OPINION - Push for fracking shuts out community

RECENTLY, I attended a round table discussion about AGL's proposal to conduct a pilot study using a process known as fracking close to the township of Gloucester.

In attendance were concerned members of the community and senior public servants from various agencies including the Office of Coal Seam Gas (OCSG), the Environmental Protection Authority, the Office of Water, several government departments and Jock Laurie, the NSW Land and Water Commissioner.

When fracking is carried out, a significant quantity of fracking fluids, including toxic chemicals, are used. These are only partially returned to the surface and need to be disposed of at a licensed wastewater facility.

During flow testing and as part of CSG production, large quantities of salty water are produced, which also contains chemicals including some heavy metals and leftover fracking fluids.

AGL has never come up with any appropriate way to dispose of this "produced water". Its best idea to date is to dump this water on to local farmland, calling it a "trial".

This is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts.

In addition to the problem of the disposal of produced water, there is still a dearth of detailed knowledge of the local geology and the effects of fracking on the underground aquifers.

Several studies are under way looking at this issue, but AGL seems unwilling to wait on the results of those studies before ploughing ahead with fracking.

When drilling bores and doing seismic studies, AGL collects much data, which it must supply to the government. However, some of the most important data has not been made available to the public or is significantly delayed in its release until after critical decisions are made by the government.

Despite having no proper way to dispose of the salty water and despite the results of several studies not being yet available, AGL has applied to the OCSG to frack four wells close to Gloucester.

As part of its consideration of this proposal, the OCSG has obtained an independent expert's report.

At the meeting, the OCSG representative made it clear that this report would be used when making a decision but that the report would not be made available to the public in general or the Gloucester community in particular before any decision was made.

Some of us in the Gloucester community have been calling on the OCSG to require AGL to provide a full environmental impact statement for this fracking proposal and for all information, reports and data in relation to all AGL coal seam gas activities to be made public so that the community can know what is going on. The present proposal is being decided behind closed doors with the local community being excluded from much of the process.

Mining companies do, from time to time, release data and material that suits them.

However, when it doesn't suit them, they claim that the data and material is "commercial in confidence". That excuse should no longer be tolerated by the community for high-interest projects such as this pilot study.

The present processes are clearly unfair and undemocratic, and should not be allowed.

It is time that the present government learnt the lessons from the past and realised that the community will not tolerate lack of openness and lack of transparency in relation to mining proposals.

John Watts is a Gloucester resident and a member of community group Groundswell Gloucester.