Over 20 concerned residents and two cycling koalas appeared at the Santos North Western Tour Coonabarabran this morning to protest against Santos coal seam gas operations in the Pilliga Forest and across north-western NSW.

Wearing Tshirts reading ‘Stop Santos Spin’ and ‘Gas Free Pilliga Now!’ the koalas joined the cycle to raise awareness of coal seam gas destruction of the Pilliga Forest.

“Koalas are a national icon and a threatened species. Clearly, this means nothing to Santos who are happy to spin their way into our Pilliga Forest bushland home and make a big coal seam gas mess, putting our lives at risk.

“How many coal seam gas spills, tree deaths, bush clearings and drill rigs can a Koala bear?” they said.

Protests will continue along the course of the Santos Northwest Tour. Concerned residents will take to the streets at Mullaley and Tamworth to highlight the community opposition to coal seam gas across the north-west region.

Samples for testing were collected by an environmental group six months after the discharge of 10,000L of saline water at the CSG exploration site which was operated by Eastern Star Gas at the time. The results show levels of chemicals much higher than is acceptable when compared with drinking water standards.

Seven News reports test results showing:

arsenic at 2.1 times
lead at 5 times
chrome at 3.7 times
nickel at 8.6 times
sodium at 4.4 times

…when compared with drinking water standards

The water samples were analysed by ALS Group whose services include delivering data for mining and mineral exploration and environmental monitoring.

The discharge of untreated CSG water which occurred in June last year went unreported until current site operator Santos (who acquired Eastern Star Gas in November) discovered it during a review of ESG’s operations. Santos said in a statement that the discharge of water should not have occurred and was preventable.

Seven News reports:

These latest results follow another recent report of water contamination at the same site. Water testing results released in December showed high levels of ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide, according to environment groups who commissioned the independent analysis.

Santos say they are reviewing all of Eastern Star Gas’ operations, including the Pilliga project, and that they will work with the NSW Government to “fully remediate” the area in the Pilliga impacted by the discharge of saline water last year.

Local resident and sheep farmer Tony Pickard has been raising concerns about CSG in the Pilliga for some time now. In a submission made in September 2011 to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into CSG, Pickard notes witnessing “tree kill” around CSG well pads and waste water ponds in the Pilliga. Like many opponents of CSG, Pickard is worried about rehabilitation of CSG sites and accountability of CSG companies. Read Pickard’s full submission which focuses on the Pilliga here.

Click here to view ABC’s report.

Pilliga forest CSG: in photos

Taken during a tour of the Pilliga forest on December 16, 2011:

View more from this trip here, or click here for photos taken during an earlier trip to the Pilliga in June.

Speaking in federal parliament on Tuesday 7 February ALP Senator Joe Ludwig, representing the Attorney-General, ”made it clear that the federal police were undertaking surveillance of coal seam gas protesters,” said Queensland Greens state spokesperson Libby Connors.

“So law abiding citizens from farmers and frustrated landholders to mothers living on the Tara estate who have participated in legitimate protest may now have a federal police file.”

Greens Senator Christine Milne explained in a statement: ”Minister Ludwig confirmed … in response to my question, that some surveillance of protesters is being outsourced to a private agency – the National Open Source Intelligence Centre (NOSIC).”

Established in 2001, NOSIC is a private company that provides state and federal agencies with services including monitoring of “current and emerging issues relating to global activism and related crime,” according to the company website.

An investigation published last month by Philip Dorling for The Age looking at ongoing (and increasing) government sanctioned surveillance of environmental activists revealed NOSIC has been “engaged on contract by the AFP and the Attorney-General’s Department since at least 2003.”

The NOSIC website says it provides intelligence on “the identity, capability and intentions of organisations or individuals that engage in radical activism…” as well as criminal or unlawful behaviour, and the potential “ impact on public order, business continuity or community values”. The organisation says “no information is collected unlawfully or obtained at its source by clandestine or covert means.”

Milne raised concerns about the costs involved in ongoing surveillance of people engaged in protest against the mining industry.

“What an extraordinary use of taxpayers’ money to spy on legitimate protesters in order to protect the commercial interests of polluting companies,” said Milne.

“Farmers in Queensland trying to protect their land from coal seam gas mining, and parents concerned about their children’s health, will be understandably outraged that they may be under surveillance by the Australian Federal Police.”

Drew Hutton, President of Lock the Gate Alliance which represents over 100 community groups concerned about the CSG industry, said that surveillance was a method of “intimidation” used against protesters by the government.

