A new Royal Society of Queensland paper exposes how successive governments have turned a blind eye to the devastating impacts of unconventional gas on some of the state’s most important agricultural land.
The paper, “Coal Seam Gas Mining: potential to induce seismic and aseismic events and aquifer discontinuity” highlights how inland Queensland coal seam gas projects threaten aquifers that sustain farming operations across the Darling Downs and elsewhere.
It also highlights the potential for unconventional gas extraction to cause earthquakes, and notes the “Queensland Government, which stopped measuring seismic events in 1986, does not have the capacity to monitor seismic outcomes from the gas industry.”
Lock the Gate Alliance national coordinator Ellen Roberts said, “This expert scientific paper shows how coal seam gas threatens water and agricultural productivity across some of Queensland’s most productive farmland.
“The research shows how coal seam gas poses a major contamination risk to groundwater, while at the same time draining aquifers and causing farmland to sink.
“Despite these known issues, coal seam gas companies are pushing ahead with massive expansion plans. Origin wants to drill another 7700 coal seam gas wells across inland Queensland, including on the border of the world renowned Carnarvon National Park.
“In light of these new findings, Lock the Gate Alliance renews its call for an immediate moratorium on coal seam gas drilling in Queensland. The Queensland Government urgently needs to overhaul laws governing the industry, especially when it comes to the sinking of land as a result of coal seam gas induced subsidence.
“We need all political parties in the lead up to this year’s election to promise to introduce robust new laws to protect Queensland’s best quality farmland from the scourge of coal seam gas.”
Cecil Plains farmer Liza Balmain, whose property is threatened by coal seam gas development, said, “We have seen the impacts further north and west and know that the coal seam gas industry is totally incompatible with food and fibre production on prime agricultural land. The Condamine Alluvium, which sustains this food bowl and our regional towns, is a priceless water resource that is too precious to risk.
“The Queensland Government knows that coal seam gas is causing subsidence, yet is unbelievably allowing it to occur despite the long-term damage to Queensland’s most productive farmland on the Darling Downs. No amount of money will ever be able to compensate for the hundreds of years of lost agricultural productivity and permanent damage to water sources coal seam gas is causing.
“CSG regulation in Queensland allows companies like Arrow Energy, a known violator of land access laws, to self assess the risk of their development on farmers’ land - a classic case of leaving the fox in charge of the hen house.
“The Queensland Government needs to urgently address this major flaw in CSG regulation before any more damage is done to critical food and water security. The government has a duty of care to our future generations.”
ENDS