Get Santos out of the Pilliga

image of Get Santos out of the Pilliga

Oil and gas giant Santos is gearing up to start a major gas exploration program in the Pilliga State Forest. They have plans to drill at least 18 gas wells, build an enormous 300 million litre wastewater holding pond and bulldoze extensive areas for pipelines and roads. All this is located in the recharge zone of the Great Artesian Basin and the largest inland forest left in NSW.

They intend to conduct all these activities without even doing an Environmental Impact Assessment. They have written to the Federal Government saying their plans will NOT have a significant impact on national ...

Oil and gas giant Santos is gearing up to start a major gas exploration program in the Pilliga State Forest. They have plans to drill at least 18 gas wells, build an enormous 300 million litre wastewater holding pond and bulldoze extensive areas for pipelines and roads. All this is located in the recharge zone of the Great Artesian Basin and the largest inland forest left in NSW.

They intend to conduct all these activities without even doing an Environmental Impact Assessment. They have written to the Federal Government saying their plans will NOT have a significant impact on national environmental matters or on water resources. We know this is just the tip of the iceberg for Santos plans in north-west NSW - once entrenched in the Pilliga they intend to spread out across the entire region.

We have until just 11th July to set them straight!

This information is provided by the North West Alliance, a coalition of 30 groups concerned about coal and gas mining in north-west NSW.

+

Tell the Federal Government to Protect the Pilliga

The Federal Government is currently considering a decision on whether Santos plans for gas drilling in the Pilliga are likely to have a significant impact on the environment.

They will have to decide very soon on whether the project will require an Environmental Impact Statement and whether it should be referred to the new Independent Expert Scientific Committee on water.

This Federal oversight is absolutely vital to ensure that coal seam gas is not allowed to run rough shod over the Pilliga, through the recharge zone of the Great Artesian Basin and into surrounding farming areas.

If the Federal Government doesn't call this development in and require an Environmental Impact Statement, then Santos will be able to go full steam ahead with their exploration plans without any rigorous environmental studies. It would be an appalling precedent for CSG across the country.

There is a short window for public comment - by the 11th July 2013. We need to make our voices heard.

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Federal representative,

RE EPBC Reference Number: 2013/6918 
Title: Santos NSW (Eastern) P/L/Exploration (mineral, oil & gas - non-marine)/PEL 238 & PAL 2, Narrabri Area, Gunnedah Basin/NSW/Energy NSW Coal Seam Gas (CSG) Exploration & Appraisal Program

I am writing to ask you to call-in plans by Santos for coal seam gas exploration in the Pilliga forest of North West NSW as a controlled action.

There is no doubt the activity will have a significant impact on Matters of National Environment Significance and should be referred to the Independent Expert Scientific Committee.  It is vital that Santos is required to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement for the activity.

I disagree strongly with the conclusion reached by Santos that their activities will not have a significant environmental impact.  The evidence available to me strongly contradicts that claim.

In making your decision, I would like you to consider that:

•	Santos have admitted that their CSG exploration will destroy habitat for three Federally-listed threatened species - the Pilliga Mouse, Koala and South-eastern Long-eared Bat.
•	All of these species have nationally important populations located in the Pilliga.
•	The breeding status and population dynamics of these species in the Pilliga are very poorly understood.
•	Santos have not done any studies to assess the population status of the species in the Pilliga and base their claims about minimal impacts on pure speculation.
•	Santos have admitted that they will be drilling coal seam gas wells right through the recharge aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin.
•	There has been no comprehensive baseline water monitoring conducted of the aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin or waterways in the Pilliga.
•	There have been no rigorous studies conducted of groundwater dependent ecosystems in the Pilliga.

I request that you require an Environmental Impact Statement that requires the following assessments to be undertaken before any CSG exploration is allowed in the Pilliga:

•	Baseline ecological surveys to assess the population dynamics and status of the Pilliga Mouse, Koala and South-eastern Long-eared bat;
•	Comprehensive studies of the regional groundwater and geological framework to better understand the potential impacts of CSG;
•	Establishment of hydro-geological baselines for the Pilliga and across the Coonamble Embayment of the Great Artesian Basin;
•	Comprehensive assessment of Groundwater Dependant Ecosystems in the Pilliga region, including the potential impacts any groundwater drawdown or contamination may have;
•	Thorough sampling and hydraulic testing across the project area to enable modelling of regional groundwater flows;
•	Baseline atmospheric methane data collection against which to assess any future potential fugitive emissions; and
•	Independent Health Impact Assessment of north-west NSW to establish baseline health data and air quality information.

I encourage you strongly to act on the requests above.  This matter will set a very important precedent for coal seam gas regulation in Australia, and will be a test of the new water provisions of the EPBC Act 1999.

I look forward to your reply.

How we use the data you enter on this form

Do Gooder (the advocacy platform powering this online action) processes personal information from you that you enter on this form so that we can provide the functions and related services to you and The Campaigner (the organisation responsible for this online action) for their legitimate purposes, including possibly exporting it to other systems, and to effectively respond to enquiries and communications related to those services.

Specifically when you enter:

Your location data (residential address or postcode) it is used to locate your elected representative, to pre-populate your email signature and to provide The Campaigner with a visualisation of the location of the support for this campaign.
All other data you may enter, including your email address, name, telephone number, commentary and so on is used by The Campaigner to advocate for the campaign’s goals and where required may be sent to the target of the campaign.

The data collected by Do Gooder is also used by us in aggregate form to improve the service and may be held on your behalf outside your country of residence by our third party service providers. These providers are bound by contract to only use personal information on our behalf, in accordance with agreed terms. While the privacy laws of the country in which personal information is stored or transferred may be different from those in your country, we will always have safeguards in place when storing or transferring personal information. We will never sell, rent, loan or in any other way pass your information on to other parties other than to provide this service to you and The Campaigner.

The personal information collected by Do Gooder is held subject to a Data Processing Agreement between Do Gooder and The Campaigner in compliance with the EU's GDPR and Australian law.

Learn more about our privacy policy here

How is my data used?