Narrabri Gas

I do not support Santos submission for access to Piliga

1. It is unclear as to the value of mining the Pilliga versus the environmental impact on numbers of threatened species given the gas field would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads and water and gas pipelines.

2.The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources including the Great Australian Basin.

3. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed

4. The Narrabri Gas Project has a long history of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water-Santos

5. Farmers and other local community reject the project

6. As countries other than the US lower their reliance on these resources it is incumbent on Australia to look to renewables to protect our environment and reduce our carbon emissions.

This project should not go ahead. Our environment is more important and needs to be protected. I object

I am 100% OPPOSED to CSG mining in the Pilliga region.

Please do NOT proceed with coal seam gas operations in the Pilliga. CSG operations have consistently been in the media for poisoning and polluting water supplies. The artesian basin through which the wells will be drilled supports a vital ecosystem. Clean water is vital for human health and survival.
The Pilliga is an amazing ecosystem. Any gas well, let alone 850 gas wells would have a huge and devastating impact on that ecosystem. Please do not let this go ahead as We need a planet on which current and future generations can live a healthy life.

The effects of coal seam gas mining on the environment , aquifers and the communities in these areas , throughout the world have proved to be catastrophic . To even think about risking the damage to our artesian water supplies in Australia is verging on insanity . Agriculture in this country is in many cases is totally reliant on a consistent clean underground water supply , coal seam gas mining has proven time and time again to both pollute and destroy this supply . The uncertainty of destabilizing the geological structure of areas where fracturing tequniques occur has a high risk of causing a variety of
catastrophic events , earthquakes and tremors . We have no rights to treat the land we are blessed with with such irresponsible and immoral destruction . The costs to our future generations for this irreparable damage are immeasurable . Santos have already proven to be untrustworthy and their pollutant spills well documented . This must stop now

I am deeply aposed to coal seam gas extraction in the pilliga it is important to prevent Santos from drilling 850 coal seam gas wells in the the Pilliga Forest for the following reasons:
- this area is the vital recharge point for the Great Artesian Basin - which extends under and affects the water catchment of huge tracts of NSW.
CSG mining practices contaminate aquifers - it is NO COINCIDENCE that when American communities finally achieved a major halt to CSG mining across their lands 10 years ago - suddenly the world's 'natural' gas corporations were knocking down Australia's door - and lining our politicians pockets to gain hastily passed access's to our resources. We need to stop this dangerous type of mining from continuing any further.
At the lowest - 93% of community members consulted in Northern NSW are opposed to these CSG wells being developed.

Stop this long term desecration of our land for short term minimal fiscal return.
This earth will not support future generations unless we learn to stop abusing its resources.

The environment is worth way more to Australia than a prospective attempt to find goal seem gas; especially when that attempt will benefit first and foremost a multinational company. You cannot sell off Australian benefits to such companies that care not for the country or for a pristine environment but only for the corporate dollar. If we want more power then the government can surely be looking at better investment in solar power. We have an abundance of the raw material nationally and a bigger abundance of prospective farm sites; such investment will benefit Australia first without damaging unduly the environment.

At this point in our existance here on Earth with global warming what it is, plus the rate of extinction being devastatingly what it is, I'm amazed that plans are still going ahead to dig into the ground for more fossil fuels.
Grow with the times people. Fossil fuels are to stay in the ground now. As a species we've caused enough damage to this planet as it is. You people do not represent the VAST majority of inhabitants you share your home with, how can you care more about financial profit than the future of not just the Human race but all other species too? Stop being so short-sighted. Is it worth putting people's water source at risk?

I honestly don't know how you sleep at night. Stop lying to yourselves and clouding your reality with disillusions and listen to everyone who are trying to help you see sense.

This is short term gain with long term distruction.
Time for Santos to join the 21st century. This attitude is no longer acceptable.

Stop this poisonous desecration.

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/final-push-pilliga#sthash.vpRd8lSy.dpuf

I call on the government and regulatory authorities to call a halt to barely regulated major push to fill the Pilliga Forest with CSG wells.

