Australian Human Rights V's Coal Seam Gas

ALL ORGANIZATIONS. PLEASE MAKE THIS A CHAIN MAIL

ALSO CUT AND PAST AND...

send to "Attonery General Robert McLelland"



URGENT: Greetings Robert McLelland,

I am proud of Australia and what we have made it today since the pioneer days in the early 1800's. We are the "Lucky Country".

There is a massive growing movement against Coal Seam Gas Exploration and Drilling in Australia.

You would know that a great amount of organizations are being formed daily against this invasion on our soil in Australia. The everyday person once informed of the practices of this industry are hugely opposed to CSG entering at all and profiting at our expense.

We have just been awarded in Melbourne as the most liveable city in the World. With Sydney and Brisbane being in the top 10? I say absolutely well done to your department, government and our system and the people of Australia, every one of them.

My question fundamentally is why are we changing what is currently a working framework? We are presently a great example for the rest of the world!

Why then I ask, do we have to ruin this? Why then do we have Coal Seam Gas Drilling here on our continent? Can we have an early election? This issue will change how people vote most definitely.

My thoughts are that we will collapse our excellent food, water, tourism and health sectors and overload to breaking point our many charitable organizations in 5 years if CSG continues. I know, and I think you do to that this is not worth allowing and should be stopped immediately. Can we afford to import all our food and water? Many of us will die.

There is no return from this scenario. No plan to clean up the damage. I am advised that there is around an estimated 49% of gas available underground that International Mining CSG companies want to extract for profit to send to China and India and wherever else in the world. Abbott Point in North Queensland for example has a 99 year lease of crown land just granted in North Queensland. This is not very public information but a controlling factor in exports also.

There are plenty of documented cases in America of the health issues and environmental damages created by the current practices of CSG extraction. Will there be a huge class action legally in the future from the citizens of Australia against the Australian Government for negligent action and non transparency? I think so.

I am desperately begging that you consider this issue, please save what we are so lucky to have today. Please save our future and take action.

Please step in and cut the red tape, all contracts relating to CSG and export agreements to other countries, address parliament and advise every citizen of Australia urgently the direction that will save the paradise that the rest of the world considers Australia is.

I leave it in your expert hands as to whether an early election is a viable solution. I leave it in the hands of you and your department to help preserve Australian soil and citizens lives.

I believe you must take action NOW.

Your most sincere and concerned resident of Australia
 
Source: Lock The Gate Alliance <info@lockthegate.org.au>

Why coal seam gas is the next big threat to our land and water

Dear Lock The Gate member,

Every week Tony wakes at dawn to make his regular rounds. There are already 66 wells in the Piliga State forest near his farm, and over 1,000 more are planned. It's supposed to be a conservation reserve.

He follows the pipes, looking for leaks, and often finds them. He takes photos of the unsealed ponds where mining companies store waste water from extraction, and of the trees dying off nearby. He's right to be concerned. Analysis of waste in other areas found hundreds of industrial chemicals, and carcinogens linked to leukaemia at levels 6 to 15 times safe drinking water standards1.

Undeterred, coal seam gas companies don't want anything to slow, nor regulate, their rapid expansion. So this week they launched a new PR campaign to convince the community and the Government there is nothing to worry about.

If the industry hasn't moved into your area yet, watch this video featuring Tony and other locals to see why coal seam gas is the next big threat to our land and water:

www.getup.org.au/campaigns/coal-seam-gas/csg-ad/dont-risk-csg

With gas reserves under as much as 46% of the country2, even inner-city suburbs are under threat from coal seam gas. The mining process includes fracking - a process where industrial chemicals and sand are pumped at high pressure deep into the earth to fracture the rock. Water supplies are often contaminated.

Locals are doing everything they can to spread the word about the dangers of coal seam gas mining and fracking. They go gate-to-gate to speak with neighbours, hand out letters, and spend days writing detailed submissions to Government. Debbi, a GetUp member from Tara QLD, even drove 5 hours down to Lynches Creek NSW to tell a community meeting what coal seam gas is doing to her kids' health.

But they can't drive far enough, write enough letters nor speak to enough neighbours to compete with the gas companies' advertising campaign.

Debbi often drives five hours to spread the word about coal seam gas - but you can help take her message right across the country with a small contribution to put this powerful ad on air.

