Stranded Vickery Scoping Paper contains material omissions about tyre landfilling and heritage

Stranded Vickery Scoping Paper contains material omissions about tyre landfilling and heritage

Feature image supplied: Steven O’Donoghue, Director of Resource Assessments, spruiked the now-failing Vickery Coal mine at a public meeting, Boggabri, 2017. A Scoping Paper addressed to Stephen O’Donoghue, the Director or Resource Assessments, NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) on 5th July 2023, contains material omissions in relation to a matter of significant heritage value and falsely claims the revised project would be “substantially the same” as the approved Vickery Extension Project even though the latter does not have approval to landfill tyres. The Vickery mine project is located adjacent to the…continue reading →
Gas Leaks and Vents captured on Camera ‘Pouring Out’

Gas Leaks and Vents captured on Camera ‘Pouring Out’

A field trip to the NSW and Queensland gasfields was undertaken earlier this year. Of the eight active wells checked in the Pilliga, New South Wales by Clean Air Taskforce Thermographer Théophile Humann-Guilleminot four were found to be releasing gas and two of these were identified by the NSW EPA in 2019 as needing repair. Santos is now only required to check for leaks once every 12 months. This frequency is insufficient. NWPA previously reported on this issue here. See the latest stories on the thermography investigation here: https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/08/climate-heating-gas-released-from-dozens-of-australian-fossil-fuel-sites-environmental-group-claims and https://reneweconomy.com.au/methane-pollution-pouring-out-of-australian-gas-infrastructure-study-finds/ Humann-Guilleminot says…continue reading →
Chasing the Waste from Coal Seam Gas methane mining in the Pilliga

Chasing the Waste from Coal Seam Gas methane mining in the Pilliga

By Johanna Evans Methane gas mining waste comes in many different forms and is produced by several different processes at multiple stages of mining operations. This story focuses on what’s happening in the Pilliga Forest, NSW in August 2023. Drilling Waste to be spread in the Pilliga Forest Scrutiny is urgently needed of the approved Waste and Rehabilitation Management Plans for the Narrabri Gas Project. The Residual Drilling Mud (RDM) Management Protocol is part of the Rehabilitation Management Plan. Approval has been granted to Santos to spread and bury rock-based residual drilling materials…continue reading →