Trouble brewing? Coal seam gas and the water table

Trouble brewing? Coal seam gas and the water table

I caught up with a few of my country friends over Easter. One conversation topic that kept coming up was the current approval process for the coal seam gas industry. To say that they are furious about it would be an understatement.

They quoted cases where bore water, which has been running for decades, has suddenly dried up within months of coal seam gas production commencing nearby. So what’s going on?

Monday’s Four Corners Programme on the ABC interviewed a number of experts who feel that the assessment system, granting the likes of Santos, Queensland Gas Company (a subsidiary of British Gas) and AGL, the right to mine coal seam gas, is flawed.

Studies into the environmental impact on the water table do not appear to be up to scratch.

Simone Marsh, a Senior Environmental Specialist with the Queensland Government, Dr Isaac Santos from Southern Cross University and Dr Philip Pells, formerly of Pells Consulting, all independently discuss this process in the programme.

Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has introduced proposed amendments to the national environment law to protect the country’s water resources from coal seam gas and large mining developments.

This will not apply to projects that have already been approved.

I wonder if the stewards of Australia’s water resources will be contacting Erin Brockovich, who became famous for her part in the legal case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company in California…

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Chief Executive Officer of Montgomery Investment Management, David Buckland has over 30 years of industry experience. David is a deeply knowledgeable and highly experienced financial services executive. Prior to joining Montgomery in 2012, David was CEO and Executive Director of Hunter Hall for 11 years, as well as a Director at JP Morgan in Sydney and London for eight years.

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