“Garden of Eden next to a hole”: Whitehaven Coal Senior Counsel

“Garden of Eden next to a hole”: Whitehaven Coal Senior Counsel

Covering the case: Sydney Knitting Nannas Regional communities thank the Sydney Knitting Nannas for their reportage of the Maules Creek Coal prosecution. Keeping vigil and observing the witnesses and legal argument, Sydney Knitting Nannas have become the modern-day “tricoteuses”, a reference to women who knitted while they observed the revolutionary trials and guillotining during the French Revolution. https://twitter.com/knitnannasSYD/status/1724361930813714536?s=20 Knitting Nannas consist of many retired professional women  and grandmothers committed to climate justice in the name of future generations. Their motto is “saving the land, air and water for the kiddies”. https://knitting-nannas.com/ The final…continue reading →
Whitehaven Coal fails in Court of Criminal Appeal to derail blasting prosecutions

Whitehaven Coal fails in Court of Criminal Appeal to derail blasting prosecutions

The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal has rejected an appeal by Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Coal mine to interrupt and derail a series of four blasting prosecutions, based on accusations of “apprehended bias” of Justice Sarah Pritchard who has been presiding over the cases since February 2023. As reported by ABC New England & North West: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/abc-new-england-north-west-local-news/abc-new-england-north-west-local-news/103047124 (At 1:28 mins of this ABC Report) Rejecting Whitehaven’s argument, the urgent judgment issued by five Judges said the Court will not entertain “frivolous and speculative” cases. Image: NWPA (February 2023) Boggabri Coal mine which suffered impacts…continue reading →
Public interest outweighs disclosure on Private Native Forestry

Public interest outweighs disclosure on Private Native Forestry

Article written by Kyogle Environment Group Amidst a climate crisis and the looming threat of species extinction, logging native forests faces growing public opposition. Safeguarding these forests from industrial logging has become paramount, especially with the anticipated decline in log supply from public lands and the increasing prevalence of private forestry operations, as evidenced by the constant presence of heavy haulage log trucks on our roads. Under the Private Native Forestry (PNF) framework, landowners must submit a PNF Plan for approval by Local Land Services (LLS). These plans have a 15-year lifespan. In…continue reading →
Who are the companies, contractors and suppliers helping Santos build their NSW gasfield?

Who are the companies, contractors and suppliers helping Santos build their NSW gasfield?

Santos engages a multitude of contractors, companies and suppliers across its Australian operations. This list mostly focuses on the east coast and is by no means exhaustive. Many of these companies are active in NSW. Please get in touch if you would like to contribute to this list. A Acil Allen Consulting Economics AECOM* Infrastructure consulting firm AIR Environment Consulting Air quality researchers APA* Pipeline projects Atomix Web Design Website management B BeneTerra Wastewater treatment/ disposal BMA Energy Power Station upgrade C CDM Smith Environmental Consultancy CH2MHILL Engineering/ project delivery Clarke Energy Engineering…continue reading →
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 →
NSW EPA Chief Executive links with Whitehaven and AGL – a red flag

NSW EPA Chief Executive links with Whitehaven and AGL – a red flag

As the first year of Tony Chappel’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) draws to a close, his close personal links with two of NSW’s most notorious polluters in recent decades, Whitehaven Coal and AGL, warrants close examination. The Perrottet Liberal-National government’s decision to appoint him as CEO in May 2022 has placed the fossil industry insider at the pinnacle of power within the environmental regulator, jeopardising the EPA’s exercise of its statutory objectives and powers. Despite his brilliant educational background in law, management, environmental engineering technology…continue reading →
Santos flags expansion beyond the Narrabri Gas Project and PEL238 in Document 34

Santos flags expansion beyond the Narrabri Gas Project and PEL238 in Document 34

A document procured under GIPA has revealed Santos’ intentions to go beyond the footprint of PEL 238 and the Narrabri Gas Project and proposes to link the Permian Coal Seam Gas Prospects by way of drilling a corehole. David Close from Santos and Tamboran Resources expresses in Document 34 – GIPA 23-39 Regional NSW (a Prospecting Title Works Program document likely supplied as rationale to renew PEL238): Exploration Rationale This area (PEL 238, PAL 2, PPL 3) is the most advanced of the prospective resources in the Gunnedah Basin in terms of appraisal…continue reading →
Government relaxes gas leak reporting requirements for coal seam gas industry

Government relaxes gas leak reporting requirements for coal seam gas industry

By Johanna Evans The requirement for coal seam gas operators like Santos to report significant wellhead leaks has been dismantled by the NSW Government with a quiet update of the Code of Practice for Coal Seam Gas Well Integrity which has been replaced by a newer code that combines Well Integrity with the Fracture Stimulation Code. Released in February 2023 just weeks before the NSW State Election, it is now called the “NSW code of practice for construction, operation and decommissioning of petroleum wells”. The new Code ceases to require reporting to the…continue reading →