 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/articles/final-push-pilliga#sthash.ZpTwrmc2.dpuf

This is a submission on behalf of the Australian Plants Society Northern Beaches Group.
We are opposed to the CSG proposal in the Pilliga for the following reasons:
-Up to 1000 ha of the Pilliga Forest could be cleared.
- Water extraction would reduce water resources for other flora and fauna and a large proportion would be polluted by the production of salt.

Our group is focussed on maintenance and propagation of Australian plants and their habitat as well as their ecological niche. Not only would this directly be annihilated also due to increased climate change gas production the habitat and ecological niches in other locations will be negatively impacted.

Objection to the Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Project (SSD 6456)

The Pilliga Forest is the largest temperate woodland remaining in Australia. It comprises woodlands of Narrow-leaf Ironbark, Broad-leaf Ironbark, Pilliga Box and Bimble Box, as well as many other plant communities including Brigalow, Green Mallee and Broombush scrublands that have been cleared from other parts of the Central West of NSW.

The Pilliga woodlands are home to more than 900 plant species, including at least 12 rare and threatened plants. There are 14 frog species, 32 mammals (including 12 bats) about 50 reptiles and over 200 bird species. Pilliga woodlands support 22 threatened animal species (Glossy Black Cockatoo, Regent Honeyeater, GilbertÂ's Whistler, Painted Honeyeater, Turquoise Parrot, Barking Owl, Masked Owl, Malleefowl, Square-tailed Kite, Black-breasted Buzzard, Bush Stone Curlew, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Squirrel Glider, Koala, Black-striped Wallaby, Rufous Bettong, Pilliga Mouse, Greater Long-eared Bat, Yellow-bellied Sheathtail Bat, Little Pied Bat, Large-eared Pied Bat, Eastern Cave Bat). ItÂ's not a suitable place for coal seam gas (CSG) field development.

It's inappropriate to fragment and degrade the PilligaÂ's woodlands with CSG infrastructure and roads as proposed by Santos. A network of intersecting roads and pipelines, water extraction, lines of wells, chemical intrusions, structures, work sites of the proposed gas field will bring ruin the Pilliga woodland ecosystems.

The CSG industry has proven itself unable to effectively rehabilitate the very extensive areas it has mined, leaving many clearings and infrastructure in forests and farmlands across NSW and Queensland. The industry has shown itself to be incapable of removing its fence lines, tanks, dams, quarries, access roads, accommodation and clearings should also be removed from the mined out areas. Santos must be refused development consent.

I hope you will give my representations serious consideration and I thank you for the opportunity to comment.

I live in an area of regional QLD that has been economically and environmentally devastated as a direct result of the impact of Coal Seam Gas mining. Our governments, on all levels, need to recognise the negative impacts of fossil fuel and gas mining on our ecosystems, economy and communities, and work to protect farming land and precious native habitats.

I strenuously object to the proposal to the Narrabri project and hope that the NSW government will acknowledge the fact that short-term profits and economic boosts cannot make up for the long-term damage this project will cause if it goes ahead.