Click here to watch the video.

What difference can you make? $43 can buy a TV ad during shows like Bondi Rescue in regional markets; $554 buys a prime-time commercial during the news that will reach tens of thousands.

We don't have long. Next week, Independent MP Tony Windsor will introduce a bill to Parliament to pause the expansion of coal seam gas mining until scientists have time to assess the impacts on health, land and our ancient water aquifers. That means politicians will be assessing the issue in coming weeks, and sending opinion polls into the field.

Check out this video of Tony, Debbi and other locals and help spread it far and wide.

In hope,
Lock The Gate

PS - In addition to toxic chemicals, it has been estimated that coal seam gas mining will bring over 50 million tonnes of underground salt to the surface.3 The industry admits it has no idea how to safely manage this.4 Watch this video and stand with locals calling for a freeze on expanding this industry until the impact can be understood and regulated.

1National Toxics Network. August, 2011. 'Gas industry plays down BTEX levels in groundwater'
2Based on likely coalseam occurances within Sedimentary Basin data provided by Geoscience Australia.
3 Agforce evidence to the Senate Standing Committee on the Murray Darling Basin, December 2009.
4 Senate Standing Committee on the Murray Darling Basin, August 9th, 2011.

DUO ON A MISSION

This Friday (Sept 9), the Running Stream Water Users Association is hosting 'Defend our Water' - a regional tour to focus attention on the dangers of coal and coal seam gas mining to our precious water resources.

Organised by Northern Rivers landowner and Lock the Gate Alliance Committee member Michael McNamara and his wife Julie, the 'Defend Our Water' tour is promoting a National Day of Action planned for October 16, which marks the start of National Water Week.

Michael and Julie own land in the Tweed Valley, half an hour west of Murwillumbah, which has recently come under threat from coal seam gas mining. The pair helped form the Northern Rivers Guardians in order to protect their property and also joined the Lock The Gate Alliance. Last month they decided to use their long service leave to spread the message about the National Day of Action far and wide by touring the regions. They bought themselves a van and hit the road on a self-funded tour that has so far taken in towns like Bellingen, Gloucester, Taree, Newcastle, the Southern Highlands, Coonamble and Lake Macquarie.

Click here to see a recent Prime News story on them: 

 http://au.prime7.yahoo.com/n2/news/a/-/local/10192453/duo-on-a-mission-video/

The couple will speak this Friday evening at 7pm at the Running Stream Hall alongside  RSWUA President Jolieske Lips. There will also be an address by Sister Bernie Evens and Sister Trish Powell from the Bathurst Sisters of Mercy.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

COAL & COAL SEAM GAS MINING LAW

We have managed to organise a workshop on the weekend so if you missed the earlier workshops, Saturday 10th, 2011 is your chance to find out about mining and your legal rights. Dont miss it - it is a VERY informative 3 hours and IT'S FREE! Dont forget to RSVP so we have enough catering.

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Defend Our Water - Come to our Community meeting - Friday 9th September

The national Lock the Gate campaign is helping to raise awareness of the impact of mining on water resources so while their emphasis is on coal seam gas mining, it also helps our campaign to protect our water from Coal Mining. Also people may not  be aware there is a Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL 483) held by East Coast Power Pty Ltd covering the Ilford/Running Stream Area. so come along and find out all about it. We will also be giving a brief update on the Inglenook Project.

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HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE YOUR COUNTRY?

For many of us, our properties are our heartland. They are where we feel safe and grounded, at one with ourselves, our loved ones and nature. So it has been deeply disturbing to find our heartland now threatened by a foreign-owned coal mining company who views it as a resource to be plundered no matter what the cost to us or the environment.

Renowned environmentalist David Suzuki once said that the two most powerful words in the English language are "I'm Staying." These words are being shouted out loud and clear by passionate landowners all over the country in the face of greedy mining companies who, with state government backing, are advancing on our country at an alarming rate.

Don't despair. There are many people standing alongside us. We're at a pivotal point in our nation's history where landowners are resisting the invasion of destructive industries onto the lands. Join the resistance and 'Lock The Gate'.

