Lets make NSW CSG-Free. Victoria has already made this commitment, taken the step to protect their precious Artesian water by banning gas fracking . NSW should do the same.
Our water is too precious to risk.
Santos have already proven they can't be trusted to look after the environment and precious resources like water. They've poisoned an aquifer at Narrabri with uranium 20 times over safe levels, and there have been over 20 other reports of spills and leaks of toxic CSG water.

The risks are too great. Santos' drilling could permanently damage the Great Artesian Basin -- the sole water source for towns and farms across 22% of rural Australia. It will produce 100 tonnes of salt every day at peak production.

The craziest part? Australia doesn't need new gas fields. Solar and storage can now provide cheaper power than coal and gas (with the added bonus of not destroying our climate and farmland).
Act now before it is too late- make NSW CSG-Free. Stop Santos fracking in the Pilliga or anywhere in NSW.
Our water is too precious to risk.

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.

To whom it may concern,
AS a private but concerned citizen, I object to Santos being given permission to use the Piliga forests to mine for gas,
Obviously gas is a fossil fuel and Santos is a mining company, but surely their money is better spent on developing alternative methods of powering the nation. The time for this kind of madness is long past. Lets move on ....
Santos and all the other subsidised fossil fuel companies are dinosaurs squeezing the last drops of dirty polluting fuels out of the ground before the worlds water, air and climate collapses on them.
Dont these people have children and grandchildren?
Ruth Ashton

I am AGAINST allowing any mining company into the narrabi area to mine for gas ! The track record of these companies is appalling and the damage they do for short term gain is outstanding. We have alternative energy that is clean and safe. Why should Australia destroy more of its land and water?
Water is life and our soil is more important than a companies bottom line ! Time to think of the future and not the make decisions on short term gain !
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
INVEST IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND PLEDGE YOUR AUPPORT FOR OUR CHILDRENS FUTURE
Sincerely Kris Heather

I wish to make a submission for the Department's consideration regarding the Narrabri Gas Project.
I object to this project. This project will affect me as a resident of NSW and it will more particularly affect members of my extended family living and working on farmland in the area surrounding the proposed gas fields and mining related operations.
My objection to the project is based on 3 main grounds.
1. The project will cause farmers and graziers in NSW to feel insecure about their future and the ongoing viability of their properties and contribute to the loss of experienced farmers from the agriculture and grazing industries.
My relatives point to the fact that food production is an essential industry and also a sustainable one. Coal Seam gas production is neither of these things. Australia cannot afford to lose more members of the farming community because of the stress caused by CSG mining activity. This stress is real - and it arises because of the lack of transparency and clarity around CSG projects and because of the history of damage to land and water resources caused by CSG mining operators (including Santos) and the frequently inadequate remediation of affected land after mining operations have ceased.
The lack of detail in the EIS prepared by Santos contributes to farmers' growing concerns about the risks posed to the quality of their soil and water. Farmers have good reason to fear salinity especially. Reversing any contamination is likely to take much longer than the lifespan of this project. Farmers have no confidence that mining companies will be around to foot the bill as they see evidence of degraded sites left behind by them across the state.

2. The project entails an unjustifiable risk to groundwater and the Great Artesian Basin.
Because Australia is such an arid continent I would argue that any risk to our water resources, even a negligible one, is unacceptable. Australia's agriculture industry should have a bright future. Of all the sectors in our economy, Deloitte has identified agribusiness as having the strongest combination of playing most to Australia's competitive advantages and being a sector producing what the world increasingly wants. It is predicted that by 2050 the world's population will need 60 -70 per cent more food than is currently available. By comparison, it is acknowledged that the demand for coal seam gas exists only in the short term and many point to there being no shortage of supply. By 2050, this gas project will have expired.

3. The project will contribute further to climate change.
The levels of fugitive methane emissions from unconventional gas mining are likely to have been seriously underestimated in Australia according to research by the Melbourne Energy Institute. Scientists are already warning that global warming is occurring much faster than predicted and that the consequences of breaching the 2-degree threshold could be catastrophic. Our moral obligation is to combat climate change through sustainable development. The Narrabri gas project is not an example of sustainable development.

For all of the above reasons I object to the Narrabri gas project.

No more drilling / fracking in NSW. It's too dangerous and we need all the agricultural land we have to meet our food needs now and Niro the future

There is absolutely no reason to drill for gas in this region.
CSG mining has been proven time and time again to destroy the environment. Over Christmas 2016, on a trip to Gunnedah to visit family, I witnessed huge fields of growing crops. Also, I witnessed many trains laden with coal heading to Newcastle port for overseas shipment. It is obvious these two industries of farming and open cut mining are doing well. The extraction of coal seam gas added to this mix is not needed as it will poison valuable water resources.Santos has done their homework by opening a brand new Information Centre in Conadily Street Gunnedah. Santos has been extremely generous helping with the building of much needed local community buildings. Why you may ask? We all need friends when we are in need as many
country towns are struggling at this time.

I object to the proposal as
- it will significantly damage the Pilliga Forest.
- it is likely to damage artesian water both locally and in the Great Artesian Basin
- Santos has already polluted aquifers and had surface water leaks. They are likely to be unable to comply with any environmental safeguards placed on them.
- it's key purpose is to provide a short term gain to Santos at a long term expense to the environment and farmers livelihood.
- as a community we should be investing in renewable energy not extracting more fossil fuels and damaging the environment.

Even if Australia needed CSG (it does not) it would be an idiot thing to do; which is why, despite all the evidence to the contrary, it will go ahead.

And when the inevitable happens, I can at least have the pleasure(?) to say I told you so.

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.