Whitehaven Coal attempts to hose down Lock the Gate water claims

Whitehaven Coal, the mining company chaired by former Nationals politician and Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, has attempted to hose down the expose by Lock the Gate which revealed massive diversion of surface water to the Maules Creek mine, taking water which would otherwise flow into groundwater or into creeks. North West Protection Advocacy provided a commentary on the water regulation chaos at the Maules Creek coal mine, demonstrating that surface water irregularities are only one of a number of serious problems there. In its defence, the company has pleaded that it is…continue reading →

Excess water harvesting claims point to chaotic regulation at Maules Creek mine

ABC News (see video below) has revealed claims that the Maules Creek coal mine is harvesting vastly more surface water than it is permitted to do under its Approval Conditions. Maules Creek farmers say the mine is capturing 1,800 million litres rather than the approved 30 million litres of surface water, sixty times the allowable amount. According to the ABC, the company is relying on an exemption in the Water Management Regulation 2011. One of the exemptions relates to dirty water, which is water that is collected from mining areas. It does not require a water access licence because the water could be contaminated.   https://youtu.be/WBBJdhPkxlY Other water management problems at Maules Creek…continue reading →

Whitehaven AGM statements reverberate on the eve of Vickery mine public exhibition

Statements made by Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn at the October 2017 Annual General Meeting are causing shock waves in the Narrabri area at a time when the company can least afford it - just as the company’s Environmental Assessment for the Vickery megamine is being prepared for exhibition. The statements by the CEO in response to a question from a shareholder seeking to know why the risk level of the Maules Creek mine was reclassified as Level 3, and if the licence risk downgrade had been disclosed to Whitehaven’s financial backers. The…continue reading →

Coal Seam Gas and Public Health Conference, Narrabri, Wednesday 15th August 2018 

The Conference will be held in Narrabri, the epicentre of Santos’ ambitious CSG exploration empire which covers 12% of NSW, opening up 14 regional shires to gasfields if the company is successful in obtaining approval from the NSW Government. A panel of health and safety professionals will present the latest knowledge about illnesses and hospital admissions in gasfields areas, the possible links with chemicals known to be prevalent around CSG gas wells, compressor stations and processing centres, mental health issues related to community upheaval, multiple stresses and FIFO workers and potential value of Health Impact Assessment to fully capture the range of ways CSG projects may affect our families and…continue reading →

Santos Fairview Significant Pollution Reporting

14th March 2018 VIDEO: Tanker spraying bitumen road Two Significant Pollution Reports regarding the Santos Fairview tenement near Injune in Queensland have been reported to the Government Pollution Hotline in Queensland. A waste water tanker was witnessed spraying material onto a bitumen road. The material had a strong and persistent odour, the tanker sprayed the road for several kilometres in the vicinity of a gas compression station and a coal seam gas drill rig. The tanker had no identifying marks and no licence plate. https://twitter.com/stopthefrack/status/985696128774488064 In response to the tweet @SantosGLNG replied: “In…continue reading →