Independent Scientific report confirms Narrabri CSG project will be an environmental disaster

MEDIA RELEASE - 29 August 2017

The Greens NSW Resources and Energy spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham said that the NSW Premier should intervene to cancel Santos’ Narrabri coal seam gas project following the release today of the Commonwealth Independent Expert Scientific Committee’s scathing report on the project’s impacts on water resources.

“This report once again confirms that if Santos goes ahead with their coal seam gas project it will be an environmental disaster and highlights the inherent problem of waste products created by unconventional gas extraction.

“The creation of vast amounts of toxic waste and salts has always been the unresolvable problem with coal seam gas and this scathing report does nothing to dispel those issues.

“The Independent Expert Scientific Committee has sounded the alarm on the potential for “long-term legacy issues” caused by the creation of up to 115 tonnes of salt per day.

“Santos’ proposal to simply dump the salt they create in landfill has also been exposed as a farce, with “limited capacity for additional waste” in existing licensed facilities. Maybe their plan is simply to drive the waste across the border to Queensland and dump it there?

“It is also alarming that the IESC have “low confidence in the water balance modelling” Santos has used, and have flagged “potential under-estimation by Santos of the risk to groundwater-dependent ecosystems”.

“Coal seam gas is unwanted and unnecessary and this report confirms the fears of farmers and the wider community that it is also unsafe.

“It is time for the Liberals and Nationals to finally show some leadership and cancel this project once and for all.

“NSW should follow Victoria’s lead and ban unconventional gas altogether and unreservedly embrace renewable energy,” Mr Buckingham concluded.

2 comments

  • Ban the Narrabri coal seam gas project, in light of the expert Committee’s report on the risk to water supplies. How much environmental damage are these companies going to be allowed to carry out?

    Liked by 1 person

  • When we stop allowing these companies to make donations to political parties in return for favours then we may be able to stop them destroying our environment.

    Liked by 1 person

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