Narrabri Gas

You don't have to be an expert to see the damage CSG mines have done all over the world. If you care about our waterways, our native animals and environment do NOT even think about this ridiculous request from Santos.

While I have shared concerns about coal seam gas projects to coexist with the long term care of agricultural land and water supplies i believe that this project can be positively considered. I believe this due to the suitable location and type of land impacted , with the belief that the proponent is capable of managing the environmental issues particularly with respect to waste water treatment and protection of threatened species .

This project is a threat to the ground water in the Narrabri Basin. There is no coming back from contaminated water and water is life. Coal Seam Gas fields risk the future and cannot be justified in any way, shape or form.

Please looking what is happening in Queensland and let commonsense prevail.

I oppose the Pilliga CSG project. I have personally visited The Pilliga and it is a beautiful haven for wildlife that needs to be preserved and protected from mining. I believe it is a vital place in NSW for the protection of species that are losing habitat, such as the koala, spotted-tail quoll, wallabies and bats.

I believe that coal seam gas fuels dangerous climate change and that methane is 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.

I believe that this project risks our clean water, in particular 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.

I also understand that the Gamilaraay Traditional Custodians are opposed to this project. They have cultural sites as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath.

I also believe that this project should not proceed as it poses a bushfire risk. Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

Idiotic to have more CSG projects when the damage they do is obvious to anyone looking.

Messes up the groundwater.
Releases massive amounts of Methane.
Does NOT contribute to the Australian economy in any meaningful way.

I respectfully object to the proposed development fir the following reasons:
1. It is safehaven 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.
2. 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.
3. It risks our clean water
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.
4. 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.
5. Bushfire risk will rise
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition

The reasons I oppose the Pilliga CSG project are:

I. It is safehaven 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.

2. 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.

3. It risks our clean water.
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.

4. 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.

5. Bushfire risk will rise.
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

1. It is safehaven 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.

2. 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.

3. It risks our clean water
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.

4. 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.

5. Bushfire risk will rise
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

Make sure you state up front that you are making a submission I am making a submission on the Narrabri Gas Project

The lack of detail: Santos' EIS is very short on detail. It does not provide maps indicating where these 850 wells and the lines and infrastructure that run between and around them will go. Santos is seeking a blank cheque consent for this gasfield on the promise that it will decide where the wells will go afterward using a "Field Development Protocol." No project has ever been assessed this way before in NSW and the constraints Santos propose are weak and subject to change later on. This is not an appropriate way to assess the largest development project ever undertaken under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the Government must insist that Santos release details to the public about the placement of its wells, pipelines and some other infrastructure.
There's no justification: The significant harm on the social, environmental and economic values of the Narrabri Shire and New South Wales that this project will inflict needs to be weighed against the economic justification for the project, but there is no such economic justification. Santos is one of several large gas companies that threw the east coast gas market and the industries that rely on it into turmoil by opening up CSG fields in Queensland and contracting to sell more gas than those fields can produce to overseas customers. They drove up the price of gas and are plundering supplies previously available to manufacturers and power stations.
The gas produced at Narrabri might be as little as 4.9% of the volume contracted for sale out of Gladstone. It's not going to bring down prices. In fact, it will force prices up, because unconventional gas like CSG is so expensive to produce and yields are so low. Research undertaken by gas company AGL shows that gas from the Pilliga would be the most expensive gas of anywhere in the current east coast gas market. The number of jobs the project will support once the construction is over is just 145. Weighed against damage to the land, and the Great Artesian Basin, this makes no sense. We need sustainable jobs, not plunder for profit.
Groundwater and the Great Artesian Basin: Santos' project is expected to remove 37.5GL of groundwater over the life of the gasfield, mostly in the early years. The coal seam needs to be dewatered to release the gas, but this aquifer lies beneath the Pilliga Sandstone, part of the Great Artesian Basin recharge. Santos' EIS admits that the project will result in a loss of water from the GAB recharge aquifer over time. CSG in Queensland has drawn down GAB aquifers already. We can't afford to risk this crucial resource.
Salt: The water removed from the ground by Santos will be treated, but this creates another problem: what to do with the salt? Peak salt production at Narrabri CSG will be 115 tonnes per day, or two and a half B-double truckloads per day. In the peak year, this would mean the creation of 41,900 tonnes of salt for disposal, which Santos says will take place in landfill.
Cultural heritage and the Pilliga: The Pilliga is a spiritual, cultural and social icon for Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people. Fragmentation and industrialisation cuts people off from their heritage and connection to country.
Biodiversity and the Pilliga: The Pilliga is also the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales. Santos propose clearing nearly 1,000ha of the Pilliga, including habitat for critically endangered Regent honeyeater and for koalas, which are already in decline in the Pilliga. The gasfield will clear breeding habitat for Pilliga Mouse, which lives nowhere else, and breeding habitat for other wildlife. It will fragment and degrade the forest. Without specific information about where the wells and lines will be located, a proper ecological impact assessment can't be completed. Regardless, the Pilliga is a cherished natural and cultural icon and must be protected from becoming an industrial gasfield.
Social and health impacts: Santos' social impact assessment is three years old and utterly inadequate. The compendium of health studies produced by the Concerned Health Professionals of New York shows mounting evidence for health damage by unconventional
gas operations, including water contamination and respiratory illness. The Government must insist that Santos conduct a proper health impact assessment including modelling exposure pathways, reviewing literature and engagement with the Narrabri community. In Narrabri, this project will have negative impacts on cost-of-living, the labour and housing markets. The latter is cited in as a benefit of the project but it will not benefit low-income renters. The effect of the project on cost-of-living in the Shire needs to be modelled, assessed and considered, as do the labour dynamics of the project. The project entirely surrounds Yarrie Lake, and Santos propose that wells might come as close as 200m from the Lake.
Air quality: The air quality assessment fails to include health-damaging fine particulate pollution with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (known as PM2.5). With diesel generators at each well pad and at the water treatment and gas compression plants, there will be significant PM2.5 emissions. The air quality assessment and greenhouse section also fail to model the likely substantial escape of fugitive methane emissions.
Dark sky: light pollution from flares, compressor stations and the water treatment plant will ruin the dark sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
Climate change: recent research by the Melbourne Energy Institute shows that Australia may be dramatically under-estimating the fugitive methane emissions from unconventional gas, including coal seam gas. It's not needed or useful as a source of energy: we have the technology we need to replace gas with renewable energy sources.

