Narrabri Gas

My family live in Pilliga in close proxminity to the proposed Narrabri Gasfield. We object to the Narrabri gasfield.
It will extract over 35 billion litres of 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 that needs to be disposed of.
 It will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga, the largest temperate woodland in New
South Wales, home to unique wildlife and crucially important to the spiritual, cultural and
social life of Gamilaraay people.
 It will cause draw down of a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, a water
resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
 It is not justified: SantosÂ' own CSG 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 will cause economic upheaval in Narrabri and put agricultural industries at risk, as well
as causing light pollution that will ruin the dark night needed by the internationally
renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
 CSG 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.

No

This is terrible planning by a company with no soul or respect for our beautiful land. people over profits! enough is enough, please stop destroying planet earth.

We´re living in an infinite-growth paradigm on a finite planet, which is extremely unsustainable.
We have the tool, knowledge and technology to take care of everyone through automated machines, overseen via cybernetics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb5ivvcTvRQ

I am utterly opposed to further gas driiling in the Pilliga. It is farcical that we sell our gas overseas for so little and we want to destroy a forest ecosystem for the benefit of a select few.

Given the NSW Government's open and public disregard for climate and environment-related matters, it is highly unlikely that either emotive or practical arguments related to threats to the water supply, health, wildlife and the increased threat of fire that this project would engender, would have any bearing on your decision to approve or deny. Of even less concern I'm sure would the anticipated subsidiary production of saltwater waste, the objections of the Gamilaraay people or the projected levels of light and dust pollution, so I think it is worth stating the one practical argument that you might actually listen to, and it is this;

The majority of local farmers and the wider community, your prospective and in many cases your historical voters, object to this project. Please prioritise their needs and wishes over the needs of the Santos organisation. Thank you.

I am writing to defend Australia against this invasion by corporations such as Santos to frack or drill for coal seam gas. It is environmentally disastrous. The onus is not on the environment to show that it is disastrous, but on the corporation to prove that it is 100% without a doubt safe. We know that it is not safe. There is no guarantee that the Artesian Basin will not be contaminated; there is no guarantee that methane gas will not escape into the atmosphere; there is no guarantee that is it safe for the health of all living creatures, including humans. Because these things, the water, the air, the land, and living creatures cannot be guaranteed safety, then there is absolutely no way this should go ahead. It is crazy. We would rather our money, our personal energy, be put into true renewable energy research and development. Corporations should not be allowed the final say. Our politicians are there for the people, the people should have the say. Our governments, Federal and State, do not have a mandate to poison us. Do not allow this to occur.

After visiting the area in my younger years and understanding the pattern of development that is unstoppable within our capitalist system i fear the worst for our great region. We have ample amounts of gas for ourselves and the need for renewables is more prominant than ever. If we cant sacrifice some of our social needs and money in order to introduce effective renewable energy we as humans should not be allowed to inhabit this land. For too long we put the environment second and it is now unable to sustain healthy air quality in many countries i visit to my deep dismay and dissapointment. Millions of people are dying and the earth cannot help us by itself any longer. Government is too heavily influenced by company agendas and is why the personal opinions of locals must be considered on equal grounds. Please make me believe we still live in a democracy. Good luck to government on doing whats right for our children to come .

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/

The Pilliga region is the catchment area for our Great Artesian Basin, the largest body of fossil water IN THE WORLD. Please please do not allow drilling by Narrabri Gas (or anyone else for that matter).

I lodge an objection to Santos' Narrabri Gas Project in the Pilliga.

The Narrabri Gas Project risks precious water sources, including the Great Australian Basin--Australia's largest groundwater aquifer.

Farmers and other local community reject the project.

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.

The Pilliga is a haven for threatened wildlife.

Coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change.

Human health is compromised by coal seam gas.

The nation's premier optical astronomical observatory is at risk.

Thousands of tonnes of salt waste will result from the project .

Risk of fires would increase throughout the Pilliga's tinder-box conditions.

Given all these factors I cannot see why this would be approved so I strongly oppose this project.

The natural environment is a public resource not to be tainted by dirty, polluting coal seam gas plants. This project is evidence of a backwards approach to energy production and a disregard for the environmentally hazardous impact this method of energy production has. This activity has been scientifically proven to be deleterious to the health of individuals residing or working close to the plants.

I am against this Narrabri gas field proposal.
This has the potential to poison valuable water resources. Coal Seam Gas miners, including the proponents of this project have a history of leakages and spills in our country and throughout the world, consistently polluting water and denying that is does so.

The local aboriginal culture is against this proposal and so are the vast majority of local farmers and the population in NSW in general.
It does not make sense to put a company's profit before the real and lasting interest of the great majority. Doing so engenders mistrust of the government. We have plenty of gas available in our country from safer resources. It is propaganda to suggest we need dangerous CSG mining to boost our gas availability. The Pilliga is a safe haven for wildlife and an essential water catchment for the Great Artisian Basin and the Murray- Darling Catchments and needs to be protected from CSG mining.

Please do not go ahead with CSG Narrabri Gas Project. It is not an environmentally sound decision. There has to be a shift toward renewable energy sources for safety and environmental reasons. All politics and corporate lobbying must be removed from decision making now. STOP all CSG mining!!

Please stop this vandalism. The Pilliga is a natural wonder and will be ruinedbetound belief if coal seam drilling goes ahead.

I am a NSW voter and educator. I wish to register my objection as a NSW citizen to the proposed CSG drilling by Santos in the Pilliga region of NSW. In a democracy, the elected government must represent the best interests and desires of the community that it is responsible to, by law. There are extensive objections to this wilful commercial rape of the land, which opposes the intended damage of pristine forests, vital water supplies and agricultural industries in the area. This drilling is vehemently opposed by the local community, the Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians of the land and other environmental organisations, with valid and urgent concerns about the impact of the proposed drilling. It has been opposed for a number of years now. Why has the government not stepped in to protect the area and uphold the people's concerns? This region contains the two most precious water resources: the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin. I oppose any kind of environmental intervention that threatens these precious resources in terms of waste, salivation, toxins and other impacts. I believe an elected government must serve the community it supposedly represents (rather than Santos's commercial interests and desires to ruin the land). Our children of the future deserve more responsible and ethical government action when it comes to protecting the natural resources of the land. The government must also consider the safety aspects to local residents from this drilling proposal. The application by Santos MUST BE DENIED.

Don't

I write in opposition to the Narrabri gas project. The environmental impacts of CSG are deeply damaging ones, and the sale of Australian gas overseas does not warrant this expansion of mining. The argument that Australia is running out of current supply is flawed, in that these reserves are being tapped for export dollars for big business profits.

Please, don,t change our forests. There is enough destruction in agriculture alone because of greed. More needs to be laid out in front of the public before any decisions are made. It should be voted upon nationally.

As a professional geologist and geophysicist I strongly object to this project. CSG through the largest fresh water source in the southern hemisphere, the Great Artesian Basin will destroy this extremely precious water source. 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.

The Gas Flares and dust from the project will also threaten one of the few Dark Sky Reserves in the world, and the nations premiere optical astronomical observatory - The Siding Springs Observatory, which is situated in the Warrumbungles and adjacent to the Pilliga.