This is a disastrous and treasonous idea, to destroy forest, land water and air for profit. You should all be ashamed of yourselves, every single person who goes along with this project.

I bring into question the sanity of anyone who can look at a forest and consider it a sound idea to destroy it, the wildlife in it and the greater environment (through water supply damage and methane leaks) for money.

Then I question the ethics of a state government determined to push ahead with the idea of an insane person (or entity santos) flying in the face of mountains of evidence demonstrating the disastrous environmental repercussions of unconventional gas mining. Perhaps it has more to do with the generous political donations given by santos than it does concern for the state and it's people.

I suspect this objection will be completely ignored along with the many similar ones which no doubt have been submitted. Because this state is obviously hopelessly corrupt and has zero concern for the welfare of it's citizens or the land, water and air which it is charged with caring for. I hope I am wrong and your organisation truly "assesses important projects to ensure the need for new jobs is balanced with the needs of the community and environment" as you say you do.

To Whom it may concern,

Coal Seam Gas is wrong, simply and truly wrong. The damage to the deep matrix of the earth is inexcusable.

Please find other solutions to our energy needs and protect precious water and land for our current earth community and our future here...

I regard the proposed technology and extraction methods to be an irreversible detriment to the environment both above the ground and to the aquifers below the ground.

I am writing to register my opposition to the Narrabri Gas Project.

This project has a high level of opposition in the local communities closest to it (an average of 96% of locals are opposed to it) and from the traditional owners of the land, the Gamilaraay. In a properly functioning democracy, when levels of opposition are this high, the government is obliged to support the people who live and work there over the interests of corporations looking to make a profit.

Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction and Santos, both have a questionable record on environmental safety. Reports of uranium contamination of an aquifer and risks to the Great Artesian Basin - one of Australia's most important groundwater sources - both illustrate that the risks of irreversible damage being done by this development are unacceptably high.

Recently it has come to light that Eastern Australia's so called gas shortage has more to do with the sale of gas to export markets than it has to do with inadequate supply. This undermines claims of economic or energy supply benefits that this project may bring.

As well as risks of groundwater damage and contamination this project would fragment an important biodiversity hotspot and increase the risk of bushfires - potentially harming people and property as well as wildlife. All of this is set against the backdrop of climate change which is acting as a threat multiplier for all of these risks and more.

In conclusion, Santos' poor environmental track record, the high environmental risk level and the irreversible nature of any damage coupled with the extraordinarily high levels of community opposition should outweigh the questionable economic benefits of this project and on these grounds I strongly recommend that the project not be granted permission to proceed.

To whom it may concern,
The water pollution cased by the Narrabri as Project will be permanently detrimental to the health of native flora, fauna and people.
We already know the dangers of contaminating water tables, therefore it seems unconscionable to me that you are trying to move this project forward.

I urge you to think about the people whose land you are planning to desecrate. This cannot go forward. Proceed and you will be wilfully destroying precious lands for the sake of short term financial gain.

Yours sincerely,
Rick Sabbatini
Senior Vice Chairman at Festeroo Industries.

I oppose the planned development of the gas fields at Pilliga forest

I do not want the aquifer to be touched as it will affect the water table and surrounding farm lands. Once it is affected it can never again be as it was.

1. It is already causing trauma to many local people, due to the potential impact on their lives and destruction of their livelihoods. It will also cost the NSW economy millions, due to the damage to agricultural production. Time and time again, Santos and other mining companies have shown their contempt for local people.
2. 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.
3. It will extract over 35 billion litres of toxic 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, for which there is no safe disposal plan.
4. It will clear close to 1,000 hectares of the Pilliga Forest, fragmenting the largest temperate woodland in New South Wales, home to unique wildlife.
5. It will cause significant diversion of water from a recharge aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin, which is a water resource relied upon by rural communities across western NSW.
6. It will lead to large deliberate and fugitive emissions of methane, adding to climate change.
7. It is not justified: Santos' own Coal Seam Gas 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.
8. 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 sky needed by the internationally renowned Siding Spring Observatory.
9. Coal Seam Gas 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.

The Pilliga is precious and scared land and should be protected. Coal Seam gas is not the way of the future it does too much damage and is way to risky. Stop this now.

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.



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.