Hutton condemned the government for “…spying on ordinary farmers and rural Australians pursuing legitimate, non-violent protest.”

Given the sight of police officers with their handy-cams trained on activists at almost every recent protest (and the rising improper conflation of environmental civil disobedience and terrorism) the news of government monitoring, while concerning, will come as no surprise to many activists and their allies.

Local police record the day’s events: Narrabri police with a video camera on an activist during a protest in the Pilliga last year.

Eastern Star Gas/Santos workers keeping watch: Industry workers always ready hit record too.

Not thwarted by government intelligence: In a first for NSW, peaceful protesters stop activity at a coal seam gas exploration rig in the Pilliga Forest, south of Narrabri, on July 5, 2011. One protester in climbing gear is suspended high above the ground at the top of a 25 metre rig at an Eastern Star Gas operation, with a group of protesters on site.

A few closing words from Zane Alcorn, a friend and long-time environmental campaigner from Newcastle. Zane wrote this following Dorling’s story last month, he said, in part:

If the government insists on spying on people, how about you spy on those who are destroying aquifers with longwall mines and coal seam gas wells, causing serious health problems by pumping coal dust and smokestack emissions into the air in the Hunter Valley, and vastly expanding those fossil fuel industries which are pushing us ever closer to dangerous irreversible warming. How about you spy on those elected officials who throw the precautionary principle out the window every time they approve these mines and coal fired power stations and unconventional gas projects.

I believe history will record that those of us taking peaceful action to draw attention to the breathtaking insanity of expanding fossil fuel exports and use (which in some instances involved low-level lawbreaking such as trespassing) were entirely justified in taking these actions. Indeed, some may ask why the general population at this point in history did not take such action more often and in greater numbers.

Whether it is climate activists paddling in Newcastle Harbour, farmers campaigning against mining and gas extraction under or adjacent to their land, or Singleton residents campaigning for tighter controls on dust emissions – we are not criminals. We are defending the most basic public interest of current and future generations and do not deserve to be spied on for it.

Speaking with Santos spokesperson Matthew Doman yesterday he acknowledged recent media attention focused on the CSG operation in the Pilliga and said that the company was in the process of reviewing all of the projects that came along with the acquisition of Eastern Star Gas in November. Doman said that the review process is a priority and that changes would be made “where we find practices that aren’t consistent with Santos’ manner.”

This comes after reports of water contamination and the appearance of a tar-like substance around CSG sites in the Pilliga, and more broadly, controversy over the scope of capacity for the state to benefit from CSG projects.

At the start of December, soon after Santos’ acquisition of Eastern Star Gas, independent water testing found contaminated water at a discharge area in the Pilligas. The NSW Environment Protection Authority said they would investigate.

Earlier this week, documents released under FOI revealed that Eastern Star Gas was paying a land access fee of $2500 per active gas well per year to Forests NSW, a price that has been criticised by The Greens and some environmental NGOs as too low. Santos hit back explaining that the land access fee was only one way the state profits from CSG, and that with royalties considered, CSG would be a significant financial benefit to the state. However with a royalty free period applying to the first 5 years of production, this did not satisfy criticisms.

Yesterday the state government announced it was reviewing the law that allows this royalty holiday. The Herald reports:

STATE government coffers stand to be boosted by hundreds of millions of dollars each year after it confirmed it was going ahead with a review of a moratorium on coal seam gas royalties that has been in place since the early 1990s.

Lock the Gate spokesperson Jacinta Green reacted to the NSW government’s review of the royalty structure: “We assume that this means that the NSW Government has finally noticed inconsistencies between the claimed economic benefit by the CSG industry and reality.”

More background on the NSW royalty scheme and how Queensland differently incentivised the CSG industry here.

This too comes from the Herald’s story:

The Pilliga site is being investigated by the NSW Department of Trade and Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services after black tar-like substances appeared throughout the Pilliga State Forest in and around where Eastern Star Gas, which was officially acquired by Santos in November, has been conducting exploratory drilling.

Which made me think of these photos when I took while visiting the Pilliga on December 16:

I can’t be sure this is what the Herald report is referring to, but Pilliga local Tony Pickard did raise concern about this material when I spoke with him on my most recent trip to the area.

You can read more of Santos’ response to the release of documents about the permit granted by Forests NSW to Eastern Star Gas allowing land access to the Pilliga State Forest for coal seam gas activity until 2040 here.

You can also learn more about the land access agreement (the Occupation Permit) here.

