METGASCO STARTS DRILLING AT GLENUGIE NEAR GRAFTON

Glenugie locals and members of the Lock the Gate alliance are furious that gas company Metgasco has commenced drilling at Glenugie without consultation with nearby landholders or any public notification that they had received approval for the works.

Local Sarah Fletcher is anxious about the potential impacts of the drilling operation on her property which lies downstream of the site on Avenue Road, just east of the Grafton Regional Airport and within the catchment of the important Coldstream wetlands.

“I was shocked to learn that drilling commenced yesterday,” Mrs Fletcher said. “According to workmen at the site, a 6 metre hole has already been drilled and a pad established for future drilling.

“This has come from out of the blue. We had a promise from Steve Gallop, Metgasco’s manager of Health, Safety and Environment, that all neighbours would be notified in writing but this has not occurred,” she said.

Mrs Fletcher will be joining other locals at a protest vigil outside the site today.

Lock the Gate’s Northern Regional coordinator, Ian Gaillard, who will also be joining today’s protest at the site, shares the locals’ concerns about the lack of transparency and communication in the process which has approved this work.

“Approval of this drill site is based on a consent given in 2010 for a well-site then proposed for an undisclosed location in Coaldale – 50 km to the north-west of the current site.

“Apparently an amendment to the review of environmental factors (REF) has been assessed for this new site – but this amendment and the new approval are not currently available on the Department of Resource and Energy’s website.

“We are calling on the NSW Government to address the community’s real concerns regarding the lack of consultation with relevant stakeholders in the planning and decision-making processes,” he said.

“With the shroud of secrecy clouding the approval process, is it any wonder that there is widespread lack of confidence in the Government’s promises to protect our water and air from pollution arising from the drilling process?

“We are calling for an immediate stop to all drilling for unconventional gas in the Clarence Valley. Recently released data on methane emissions from gas fields at Tara highlight the urgent need for baseline studies to be done before this industry proceeds any further in our region,” he said. 

        -  Media Release issued 21st November, 2012.

Clarence Communities Declaring Themselves CSG Free

At Kungala Hall on Sunday 4 November, residents of 25 roads from the communities of Lanitza, Kungala, Braunstone, Wells Crossing and Halfway Creek declared their roads and communities CSG FREE.  This moving celebration follows an extensive survey process whereby each resident over the age of 16 years, on each of the 25 roads, was asked the question, “Do you want your roads and lands CSG Free”. With 432 residents surveyed, only 8 said no, and 6 were unsure, giving a percentage of 95.6% not wanting gasfields in their community.

“The CSG Free Communities Strategy is a grass roots democracy process", said Lynette Eggins, CSG Free Community Coordinator in the Clarence Valley LGA. "The NSW government has failed to protect farmers and communities from invasive gasfields. Now the communities of Lanitza, Kungala, Braunstone, Wells Crossing and Halfway Creek have decided to take charge of their own destiny. After a comprehensive survey process showing overwhelming support, they have declared their communities no-go zones for gasfields. These declarations are strong statements from the people, declaring their intent to defend their community from an invasive and reckless industry. An industry that poses risks to water, land values, farming land and the health of families”

“This neighbour to neighbour survey of more than 430 residents shows that the mining companies have no social licence. These communities emphatically reject unconventional gas mining in our region.” she said.

Other communities in the Clarence Valley local government area are following suit with many localities preparing to declare themselves Gasfield Free over the coming months. "People have been contacting me for advice on how to get the community survey going in their district", said Lynette Eggins, "it's fantastic to see such community spirit". This follows the trend throughout the Northern Rivers where communities have been undertaking this process over the past year. From the Queensland border, down through the Lismore area and now the Clarence, many communities have declared themselves Gasfield Free through the grass-roots community-run survey.

“Social licence to turn the Clarence Valley into gasfields? I don’t think so” said Ms Eggins.

Councillor Sue Hughes generously offered her time to accept road declarations from the delegates of each of the 25 surveyed roads, and in turn presented  residents with their Gasfield Free Road Sign. Councillor Hughes said she will table the Declarations at a Council Meeting in December. The box of 25 road Declarations from these communities can now be added to Declarations from the community of Ewingar, in the Upper Clarence, accepted by Mayor Richie Williamson at the Rock the Gate Rally in Lismore earlier this year.

“Across the Northern Rivers, communities are running with this grass-roots process",  said Annie Kia from Lock the Gate Alliance Northern Rivers, who was instrumental in developing the initiative early this year. "So far, a total of 11,590 people have responded to the survey in more than 60 communities. Of these, 96% said YES to wanting their road and community Gasfield Free. Astonishingly, only 1% said NO to going Gasfield Free, with 3% NOT SURE. This is about self-determination. Communities have a right to protect existing industries, their land, water and health. The people of the Northern Rivers clearly reject gasfield industrialisation, with all its risks."

CSG PROTEST NEAR CASINO

Last week protesters prevented further work on a coal seam gas (CSG) pond being constructed by Metgasco west of Casino in the NSW Northern Rivers area.

                      Protesters near the Metgasco "holding pond"                              Photo:  J Edwards

CSG miners construct ponds to hold water produced as part of the gas extraction process. Disposal of this water, which contains an array of chemicals, many of them toxic, has become an issue where CSG is being mined. This contaminated water poses a threat to aquifers, streams and urban water catchments if it is not properly contained. In the 2011 Queensland floods some of this “produced” water escaped from its holding ponds leading to contamination of extensive areas.  In the Pilliga woodland in central NSW on 25 June 2011 10,000 litres of CSG water leaked into the environment causing tree and animal deaths.  Eastern Star Gas (taken over by Santos on 17 November 2011) failed to notify the state government of the leak as it was required to do. Santos, after previously denying that such a leak had occurred, finally confirmed it had happened in January 2012.

Last year in July the NSW Government banned construction of CSG evaporation ponds in response to community concerns about the danger of overflows and leakage of toxic chemicals from these structures.

In response to the Casino protest, NSW Minister for Resources and Energy, Chris Hartcher, stated on 21 June  that the government had not approved any evaporation ponds since its July 2011 ban, and that the Metgasco pond was a "holding pond" approved by Richmond Valley Council.

Photo: J Edwards

Boudicca Cerese, spokesperson for Lock the Gate Northern Rivers, said, "The Minister tried to split hairs about the difference between an evaporation pond and a holding pond, but no-one is buying it - a toxic pond is a toxic pond and we don't want them.

"Management of coal seam gas wastewater in the region is a ticking time bomb that represents a real risk to our floodplains, waterways and farmland.

"It is clear from the Ministers' statement … that the NSW Government intends to allow widespread use of wastewater 'holding ponds' across NSW and the Northern Rivers." 

 The protesters have announced that they intend to continue their action against Metgasco's "holding pond".

The Metgasco "holding pond" under construction       Photo: J Edwards