Lithgow council says no to open cut consolidation - Lithgow Mercury

LITHGOW Council appears to be embarking on a new hard line policy against open cut mining in the local area with a unanimous vote at this week’s meeting against an extension of a mining operation at Cullen Bullen.But while the council has made its position very clear the final decision now rests with the NSW Government.

The company wants to consolidate the management and operations of the two mines under a single planning approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure.

This is intended to continue coal mining operations for 21 years as well as the mining of a limited sand deposit.

And that's not all.

For the full story see Lithgow Mercury of 25 Aug, 2011.

An Open Letter to All My Friends

16 August 2011

I am sending this message to all my email contacts in the hope that you will read it and perhaps be inspired to help us and others affected by the current scramble by mining companies to extract fossil-fuels under farms, residential land, and areas of national heritage value throughout Australia. Even if you are not personally affected by mining, you no doubt eat food produced by Australian farmers, some of whom are potentially going to lose their farms and their water to coal and coal-seam gas mining. Precious farm land, underground water resources and sensitive natural ecosystems are being lost forever because of rampant mining and state greed.

You may already know that our farm, like so many other farms and rural communities across the country, is threatened by coal mining. Centennial Coal (a mining company owned by Thai company, Banpu) has an exploration licence (cosily named the ‘Inglenook’ project; see: www.centennialcoal.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37&Itemid=165) over a large tract of land in our area, of which our farm forms a small part.

I can’t begin to tell you how devastated I feel about the prospect of coal mining in this area. The feeling of grief, loss and powerlessness is overwhelming. It not just grief about the potential loss and destruction of our farm, our neighbourhood, of the precious underground water we all rely on in this area; and horror at the potential pollution of air, water and land by future mining activities. It is a grief for future generations: for all the humans, animals and plants living on this land into the future. What kind of landscape will be left for them? A once beautiful, once productive land that has been poisoned and pillaged; vastly reduced or permanently polluted underground water; land that is scarred with the remains of open-cut mining activity; subsidence of land above underground mines; ruined ecosystems.

Just as a small example of the implications for us of Centennial’s exploration licence; over the last fortnight, as part of the company’s ongoing exploration work, a helicopter has flown in a linear pattern over our property at intervals of approximately 20 metres, and at a height just above the level of the tallest trees (by my approximation 30 to 40 metres). For two full days, and again just after 9 am last Sunday, the helicopter flew over our farm, crossing the area directly over our house perhaps a dozen times over this period in order to collect data for their proposed mining operation. You have to wonder whether this incredible invasion of privacy could happen over the homes of coal company executives… Remember too that this is only the exploration phase. If so little consideration is shown us in this phase, what will it be like if and when they begin to mine?

Whether you are personally affected by the resources boom – and I know that many people are, even in inner-city Sydney there is a proposed coal-seam gas mine – you now know of someone who is personally affected. But as I said before, my grief about this is not just for myself and my family, and our potential loss of a most beautiful natural environment and a farm and that has been our family home for five generations, it’s about a catastrophe on an enormous scale that is going to affect us all, our children, and the generations to follow us. And it does not, and will not, only affect humans. It will affect all life on this continent: humans, animals and plants.

What can you do? Well you could attend the next Lock the Gate Alliance rally: Stop Coal Seam Gas Drilling in Sydney! on Sunday 18 September 2011, 11:00 am at Camperdown Memorial Park, Corner Lennox & Eliza Sts, Newtown, Sydney.

If you can’t make it to that rally, you can check the Lock the Gate website for details of other events (lockthegate.org.au) or visit the Running Stream Water Users Association blog to find out the latest news in my area (runningstream2850.blogspot.com).

You can write to your local politicians, join any other protests that take place (find out about them at the addresses given above), and lock your own gate against the multinationals if your land is being similarly affected by mining (an act endorsed by Tony Abbott!).

You could also make a submission to the National Food Plan by 2nd September. This is an important opportunity to get the message to the government that the rapid, unplanned expansion of mining is threatening our food producing areas and water resources: www.daff.gov.au/agriculture-food/food/national-food-plan.

It may feel like a David and Goliath fight: what can individuals do in the face of these powerful, cashed-up companies and governments that are only too willing to sell off our fossil fuels and our futures for the relatively small amounts of money and very limited employment opportunities for Australians that the resources companies are offering? But if there are many voices, many people willing to show that they care, I think we can stop mining in valuable farming, residential and other sensitive areas before it’s too late.

