BSA is committed to working with government and industry to achieve a coal seam gas industry that has minimal environmental, economic and social impacts and preserves groundwater resources for future generations.
Latest News from BSA: February 2011
What an interesting start to the year it has been. CSG has probably been the last thing on most people’s minds following the recent floods. I certainly hope that to those members who were directly affected that you are getting back on track and ready to prepare for what will no doubt be another busy year ahead.
I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge that a number of CSG company employees helped local residents during and after the floods. This assistance was very much appreciated by the community and I would like to extend a vote of thanks to those individuals.
While CSG activity came to a grinding halt over the majority of the Surat Basin things are now winding up again and with that in mind I think we all have to unfortunately throw ourselves back into the arena.
BSA is determined to continue our plan to push for a better deal for landholders and residents who are set to be affected by this industry. While we are pleased with the progress that has been made to date we believe there is still so much more that needs to be addressed by both government and industry.
We certainly encourage you, our members, to keep us informed and up to date of your concerns and experiences so we can use this information to get outcomes. People need to continue to be aware and switched on to this developing industry. With recent Commonwealth approvals allowing the go-ahead of some major projects we are facing a time of great change and development which will see activity increasing rapidly over the next 12 months.
We certainly don’t believe it’s too late to do anything and as a committee are determined to battle on and fight for the issues we believe are critical in ensuring a sustainable future for all.
Ian
Four Corners to broadcast CSG issue
A segment on the booming coal seam gas industry, focusing in particular on development in the Surat Basin, is set to be aired on Monday (21 Feb) night. The segment will include interviews with landholders and residents who outline their experiences and genuine concerns over the future of their health, businesses and lifestyle.
We encourage all members to take the opportunity to watch this feature and also notify as many people of its upcoming broadcast.
The show will air from 8.30pm Monday, 21 February 2011 on ABC.
UCG deemed an environmental threat
The State Government’s announcement in late January that they would not be allowing Cougar Energy to recommence trials at its Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) plant near Kingaroy has certainly gone on to raise a lot of questions over the Government’s position on coal seam gas (CSG).
Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability Kate Jones said in her initial press release that “Cougar Energy could not demonstrate to the Department of Environment and Resource Management and the independent Scientific Expert Panel that it could recommence its operations without an unacceptable risk of causing environmental harm.”
Ms Jones went on to say how protecting the environment was taken very seriously by the State Government and any company wanting to do business in Queensland must meet their environmental obligations.
Furthermore, just this week it was announced that Carbon Energy had been given authority to recommence its operations at its trial plant near Chinchilla following its shutdown last year after cancer-causing chemicals were discovered in nearby groundwater. The authority carried with it a number of requirements and conditions that focused on additional compliance measures and more stringent notification methods. DERM will be ensuring that the company has implemented these requirements prior to activity recommencing.
The BSA certainly questions why the Government will not take such a tough approach with the CSG industry which never undertook a trial programme, nor had an independent scientific panel to scrutinise its safety, and has been permitted to develop at such a rapid rate prior to any new science or research being completed.
“This industry is huge and is set to impact such a vast majority of residents and landholders throughout Queensland over the coming years. We don’t believe the Government has taken the adequate precautions to date to ensure the future sustainability of other industries and the environment,” said Ian Hayllor. “You can’t help but question why the Government is being so lenient on the CSG industry and it would be interesting to know what is an acceptable risk.”
There have been numerous cases over recent months relating to discoveries of cancer-causing BTEX chemicals at CSG sites and while the relevant government departments have been notified and called in to investigate, the prevalence of such discoveries does not seem to raise any long term preventative action or concern.
In addition to concern about chemical use and environmental safety, BSA continues to raise questions about the potential environmental harm from CSG activities on land surface, groundwater, lack of monitoring, and the impact on landholders lifestyle and businesses.
The BSA firmly believes, and will continue to push for, that further modelling needs to be compiled on groundwater impacts to ensure that this vital resource is not jeopardised or destroyed by CSG development.
“Water and land impacts need to be fully understood before it is too late. We don’t believe there is a place for adaptive management when you are dealing with such a complex and vital issue. If we get it wrong now it’s going to be too difficult to fix,” Ian said.
The Government has introduced new legislation (including the Natural Resources and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2010, the Land Access Code and the Water and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2010), relating to the CSG industry over the past 12 months which goes someway to address a few of the bigger issues however the BSA believes so much more needs to be done before things proceed further.
Many members have been raising questions over the safety of CSG water releases that occurred during the recent flood crisis.
On the 8 February DERM stated in a press release that there were four CSG operations in the Fitzroy Basin that released water outside of their Environmental Authority conditions which included two unauthorised releases; one by Arrow at Moranbah and a second by Molopo Energy at Moura. Origin Energy at their Wandoan and Westgrove sites apparently conducted controlled discharges of produced water to prevent their ponds from overflowing.
Further concerns were raised by a landholder located near Dalby on ABC radio who questioned the quality of the water discharged by Arrow Energy into a nearby creek which flowed over her property during the flood crisis. While the landholder told ABC Radio that she understood Arrow Energy took samples of the water for further testing, the landowner has not seen the results and questions how self-regulation can be adequate. She told ABC that she understood the release was made by Arrow in a bid to prevent damage to their holding dam’s wall. The landowner stated that she was concerned about the impact this discharge could have on her cattle and crops.
BSA is making contact with representatives from DERM to establish what provisional approvals, if any, were given to proponents in the Surat Basin during the flood event and what compliance measures were taken to ensure these actions were safe and not detrimental to others who may be directly affected.
Developing baseline groundwater guidelines
BSA, along with AgForce and QFF, were asked by DERM to consult in the development of the Baseline Assessment Guidelines for Groundwater. Due to the extreme importance of this issue, BSA has certainly welcomed the opportunity to be involved in this process.
BSA’s focus has been on ensuring the need for independent monitoring which focuses on both water levels and quality.
“We have seen the draft document and have highlighted our main concerns,” Ian said. “We believe that groundwater users need to be aware of just how important this data and information is and how we believe it’s essential that independent assessors carry out such testing. We also want quality to be a part of this monitoring process and ensure it looks at a full range of possible contaminants including those of BTEX compounds.”
Concerns relating to the timing and release of such information, as well as notifying nearby landholders who perhaps may reside outside an affected tenure area, were also put up for discussion.
BSA believes a public database of information on standing water levels and water quality needs to be developed urgently.
Report questions the “clean green” tag
A recent university report from the U.S. challenges the much held belief that natural gas such as coal seam gas is a clean green energy source. The Cornell University Report entitled “Assessment of the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natural Gas from Shale Formations Obtained by High-Volume, Slick-Water Hydraulic Fracturing- revised January 26 2011” asserts that the natural gas industry is not a clean and green industry due to its fugitive gas emissions.
Click here to view the Cornell report >>
While this report is based in the U.S. the BSA believes it raises the question of whether there is any scientific evidence that the total footprint of CSG is a cleaner energy source than coal when you take into account the full environmental impacts. The so-called clean green benefits of the coal seam gas industry have been a major selling point for the industry and the Queensland Government as recipient of the royalties this industry generates. The Qld Government through its Queensland Gas Scheme has mandated that 18% of domestic energy supply must come from natural gas by the year 2020.
URL: www.dme.qld.gov.au/energy/gasscheme.cfm
Thank you to our members
BSA would like to thank members for their support (both moral support and financial contributions) that has helped has to continue to represent landholder concerns to industry and government. Please contact us if you’d like to find out more or would like to offer to help in some way www.basinsustainabilityalliance.org
