Narrabri Gas

Apart from the fact that the local Aboriginal population are against this project proceeding at all in their sacred lands - an objection likely to be overlooked as with most indigenous requests, when large profit is involved - there are genuine risks involved: another set of facts borne out by our own professional scientific watchdogs as per below.

RISKS: There have been numerous risks and problems identified with CSG gas-fields. These include encroachment on good farming land, disruption of other land uses and industries, clearing of bush-land, air pollution, contamination or depletion of ground or surface water, pollution of waterways, health impacts on workers and nearby residents, and damage to biodiversity.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: according to a report prepared by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at UTS for the City of Sydney Council, water supply can be affected if the holes drilled into the ground are not properly sealed.

Aquifers can be contaminated by water and chemicals when a hole is drilled through them to reach the coal seam. Toxic materials are also contained in the coal seam and can leak out when it's cracked.

The National Water Commission says "the production of large volumes of treated waste water, if released to surface water systems, could alter natural flow patterns and have significant impacts on water quality, and river and wetland health".

During the first six months of 2011 there were 23 spills of waste water, four uncontrolled releases of waste water and three breaches of waste water storage during floods, according to Queensland's Department of Environment and Resource Management.

In 2010, two incidents relating to water contamination from BTEX chemicals were reported in Australia, even though in both cases the companies involved said they did not use BTEX chemicals in fracking fluids.

One of the greatest environmental concerns is preserving the waters of the Great Artesian Basin from contamination and depletion.

We can not allow corporate greed to continue to be a priority over, our home, planet Earth's welfare. This must change now. Forests are living breathing entities that deserve our respect and protection. Please put a stop to this madness. We have the intelligence and ability to create resources that do no harm to our planet. It is time for us to make change. We must stand for what is right. Not for profit. No more excuses. We must wake up and see the truth. Thank you!

We need to keep our environment clean and without pollution for our kids sake. It's an absolute travesty that big corporations only care about shareholders ands profits over the sustainability of our planet so small minded absolutely outrageous....

I am strongly against coal seam gas fields being developed in the Pilliga region. HOW DARE YOU endanger the oldest artisan basin in the world. YOU HAVE NO RIGHT to grant mining licenses in such a sensitive area that belongs to ALL the people of this country and our future generations.

WHERE is your conscience? WHEN will you start putting the health of the planet and its people above the demands of greedy miners who profit from raping the land.

YOu politicians are in power for a MILISECOND yet the decisions you make are timeless. THis will be YOUR mistake if it happens and you will live your whole lives knowing YOU SOLD AUSTRALIA OUT. Stand up, be courageous, have some balls and guts and DO YOUR JOB , and that is, to listen to the people who voted for you, the people who PUT you where you are. LISTEN to them and do THEIR bidding, not the mining companies.

THere is no doubt, if this is approved, the country will move further towards anarchy as people realise that the WHOLE political system is flawed, criminal and cowardly.

DO THE RIGHT THING for gods sake. SAVE THE PILLIGA region.

I sincerely object to this new expansion of coal seam gas wells. Coal in general. Destructive methods of obtaining dirty energy, jeopardising areas of old growth, all in the name of profits and maintaining the status quo, I sincerely object to.
This planned project for the Narrabri area should not go ahead, for any reason.

The Pillaga is the deepest artesian basin in the world. With its Jurassic era waters, it is of immense and vital significance to the nation, not just NSW.

The local community and beyond have made it abundantly clear that they do not support CSG fracking in the Pillaga, and yet their elected officials continue to act in the interests of Santos instead. This is profoundly undemocratic, and will lay waste to our children's future. This is not hyperbole. The stakes here couldn't be higher. Once this basin is ruined, there is no getting it back.

This is the last CSG project in NSW. This could be the moment NSW chooses to go CSG free, and the people who elected officials in to government to protect their rights, would celebrate an act of great leadership.

I object to the Narrabri Gas Project. I oppose this project because it can harm the environment. Particularly I am concerned about long term harm to the water table from this project.

Do not exploit this source of gas. We must make sure people and animals can live in a non poisonous environment.


Adrienne Godsmark
Mt Nelson Tas

We do not believe that there has been enough research into the CSG method as being safe for the environment. There are too many current issues especially related to the water in the region and to the waste generated from the process. Neither are well understood problems associated with the extraction technique.

