IN November 2013 Groundswell Gloucester took legal advice on whether the proposal by AGL to frack four gas wells at Forbesdale (called the Waukivory Pilot Project) required a full Environment Impact Study (EIS).
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The advice was that under the current State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) on mining an EIS was required.
The reason is, very briefly, the wells were within a distance of 3km from existing wells.
This opinion was sent to the Office of Coal Seam Gas (OCSG) with a request that they either apply the law or explain why the SEPP was not applicable.
To date the OCSG has not replied to this request. Shortly afterwards AGL ‘capped and abandoned’ the existing productive well that was clearly within 3km of the pilot wells.
AGL has not explained this action nor confirmed what is meant by ‘capped and abandoned’ despite several requests. So much for openness.
To date AGL has not given a reason why they will not have an EIS but insist that
a lesser evaluation (a Review of Environmental Factors) is all that is needed.
AGL agree that there is no more work in doing an EIS than a REF. If AGL started with an EIS there would have been plenty of time to do it.
The key difference is that the public have the right to contribute to an EIS but not a REF. So much for consultation.
On Wednesday, July 2 a revised SEPP was proposed by the Department of Planning. This new SEPP effectively removes the 3km zone and defeats the intent of the previous SEPP to prevent gas fields growing by stealth without an EIS.
There is no other activity in NSW that this amendment could apply to but Gloucester.
If you think that fracking will not be speedily approved if the SEPP is approved then you may also see a big animal flying by going ‘oink, oink’. The public will have no access to the decision. So much for transparency. On the same day AGL placed two advertisements in the Advocate.
One tells the community they are starting work soon and the other advertises new job vacancies including a field operator to work on gas wells at Gloucester.
These advertisements must have been prepared well before the public announcement of the revised SEPP. Clearly AGL can see into the future. What influence does AGL have that is not available to the community? Objections to the revised SEPP may be lodged via the Department of Planning web site until July 16.