Fiona Sim (Member of Running Stream Water Users Association)

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Our food bowls should not be sacrificed to mining

Article by Timothy Duddy
National Times August 17, 2011

Australia is the driest continent on earth and as we push towards an ever increasing population we must be mindful of the fact the less than 9 per cent of our continent's surface is arable land: a far smaller portion of that is prime agricultural land, and an even smaller portion of that has underground water resources.

This limited area for producing food for the nation is under threat from coal seam gas mining and so far the pendulum has been firmly tilted towards the miners' interests. There is a way the two industries can co-exist, but it will require a moratorium on further mining exploration while a regional plan is formed.

I cannot overstate the importance to the country of our food producing areas. The Liverpool Plains in the north-west of NSW, where I am from, is an area of just 1.2 million hectares that produces about 37 per cent of the nation's cereal crops. After 185 years of working the land, locals now use some of the most advanced broad-acre farming practices in the world, while local irrigators led the state in water reform.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/our-food-bowls-should-not-be-sacrificed-to-mining-20110817-1ixpe.html#ixzz1VkoYErST

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YOUR REPS AT THE ANTI-COALFACE

The Association was well represented at today's rally outside Sydney's Wentworth Hotel where delegates had paid $900 per head to attend the NSW Government mining conference. While inside the conference people were hearing from speakers like Centennial Coal's Beau Preston about progress on the Inglenook Project which covers the Running Stream area, outside the message was; 'Enough is Enough! Stop Coal and Gas expansion'.
A banner bearing this message was unfurled by members of the Newcastle based Rising Tide organisation who abseiled down the front of the Hotel unimpeded despite the large police presence.
The rally was addressed by NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham, Bev Smiles from the Mudgee-based Mid West Alliance and President of the Lock The Gate Alliance, Drew Hutton.
Hutton told the gathering that the majority of Queenslanders questioned in a recent poll supported the notion that farmers should have the right to deny access to coal seam gas companies seeking to drill on  their lands. This will be tested in court next week when Hutton faces charges of obstructing access to lands targeted by a coal seam gas company. If he wins the case, it will have a big impact on legislation in that state which would then flow on to other states.
The tide is turning. Let's hope it's in time to save our water and our lands for future generations.

Saving the state

If you think we ought to save some of New South Wales for future generations — rather than hand it out now to coal and coal seam gas companies — you might like to join like-minded people next Thursday and tell the government and the industry just that.

Read more . . .

Coal seam gas industry under the microscope

THE environmental, social and economic impacts of coal seam gas mining and exploration in NSW will be examined by a wide-ranging parliamentary inquiry.

click here to read the full article from the Sydney Morning Herald 

DRILLING OPEN DAY REPORT – 14 JULY 2011

Here is some more detailed information on what equipment is involved in drilling an exploration hole. See earlier blog posting for some photos.
    Jolieske

DRILLING OPEN DAY REPORT – 14 JULY 2011

Everyone was a little shocked at the size of the three large vehicles that pulled into the grounds of the RS Hall last Thursday: there were two 15m semi-trailers and one 8tonne truck. However we were assured the semi-trailers were used only for major road repositioning, and that when the equipment was brought on site it would be on a large trucks. In addition two items (the drill rig and the rod handler) are on tracks (like a bulldozer) and can be “walked in” for a few kilometres if site access is tricky.

So for an exploration bore hole expect 3 large trucks (about 8 tonnes) each with a large piece of equipment which also weighs about 8 tonnes so total weight of each truck will be around 16 tonnes, plus a number of other vehicles and a trailer mounted pump.

One truck has the drill rig which is approx 2.2m x 4.3m and about 2.7m high when transported, 10.3m high when rig is vertical and working. Another truck has the rod handler which is approx 2.2m x 5.3m. Another truck has the sump which is 2.2m x 5.3m. This needs to be brought all the way to the site on the truck.
A trailer (2x6m) with large pump Up to four light vehicles for workers/supervisors/visitors A one-off delivery of 4,500 litres of water Removal of solid waste – stored in a skip and removed from the landholding for proper disposal Core samples are removed from the landholding and placed in purpose-built core trays and transported by light truck to a Centennial Coal storage facility.