This is wanton destruction of good land and ecosystems for excess gas we do not need. We already have sufficient gas production to supply domestic needs were it not for the current legislation that allows the industry to monopolise our national resources. As a result we pay far more for gas than our customers overseas, and governments here are claiming there's a dangerous shortage. This is a falsehood.

The 'gold rush' of CSG extraction must end. It is theft from our nation, intergenerational theft from our children and grandchildren, pollutes the land and waterways, and pumps the dangerous Greenhouse gasses CO2 and methane into the atmosphere. The extraction companies will never pay the true costs of these externalities, but we and future generations will.

The approval for the Pilliga wells is for the benefit of the corporate sector for which politicians will receive donations and the rest of us will pay.

Do not allow this project to go ahead.

I am deeply concerned by this project as
- This project risks contaminating our water supply
- the use of fossil fuels will further contribute to climate change and
- endangered species will be further threatened.
I do not believe progressing with this project is in the best interest of the residents of NSW or the global community.

please dont go ahead with this project, the world is being driven by money, too many humans cant see past there immediate desires and greed. it is proven that your happiness does not increase the more you gain, people need to stop being greedy and making all their decisions based on how much money they can make. especially when having more money doesnt make you happier anyway. learn to be happy with what you have and instead make your decisions on how much they will benefit the future of the planet and your family and childrens future.

I recognise the passion and commitment of the Coonabarabran mid NSW residents that support the campaign to stop the last remaining CSG project in NSW.
The biodiverse Pilliga Forest - a last refuge for many endangered species - deserves our protection. This is not an area where mining can be held in balance with our environment.
I respect the activists who have been supporting the North West NSW communities who don't want CSG (over 90% when surveyed) and are resisting the efforts of Santos and various Governments, over many years, to impose it.

Time and time again the humans living within Australia have had to stand up to defend this land against giant corporations that pose threats to destroy Australia's unique natural habitats. Again this happens with the Pilliga Forest against Santos. This is not acceptable. This is 2017. This year is a year for progression AWAY from actions that destroy and devastate land, animals, and humans and so we say NO to the proposal of Santos injecting The Narrabri Gas Project into the Pilliga Forest. The Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians of the land oppose CSG fields as the Pilliga Forest is sacred grounds, holding stories and songlines of their past. The proposal threatens to destroy the precious balance of biodiverse life that exists within the forest, home to native and endangered Australia flora and fauna. Injecting CSG fields into the Pilliga Forest brings a plethora of devastating issues along with it. This includes the toxic effects to humans, flora and fauna, as volatile compounds organic compounds are released into the air. CSG contributes to climate change as it leaks high amounts of methane and also creates thousands of tonnes of salt waste with no plan of disposing or dealing with it. It increases the risk of fires, which the Pilliga Forest is already prone enough to. One of the biggest risks involved into the Narribri Gas Project is the risk to the Great Artisan Basin and the Murray-Darling River. CSG extraction can potentially stop to the flow of water from underground up to surface springs and bores across the whole Basin, causing a detrimental effect unto the whole Pilliga Forest. Dirty water running from the CSG fields will potentially contaminate the Naomi River which runs into the Murray-Darling Basin.

All in all, the Narribri Gas Project will cause nothing but devastation and destruction to a precious part of Australia. I strongly oppose this proposal.

As one of the last untouched regions of NSW. The government needs to look at the long term effects of this endeavour. The ecosystem and water table need to be untainted left alone.
We as the Australian race are ravaging our pristine land environment for monetary gain.
Listen to the people of the area and Australia. Leave this area alone. You have already destroyed the ecosystem of the hunter region.
The wildlife, ecosystem and water table need to left alone so they can maintain the balance nature created them to do.

I continue to find the short sittedness of Australian government at any level the most money hungry and damaging practice in my country. It is well documented the quickness and outright environmental impact of coal seam gas pumping. We have a real problem here when a government can decide to wipe out its own citizens habitat. I'm talking about the life that is there that will be effected. Animals and humans together will no longer be able to utilise there own home. It is not a sustainable project when all the voters want sustainability. Again another wrong decision by the federal and state governments.