Fighting CSG

Submission writing, media reports, money questions asked and production water questions answered, mining company takeovers and advertising, and more links.

One of the reasons why we love Putty - misty mornings

I am writing, in conjunction with others, a submission to the NSW Government about coal seam gas mining at Putty and have spent hours on the telephone and the web finding out more about it. Nothing I have learnt has allayed my fears including the National Water Commissions statement on CSG in December 2010 at http://www.nwc.gov.au/www/html/2959-coal-seam-gas.asp?intSiteID=1. When the submission is finished it will be posted on this site.

Tuesday’s ABC 7.30 Report about the impacts of coal seam gas delivered a simple but clear message that it has the potential to ruin our food and water resources. Farmers are fighting the Chinese company Shenhua, which has spent $300M for the exploration licence and $110M buying properties on the fertile Liverpool Plains in NSW.

How much money has the NSW government received for coal seam gas exploration licences and do they receive more for renewals?

At the moment I don’t have the time or the patience to find this out but I did get another one of my questions answered this week.

Production Water

The production water from AGL’s gas wells goes to Windsor where it is treated and then sold for the making of tiles or bricks. When there is excess water, e.g. when it rains, the water goes into the sewer and into the Hawkesbury. There are only so many tiles and bricks that need to be made so more treated water will go into the sewer as the number of wells increase. Note the National Water Commissions views on that in the link above.

Santos TakeoverSantos took over Eastern Star Gas this week, making it the holder of the largest gas reserves in NSW. Santos’ advertisements on television and at movie theatres have a Queensland farmer telling us what a great company they are. At a recent screening in Paddington, the audience jeered and yelled out ‘propaganda’.

First Female President of NSW FarmersFiona Simson has been elected the new President of NSW Farmers’ Association. She chairs the Association’s taskforce on coal seam gas and as a farmer from the Liverpool plains she understands the problems and speaks well on the subject. http://www.nswfarmers.org.au/

Cleaning up contaminated aquifers20/7/11 – Sydney Morning Herald - Mining industry leaders have failed to explain how coal seam gas companies would clean up contaminated aquifers. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/question-mark-over-coal-seam-gas-clean-up-20110720-1hnud.html

Prime Minister avoids CSG protesters 21/7/11 – Sydney Morning Herald - Coal seam gas protesters at Ipswich accuse the prime minister of being too gutless to talk to them about an industry they say is a threat to Australia's food security. Julia Gillard avoided 30 rowdy protesters by going in and out a back door. Waving placards reading "Can't eat coal, can't drink gas", the protesters had hoped to pressure Ms Gillard over a moratorium on CSG projects until environmental effects are better understood.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/gillard-gutless-csg-protester-says-20110721-1hpvp.html

CSG Senate Committee in Queensland21/7/11 – ABC - A Senate committee has been hearing evidence this week about the impact of CSG extraction in southern Queensland. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-21/government-failing-to-control-csg-industry-newman/2803952?section=business