The Site needs to be about 25m square, i.e. 25m x 25 m. It will be fenced off with chain link, same as you usually see around building sites (or other fence type as agreed with the landholder). The site needs to be level. Obviously the company prefers to do minimal site preparation, so will chose the flattest possible site, within meeting the JORC requirements of spacing of holes.

The Drill Rig is probably the smallest available that has the necessary capacity for this job and is state of the art. It also has the lowest ground bearing pressure of similar rig. It can be brought to the site on a flat-bed truck, and walked in on its own tracks for some kilometres. It needs to be positioned on a flat site, so cut and fill may be necessary if your site is sloping.

The Rod Handler is about same size and weight as the drill rig. It also is on tracks and can be walked in for a few kilometres. The rods are stored on the rodhandler during drilling and transport.

The Sump must be level. It is a closed fluid system which recirculates the water used in the drilling. Amount of water used is 4.500 litres per hole. The waste water and cuttings are pumped through a number of filters (the last is very fine) which take out all the particulates, up to 20 microns and the cleaned water is returned to the drill. The solid matter goes via a chute into a mini- skip (sort of size you might get in your yard). Skip will need to be emptied 2-3 times per hole. This of course depends on depth of the hole which will vary from a maximum of 270m to about 80m for the shortest.

Water: where possible this will be sourced on each property (subject to landholder agreement) after being analysed to ensure it is of adequate quality. This drill rig uses about half the amount of water of similar rigs. All engines are diesel and meet the highest emission standards (these are the European standards).

The drilling process The drill uses water when drilling unless it hits certain kind of ground conditions where it will be necessary to stabilise the ground. In this case a liquid polymer will be used. This chemical will viscosify the water i.e. makes the water thicker so that it doesn’t “melt the dirt” as the drilling progresses. The Material Safety Data (MSD) sheets for the chemicals use in the polymer will be made available. The chemicals are supposed to be fully biodegradable.

Occasionally it may be necessary to use a bit lubricant which is based on canola oil.

The drillers are specialist operators. The rig manager has over 20 years of experience in all parts of the world (but he will be managing, not actually operating the drill). It is a very high tech drill that can be remotely operated. It has a number of gauges which record what is happening and at what depth. An experienced driller can tell what is happening by listening to the flow of water being used in drilling and watching the speed at which the drill rotates. Theoretically then, we should be able to get a log of any water bearing layers encountered, showing the width of the layer and at what depth it occurs.

If the drill hits a water bearing layer they will stop and case the hole, then continue with a reduced bit size. If they hit too many water bearing layers (i.e. the bit size can only be reduced a certain number of times) they will stop, fill the hole, then start again in another place, starting out with a larger bit size so there are more opportunities to reduce the size.

They are obliged to have w licensed water driller if the hole is going to be kept open as a water monitoring bore. The siting of the drill hole and the drilling method has been developed with the assistance of a hydrogeologist. The basis for this is the recently completed water census. The consulting hydrogeologists are on call throughout the drilling program. Input of the hydrogeologists will be sought prior to, during and post each drill hole. The drillers and on-site geologists are trained and experienced in attending to any water issues during drilling and will always consult with the hydrogeologist.

Each site has to be inspected before drilling commences to be evaluated for archaeological, aboriginal and ecological factors. This may result in special requirements being put on the site. Each site will also be fully rehabilitated.

REF (Review of Environmental Factors) for the whole exploration process is being prepared for submission to the Dept for approval any day now.

Centennial indicated they may have another open day when the drill is actually set up on a site. There will be a second rig coming on line in about March or April next year. The first 26-28 holes cover stage 1 and 2, then Centennial decides on stages 3,4 and 5.
  
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Coal barons sowing the seeds of unrest - SMH 30 Jul 2011

Changing land use is fuelling rural tensions, write David Humphries and Leonie Lamont.

For top farming land only a few road hours from Sydney, the Bylong Valley came late to settlement. Its remoteness imposed by the surrounding sandstone curtain and the national parkland that separates it from the Hunter Valley, this canyon riverbed is as productive and as versatile as it gets when seasons are good. But rain has been poor this year.

