Narrabri Gas

CSG is too dangerous to our water supply to allow any more wells to operate. also it seems foolish to allow methane gas flames to be anywhere near a state forest. madness on both issues and many more!!

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.

5 reasons to refuse 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.

Although we need energy CSG is so damaging to the environment in many ways.
There are alternatives that must be supported to further their research and growth.
I want to tell my grandchildren that I did everything reasonable to make theirs a livable world.

Why risk water catchments & agricultural land degradation.

Further, there are still questions to be answered as to Methane leakage from CSG projects in general.

This proposal is abhorrent, it is placing the Pilliga area under significant risk. The biodiversity of fauna and flora will be further under stress from the huge amounts of salt that will be generated,as well as the risk to clean and pure water supply availability after fracking. The Aboriginal people living within this area will suffer from the damage. There is a significant lack of detail available to the Australian public from Santos, and I fear if this proposed large destructive fracking process goes ahead we will permanently lose this area that is home and country for many of its residents - human and native animals and plants.

Water is the most precious natural resource in Australia and CSG mining is it's greatest threat. The Narrabri gasfield poses a real risk to both the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray-Darling Basin -- our two most precious water resources. The area of the Great Artesian Basin with the highest recharge rates is almost entirely contained within the Pilliga East forest.

Also, the Pilliga is an area of unique and valuable biodiversity, 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.

It is also deeply upsetting to me that there are hundreds of Gamilaraay cultural sites, as well as songlines and stories connecting the Gamilaraay to the forest and to the groundwater beneath, that are under threat. The Gamilaraay people are passionately involved in the battle against CSG, and have told Santos they do not want their country sacrificed for a coal seam gas field. I'd like the NSW Government to acknowledge the Gamilaraay Traditional Owners of the land on which the Santos project is proposed, and pay their respects to Elders past and present by listening to their wishes and stopping the mines.

Thank you for the time in reading my submission.

It would threaten protection of the Pilliga as a nationally listed biodiversity hot-spot, home to many iconic Australian marsupial species.
It would pose a major threat to clean water in the Great Artesian and Murray-Darling Basins.
Australia does not need more gas (which is a greenhouse gas pollutant - especially given the fugitive methane release at such wells). Australia is already a major producer and exporter of gas and what it really needs is Government policy to retain a proportion of this gas for home use at a reasonable price.

I make my submission as my daughter lives in NSW 2620, and I used to live in Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 and i will be returning.. I am appalled that this desecration and poisoning of my grandchildren's environment is being even contemplated. My strongest concern is in relation to groundwater damage. There is NO SAFE Mining. Miners always leave their damage behind and NEVER restore the damage environment... they leave their blight for future geranations and enough is enough. They should be taking a long term view of investment and converting to renewable energy preserving our environment and ensuring habitats are restored and enhance on a grand scale, using the sun, wind and ocean tides NOW...
I wholeheartedly place great weight on the following objections also.
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.

Submission on the Narrabri Gas Project and I OBJECT to it.

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.

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. Lets look to these for solutions.

Please consider these points for our future Australians and please don't make this another bad decision based on monetary short term gains but rather one that will benefit all Australians long-term.

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.
We know that the clean up record of these companies is abismal.

It is madness to allow yet more drilling over the Great Artesian Basin - the risk to this single most important underground water source for eastern Australia which has been of such benefit to regional Australians for almost 200 years and which will continue to be of benefit for the centuries to come is simply not worth the benefit of extracting Coal Seam Gas for perhaps 20 years. Not to mention the environmental and social consequences this operation would cause.
DON'T DO IT!

CSG presents various dangers to the environment. The Pilliga is a recognised hotspot of biodiversity for various threatened species and it will be grossly negatively impacted on if the Santos CSG project goes ahead.
Gas is contributing to global climate changes with poses a real and immediate threat to all life on this planet. Clean energy technologies exist and are being employed in many countries. Australia has a responsibility to invest in these and reject new polluting projects.
CSG pollutes ground water and the Pilliga are is proximate to both the Great Artisian Basin and The Murray-Darling Basin. No private company should be given rights to irrevocably damage our future water safety.
The Gamillaraay have been inhabiting managing this land successfully for tens of thousands of years. Their objections to this project must be respected.

To whom it may concern,

I, Nelson Wilson-Coffey am writing this submission to say the I oppose this project continuing in the Pilliga forest.

This project possesses to many risks to our precious water supply, which we should be proud of, in the great artisan basin. It also seems like there is little social licence within the community for the project to continue.

This project puts all our water supplies at risk for a huge area, not to mention the other potential environmental impacts upon our precious flaura and fauna.

Kind regards,
Nelson Wilson-Coffey

We are now living in an age where global warming and climate change are uppermost in the minds of most people, the primary cause has been proven to be the use of fossil fuels. The production and use of petrol. oil and gas have caused a huge rise in the levels of pollution, with asthma now prevalent in many inner city areas. The processes and use cause damage to the ozone layer (witness the increasing number of melanoma cases in Australia) and the attendant operations result in habitat destruction and the consequent death of the local wildlife.

How then can this plan possibly be approved, other than by pay-offs or inducements to political parties maybe?

850 sites to be dug and operated, in the light of current power trends this is nothing short of complete madness.

Far better to invest the research and development into clean energy; wave, wind and solar are the way to go. Let's make Australia a world leader in something it can be proud of, something it can produce and export, something it can make money in, not have us marked as one of the biggest per-capita polluters in the world. If we get this wrong, our children and descendants will never forgive us now the evidence is clearly and readily available.

Please do not proceed with the Coal Seem Gas project.
My reasons are :
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 Pilliga is the largest temperate woodland left on the western side of the Great Dividing Range in Eastern Australia. It is home to a large Koala population and a great diversity of plants and wildlife. The aquifers beneath the Pilliga have not been adequately surveyed for subterranean invertebrates. The Pilliga needs to be protected.

I wish to state my objections to the plan to allow coal seam gas mining in the Pilliga State forest.
My objections are:
1. New Coal seam gas projects are not now an option as the Federal Government has signed the Paris accord to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees C. Even existing mines will take the world beyond that figure.
2. The State Forest is home to many unique flora and fauna, these are our heritage and must be protected.
3. The risk to ground water is too great.
4. The traditional owners of the land are opposed to this project. Are going to ignore their wishes ?
5. This area is prone to bushfires in warm periods. If allowed the risk of bushfires would be greatly increased.

I strongly object to the CSG application on the grounds that:

1- the government is hell-bent on believing that CO2 is dangerous to our planet, CSG produces tonnes of greenhouse gasses that escape and destroy our environment THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED

2- the threat to native wildlife in the area would be devastating to them and their environment THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED

3- our water table will be highly and adversely affected as the toxic chemicals seep through the ground plates and into our drinking water... and as has been shown historically, the water in rendered flammable with the methane gasification of the water as can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvJAKVnK4qM
and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ApZkNsXfJE
and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd8pr6uFA_Y
THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED

4- and finally the risk of fire in this forest is escalated by the plume of fire due to the methane burn-off at each well site... THIS CAN NOT BE ALLOWED

This project is not sensible.

The destruction of natural habitat in pursuit of carbon based energy is backward thinking.

The State of NSW, indeed all Australian States, should be investing in renewable energy technology.

If this project continues history will show it to be short sighted.