New South Wales Imposes Rules on Coal Seam Gas Development
New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally has sided with farmers and environmentalists on the contentious issue of coal seam gas, announcing restrictions on where miners can explore and how the gas can be extracted.
She announced Labor policy would prohibit exploration near national parks and ban the use of toxic chemicals in the hydraulic fracturing process, otherwise known as fraccing.
Labor unveiled a ten point coal and coal seam gas plan which said the use of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes would be banned across New South Wales, following in the footsteps of the Queensland government who banned BTEX fraccing late last year.
Coal seam gas in a coal mine was once deemed a significant hazard, but with improving technology allowing it to be retrieved in what the industry says is a safe way, the industry is booming.
Otherwise known as coal seam methane or coal bed methane, it is the natural gas in coal which develops when formed deep underground by heating and compressing plant matter.
Usually the gas is 300-600 metres underground and is extracted through a complicated process where wells are drilled through the coal seams and when the water is pumped out, natural gas is released from the coal.
The benefit of coal seam gas is that it requires little treatment before being used as energy in homes and industry.
But the extraction of the natural gas has faced increasing opposition, with people in areas where coal seam gas is retrieved becoming increasingly concerned for their health and safety.
The concern of residents centres around the fact that almost half the chemicals inserted into the ground to allow the coal seam gas to be extracted can remain in the soil forever, so if the chemicals used are dangerous or toxic they can become part of the groundwater and pose risks to people, animals and property.
“There is no evidence to suggest these chemicals are being used in NSW but everything seems to suggest they are carcinogenic," the Premier said. ‘‘They have been banned in other jurisdictions. We think it is appropriate NSW follows suit.’’
She also announced the compensation payed to landowners where wells are installed will be increased under the government’s plan.
"A re-elected Keneally government will mandate minimum payments to landowners to recognise the business consequences of exploration and extraction activities on farming," she said.
There would also be an audit of gas wells and drill sites to examine how operators had compiled their conditions of approval and an industry ombudsman would be appointed to deal with complaints.
Source: Australian Mining