Peter Grieve, whose grandfather and father took up the 1300 hectare Talooby in 1937, has been cursing the dry only half as loudly, however, as that other intruder he considers the valley's greater affliction.

"I've nothing against coalmining," says Grieve, who is helping to spearhead the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, one of dozens of landholder groups springing up around the bush in a spirited but mostly futile resistance to the Great Coal Rush. "On principle, I don't believe country like this, or the Liverpool Plains or the Darling Downs, should be turned over to mining. This country was made for food production."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/coal-barons-sowing-the-seeds-of-unrest-20110729-1i4b5.html#ixzz1TYHyN8Fc

Mines minister visits Mudgee - 27 Jul 2011

The days of Sydney knowing what is best and imposing its will upon regional NSW are well and truly over.

This was the comment made by NSW Minister for Resources and Energy Chris Hartcher on a whirlwind trip to the Mid-Western region on Wednesday.

Mr Hartcher spoke to the Mudgee Guardian after a flight from Lightning Ridge where he had met Member for Barwon Kevin Humphries.

He met Member for Orange Andrew Gee at the Mudgee Airport before touring the Ulan mine site.

Asked about Mudgee’s rapid growth as an energy “hub”, Mr Hartcher said the State Government had many considerations and was working towards the right policy for land use across NSW.

“We see a great future for this area both agriculturally and through minerals,” he said.

“It [Mudgee] started off as a pastoral area, it’s developed a vineyard industry, it’s now developed a mining industry and it’s now developing an energy resource industry.

“There’s enormous potential for properly planned growth and the government, through our local MPs, is determined that growth will be planned, it will be balanced, and that it will be done in conjunction with concerns of the community.”

Mr Hartcher said he intended to work with Mr Gee to ensure there was mining expansion, but not at the expense of farming and not at the expense of water.

He said the government’s strategic land use study was under way in consultation with a number of stakeholders.

“It contains a reference group which includes NSW Farmers Association, the NSW Minerals Council, the Total Environment Centre, the Nature Conservation Council, Local Government Association, and the CFMEU,” Mr Hartcher said.

“The policies they take forward I propose that we would take forward to our local members including Andrew, Kevin Humphries and John Williams further west.

“We want to go through every level and want to make sure the community is represented by its members.”

Mr Hartcher reminded nearly two-thirds of the cabinet are from regional NSW and the government would work with them to make sure development is done in conjunction with local communities.

“We’re not going to let anything happen until all the safeguards are in place,” he said.

“There will be no further exploration licences granted in NSW without them going out for public comment.”

Mr Gee said he believed the government had acknowledged concerns brought to him before, during and after the election.

“Under the previous government these exploration licences were handed out like confetti and no one knew really what they were doing, communities were being divided, neighbours were being played off against neighbour and it was all very unproductive so I think we’ve adopted the right approach,” he said.

“He’s [Mr Hartcher] taken the time to find out what’s actually going on with mining at the literal “coal face” of energy production in NSW because it is going to be a big issue which affects this area.”

Source: Mudgee Guardian 29 Jul 2011

Stop Coal & Gas Wrecking NSW

To everyone who wants the government to stop allowing mining companies to destroy NSW


The NSW Government is sponsoring a $900 a head NSW Mineral Exploration and Investment Conference next month in Sydney. The two-day event (18/19 August) will see government and industry players coming together at a fancy hotel to discuss how to carve up NSW for coal and gas mining and destroy communities the environment and the agricultural potential of the state.

The Lock the Gate Alliance is inviting communities groups who want a different future to come to Sydney and present the other side of the impacts of mining. We need representatives from every campaign group across the state to give a clear and loud message to the government and industry.

Lets have our own conference – a conference for food, water and communities.