I believe that, along with me, the majority of the residents of NSW do not want coal seam gas to be extracted from any where in our state. We are a democracy and and as such the government is oblidged to listen tothe will of the people of the state. Allowing this gas extraction to to proceed will destroy this land forever. I object to it.

Stop this vandalism of my country. Stop putting profit before my enviroment. Leave our country alone. Start thinking what you can do for our country and not trying to make money from it at every oportunity!

This project introduces incredible risk to the precious Great Australian Basin and threatened native wildlife, with overwhelming disapproval for the project from farmers and the local community, traditional Gamilaraay custodians, environmentalists and everyday Australians.

this is bad and you know it

This might be good for the economy, but there are alternate ways to make money in this country other than destroying the environment

The local community and the Traditional Custodians have made it clear that they are against this project - I object to strengthen their voice, and to add my own as a proud Australian who greatly values our country's natural treasures. The Pilbara is our largest intact woodland in eastern Australia, its untouched vastness is something we can never recover once broken. Our country's largest telescope is situated nearby, will the night sky remain so deeply dark if this project goes ahead? I object to the risk of disruption and contamination to our water supplies, the Great Artesian Basin is the largest in the world and is replenished within the Pilbara. I feel strongly that the negative impacts and risks of this project are too high, and the value of an untouched Pilabara is worth far more to all Australians.

To whom this concerns, I am writing to object to the Narrabri Gas Project.

1. The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian BasinÂ--AustraliaÂ's largest groundwater aquifer
The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to our two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest. In a worst-case scenario, the water removed for CSG extraction could reduce water pressure in the recharge areasÂ--potentially stopping the free flow of waters to the surface at springs and bores across the whole Great Artesian Basin.¹

Creeks in the Pilliga run into the Namoi RiverÂ--a part of the Murray Darling Basin. This system is vulnerable to contamination from drilling fluid spills and the salty treated water produced from the proposed 850 wells.

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 waterÂ--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 Â`biodiversity hotspotsÂ' and is vital to the survival of threatened species like the Koala, Spotted-tailed Quoll, Black-striped Wallaby, Eastern Pygmy-possum, Pilliga Mouse and South-eastern Long-eared Bat. The forest is home to over 200 bird species and is internationally recognised as an Important Bird Area². The Santos gasfield would fragment 95,000 hectares of the Pilliga with well pads, roads, and water and gas pipelinesÂ--damaging vital habitat and threatening the survival of endangered species.

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 nationÂ's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk
The Siding Springs Observatory, situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga, is under threat from the Narrabri Gas Project due to light and dust pollution⁵. The area has been internationally recognised as a Â`dark sky parkÂ'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 PilligaÂ'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/

I am astonished by governments (federal and state) and Santos failure to invest money in "renewable" energy projects and research. How short-sighted and profit driven, with no thought to the planet's future. Reap now, weep later?
Why do you ignore what is plain common sense? Crack that artesian water source, and it has gone for ever. Australia is a country of limited resources, particularly water. Please, show some sense and leadership and invest in renewables, rather than chasing the quick profit. Make us proud and lead the world in safer, more ethical practices, please.

The time is now to choose for a better future, by saying no to non-renewable energies, including coal and gas. Australia is a smart country, with talented, inspirational and well educated experts in this field. It is time to let go of the past, and use our enormous talents to become a country dedicated to the future, to make choices for all future generations, and say no to the destruction caused by coal and gas seam wells such as those proposed for the Pilliga.
Come on Australian government, stop burying your head in the sands of the past, and get with the program of the future. We can do it!

There are growing concerns over CSG's 'green' credentials. It is a fossil fuel, no matter how you dress it up. Fracking pollutes groundwater and CSG leaks into the atmosphere, adding to the CO2 that is already warming the planet. We should be investing in clean renewables - not CSG.

The destruction of this area by a short sighted government and an environmentally challenged company do not bode well for the wildlife and the underground water table. The disasterous consequences of this type of mining is available for the world to see and the companies reputation for past errors and coverups makes their application very much on the nose.

It's common sense to keep your water clean, so it remains in its natural state so that life is sustainable for all who need it.
A true being of our planet or whoever loves Our planet would never harm the balance of life.
Our paradise, our Eden. Our unique home in the universe.
So I say no to distructive behaviour of all kinds on Our planet Earth. Or for any planet
One whom doesn't exult life does not deserve or have the right to lead or make decisions on the behalf of life.
Thankyou ∆