The Pilliga has been the home of koalas forever and the removal of large swathes of their habitat in the Pillage has already stressed the animals significantly. The Santos wells will place even further stress on the remaining koalas and see their numbers decrease even further, probably leading to functional extinction there. The Pilliga is one of 15 nationally listed `biodiversity hotspots' and is vital to the survival of threatened species apart from the koala such as the spotted-tailed quoll, black-striped wallaby, eastern pygmy-possum, pilliga mouse and south-eastern long-eared Bat. All these animals are incredibly important but they can't stand up for themselves, they can't fight, they will just slowly disappear if this project is approved. Please take a stand for them in the interests of all Australians and our future generations so these animals can still be experienced in their natural habitat.

Say NO to Santos.

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.

I am making this submission to express my strong opposition to the proposed Narrabri Gas Project.
My objection is based on the destructive nature of the coal seam gas industry, both in its relationship to the existing wildlife and forest and in its effect on our precious water resources.
Not only is this area home to threatened wildlife but it contains almost entirely the Great Artesian Basin. The Narrabri gasfields pose a real threat to our water quality.
The proposal is strongly opposed by the traditional custodians the Gamilaraay people who have a strong connection and interest in the well being of this area and have done for thousands of years.
This area must not be sacrificed for this destructive industry.
The industry will fuel climate change and increase fire danger to the area.
I believe this proposal must be rejected if the integrity of this unique part of our country is to survive.

The mining will destroy our lands, and ruin our waters.

I oppose the Pilliga CSG project:

1. It is safe 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.
2. 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.
3. It risks our clean water
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.
4. 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.
5. Bushfire risk will rise
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

Thanking you in advance for your immediate attention in this most urgent matter.

Sincerely,
Carol L Collins

In view of the current difficulties with controlling escaping Methane and other noxious gases from CSG Wells,I feel the technology is not yet safe enough to allow further expansion of this industry.
Methane is the most destructive gas that is destroying our breathable air and climate.

I oppose the Pilliga CSG project because:

1. It is safehaven 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.

2. 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.

3. It risks our clean water
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.

4. 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.

5. Bushfire risk will rise
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

This proposal represents pure vandalism, nothing else.

The water table and geology of the area will be damaged and millions of litres of contaminated water will be produced.

The area is one of the largest remaining temperate woodlands in the world and to damage it in this way is reprehensible. Many endangered species will be adversely affected by this mining activity.

Local communities, landowners and traditional owners are overwhelmingly against it.

NSW should be investing in renewable energy, not championing dirty outdated fuels.

I object Narrabri Gas Project for the extraction of gas from the ground in the Pilliga area of NSW for the following reasons:

1. To date the work carried out to extract coal seam gas in Australia has been of dubious quality with many leaks and some pollution of the environment in terms of air water and other qualities. Damage to aquifers is a real and irreversible risk.

2. We do not need coal seam gas. Our future energy policy should be focussed on renewables, such as solar and wind power, with the back-up and base load being supplied via geothermal, hydfro-electricity, pump-hydro and tide/wave power.

3. The Pilliga area is home to rare and endangered wildlife and is the cultural heritage of the local aboriginal population - the Gamilaraay people, all of which and whom will be disturbed and disadvantaged by the implementation and on-going servicing of coal seam gas wells.

4. The burning off of excess gas on a 24x7x365 basis will increase fire hazards substantially.

For all of the above reasons, I recommend that you, as advisors to my elected representatives, advise them against the approval of this Narrabri Gas Project.

Please do not approve Santos Pilliga gas project:

1. It is a safe 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.

2. 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.

3. It risks our clean water
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.

4. 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.

5. Bushfire risk will rise
Methane flare stacks up to 50m high would be running day and night, even on total fire ban days. The Pilliga is already prone to severe bushfires, this project will increase the risk of ignition.

Coal seam gas increases the rate of climate change. It pollutes and endangers the quality of air and water. The permanent burning torches are a danger to the dry forest. The overwhelming majority of the local people are opposed to it. Santos doesn't have a good record with its coal seam gas operations. What part of 'Nobody wants this' are you not understanding? You are supposed to represent the people not Santos. Please represent us and oppose this proposal. Thanking you,