What: Rally at the NSW Mineral Exploration and Investment Conference 2011
Where: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Phillip St Sydney
When: 12noon, Thursday 18 August
Speakers: Speakers from local campaign groups around the state have been invited to address the rally - see the Lock the Gate website for updates in the next two weeks

For more information email rally@lockthegate.org.au   Register at the Facebook Event    Visit the Lock the Gate Alliance Website

Conference agenda

Alan Jones speaks to Drew Hutton from Lock the Gate Alliance

Subject: Alan Jones Show - 19 July 2011

Alan Jones speaks to Drew Hutton from Lock the Gate Alliance about the Santos takeover bid for Eastern Star Gas

http://www.2gb.com/index2.php?option=com_newsmanager&task=view&id=9457

Source: Rob Binks (MWCAN secretary)

Upswell of community concern over mining expansion

Media release - Jeremy Buckingham, Greens MP - 18 July 2011

Upswell of community concern over mining expansion

Greens MP and mining spokesperson, Jeremy Buckingham says an organic upswell of community concern over the rapid expansion of mining is the most stringing impression on the first half of his tour of mining affected communities.

The tour has so far taken in the western coal fields of  Capertee Valley, Running Stream, Rylstone and Mudgee; Coal mines at Ulan, Moolarben and Wilpinjong and the rapidly disappearing town of Wollar.  Jeremy has met with residents in Bylong and Bunnan, spoke to hundreds of concerned landowners at the hall in Baerami, Upper Hunter and met with community in Camden Haven and Taree.

"Everywhere I go people are extremely concerned about the rapid expansion of coal and gas and want the government to step in to protect their land and communities," said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

"There is a growing concern that the expansion of mining will not benefit local communities, but in fact wreck them.

"Towns and villages that have been virtually destroyed and swallowed by the mines such as Ulan and Wollar stand as a warning for communities facing mines and gas, such as the Bylong Valley.

"In many places the coal and gas companies are coming in with their large cheque books and dividing the community, picking off land owners one-by-one until the remainder are forced to sell or go - leaving once healthy towns deserted and productive land fallow. 

"It is clear that coal seam gas does yet not have a social licence to operate.  Everywhere I go there is a new local community group that has formed to try to stop the gas company operating in their area.

"When a Greens MP rolls into a small rural village like Bunnan and is met by half the town wearing 'No Gas' t-shirts, you know something big is going on.

"Country NSW is in revolt against the expansion of coal and gas.  They want a future for their community that revolves around agriculture, a healthy environment and a balanced local economy.  They don't want to be swallowed up by a coal mine, their land pockmarked by gas wells or their precious water put under threat," he said.

Jeremy will be touring Gloucester, Stroud, Gunnedah, Bellata, and the Pilliga over the the next few days.

Contact: Max Phillips 0419 444 916

BIG RIGS @ RUNNING STREAM

About twenty concerned landowners turned out to witness the arrival of three big rigs at an open day held yesterday by Centennial Coal at the Running Stream Hall. The rigs were carrying demonstration models of the sort of equipment proposed for use in the company's coal exploration project. An 8.5 tonne  exploration drill, a 9 tonne sump and an equally hefty rod handler were hauled into the grounds shocking many landowners with their size. Project Manager John Sandona (right) and driller James Fleming (left) explained to the gathering how these diesel operated machines work. But many of the people gathered were more concerned about the damage the vehicles did to the carefully maintained Community Hall grounds and could only imagine what similar traffic would do to their own properties.

To date the Association is aware of only one landowner who has signed an access agreement with the coal company. The rest of the owners of the proposed 28 drilling sites have yet to finalise deals and some are considering taking up the call from the Lock The Gate Alliance to deny access.
In a timely coincidence, NSW Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham was doing a tour of the region and stopped by to express his support for landowners, many of whom are feeling overwhelmed by the coal company's activities in the area. Mr Buckingham recently called on Parliament for a moratorium on new coal mines until the full impacts of the industry are assessed.
Mr Buckingham met with locals, including Councillor Esme Martens who is also calling on government to change legislation and include water as a compensable commodity where mining is concerned.
Afterwards Mr Buckingham and his entourage drove up to the top of Mt Vincent where they were most impressed by the stunning views back towards the Capertee Valley. Accompanying them was RSWUA President Jolieske Lips who showed them an example of misplaced development at the site of a power pylon that had to be relocated due to excessive water seepage. In its place is a covered hole full of crystal clear water. This, she predicted, would happen in the case of many of the proposed drilling sites.
Perhaps the battle against coal in this area will be won by water itself?

Helicopter survey by Centennial

Just to alert you to helicopter survey by Centennial, in case you miss the adds in the paper.
40m intervals at height of 40m. You wont miss it!

cheers
Jolieske

 

Posted for Jolieske