Fracking Unacceptable: No Toxic Sludge Pits or Open Air Wastewater Tanks

When Chief Minister Michael Gunner lifted the moratorium on fracking, he promised to implement all the Fracking Inquiry recommendations in full.

But now the draft Fracking Code of Practice has been released for public comment, and the NT Government has been caught red handed.

A critical recommendation from the NT Fracking Inquiry was the need to enclose all the tanks that will hold fracking wastewater.

But the onshore gas fracking industry and the Department have drafted a plan to allow open air wastewater tanks and evaporation pits for the fracking sludge waste. It’s a broken promise, dangerous to waterways and wildlife.

When Chief Minister Michael Gunner lifted the moratorium on fracking, he promised to implement all the Fracking Inquiry recommendations in full.

But now the draft Fracking Code of Practice has been released for public comment, and the NT Government has been caught red handed.

A critical recommendation from the NT Fracking Inquiry was the need to enclose all the tanks that will hold fracking wastewater.

But the onshore gas fracking industry and the Department have drafted a plan to allow open air wastewater tanks and evaporation pits for the fracking sludge waste. It’s a broken promise, dangerous to waterways and wildlife.

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To the NT Government,
 
Thank you for the opportunity to have my say on the draft Code of Practice for Onshore Petroleum Activities.
 
I’m writing to express my severe disappointment and frustration that a key recommendation of the Fracking Inquiry has been rejected and replaced in this process.
 
Fracking Inquiry recommendation 7.12, reads that: • enclosed tanks must be used to hold all wastewater.
 
But in the draft Code of Practice, at Section C.4.2.2, the meaning and intent of the recommendation has been changed. You only require wastewater to be in covered tanks for part of the year. Plus, you’ve added conditions that only require enclosed tanks if the wastewater is “held on site for longer than two weeks” or said that wastewater could be “transferred”, or tanks just need a “retractable cover”.
 
The Fracking Inquiry was very clear, that enclosed tanks must be used for all wastewater. Fracking wastewater is dangerous, likely containing nasty BTEX chemicals and naturally occurring radioactive materials. The Inquiry found the only way to mitigate the risk was to only allow the dangerous fluid to be held in fully enclosed tanks.  
 
By reinterpreting this recommendation, you are breaking a promise to fully implement all the Fracking Inquiry recommendations. This is unacceptable.
 
Section C.4.2.2 must be re-written to state: “enclosed tanks must be used to hold all wastewater.”

Further, at section A.1.1.1, your draft Code of Practice says: (a) Evaporation is an acceptable means of reducing produced water and flowback fluid volumes.

Evaporation ponds leave toxic sludge and dangerous flowback fluid and fracking wastewater open to the environment. They are a serious risk to wildlife, a risk to anyone living downwind, and risk in a severe weather event. Again, the Fracking Inquiry did not recommend evaporation pits as acceptable. They said all wastewater needed to be held in enclosed tanks.
 
Section A.1.1.1 must be re-written to state that “evaporation is an unacceptable means of reducing fluid volumes”.
 
Finally, I submit that at B.5, the use of dangerous BTEX chemicals in fracking fluids should be banned altogether. BTEX is banned in other parts of Australia, it is not appropriate that any amounts are acceptable to be used in the NT.
 
I wait with serious concern for your response to these matters.

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