Here is what Greens NSW mining spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham had to say:

0.3% per well from Pilliga coal seam gas project a swindle

3 January 2012

The Greens NSW spokesperson on mining Jeremy Buckingham has called for the land holder access agreement between Forests NSW and Santos to be renegotiated after the agreements released by Freedom of Information revealed that Forests NSW was only receiving a pathetic $2,500 per annum from every active coal seam gas well.

Eastern Star Gas (now purchased by Santos) has previously said that each well in the Pilliga project would produce revenue of approximately $800,000.  A $2,500 payment per well means Forests NSW will receive only 0.3% of the revenue from each well.

“This revelation shows how little NSW taxpayers are getting for the massive amount of damage this industry is doing to the Pilliga Forest and potentially our waterways and aquifers,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“Santos stand to make billions by pock-marking the Pilliga forest if its proposal for 1,100 coal seam gas wells if approved.  But NSW taxpayers will get little compensation .  This project is a dud.

“I’ve seen the damage done by the pilot coal seam gas operations in the Pilliga, including massive amounts of clearing, large tracts of dead trees where coal seam gas water has spilled, unlined waste water ponds, introduced weeds, large evaporation ponds and leaking infrastructure.

“Santos plans to turn an important nature reserve into a heavy industrial zone, but pay virtually nothing to the community.

“Taxpayers will also be ripped off when it comes to royalties from coal seam gas, with a five year royalty holiday for gas in NSW.  In Queensland gas royalties are 10% from day one, yet here in NSW the gas companies will pay no royalties for the first five years, and only 10% after 10 years of operations.  It’s a swindle,” he said.

This is the statement from Santos (who are relevant in that they now operate the CSG licences in the Pilliga, that were previously owned by Eastern Star Gas, the company referred to in the released Occupation Permit – more on that here):

Sustainable CSG operations in Pilliga promise significant environmental, economic and energy benefits

4 January 2012

The Greens media release yesterday on a land access agreement for the Pilliga State Forest signed between Eastern Star Gas (now owned by Santos) and Forests NSW is either disingenuous or highlights a lack of understanding of the financial contribution resources projects make to governments and communities.

The land access payments are only one small portion of the contribution to NSW from our proposed CSG operations.

The agreement between Eastern Star and Forests NSW negotiated last year covers access rights to land in the Pilliga State Forest. In addition to these payments, coal seam gas producers pay significant royalties to the State Government. If Santos develops our NSW CSG business successfully, then we estimate these royalties will exceed $150 million a year over more than 20 years.

A report by Allen Consulting Group released before Christmas highlighted our plans to develop the CSG reserves of north west New South Wales could deliver a $15.2 billion boost to the state’s economy and see the creation of 2,900 ongoing full-time jobs. On an annual basis, these benefits would contribute $820 million a year to the NSW economy and $470 million in direct benefits to regional areas.

Santos completed a takeover of Eastern Star in November, and is now reviewing all of the company’s exploration and appraisal operations and development plans.

Eastern Star has been exploring and appraising the CSG resource in the Pilliga since 2003. Eastern Star had proposed to drill up to 1,100 wells in the forest, but Santos is now reviewing those plans. We would not expect to drill as many wells.

There are currently 30 CSG pilot wells in the Pilliga. Even in a fully-developed project, the footprint of the CSG wells would occupy a cleared area representing less than 0.5% of the total forest area.

Santos considers that by using state-of-the-art, low-impact, high-efficiency drilling technology into a world-class CSG resource, our NSW CSG project will produce significant natural gas supplies, and therefore royalties to NSW, in a safe and sustainable manner with minimal impact on current land use.

We have a long term view and we are carefully planning our work program to gather the scientific data needed to ensure that any future development is safe and sustainable.

A final decision to move to development and production will not be made until this work is complete and extensive environmental reviews and approvals have been granted.

This coal seam gas site in the Pilliga is known as the Narrabri Gas Project and is run by Santos on an exploration licence (PEL 238). Some of the coal seam gas wells are operating under pilot production. Gas extracted from wells in the Pilliga is pipelined to Wilga Park power station, located around 12 kilometres west of Narrabri.

Driving down the Newell Highway, behind the trees on either side of the road are numerous gas wells, holding ponds, treatment facilities, demountable work spaces and kilometres of pipeline… together making up Santos’ Narrabri Gas Project.

Drill rig, that way.

This is Tony Pickard, he knows the way around the bush and the CSG project better than anyone, probably even the miners. Tony is a farmer and Pilliga local.

This is a well pad that is no longer used. The area is part way through the rehabilitation phase. The holding ponds that once sat beside the well have been filled in, explained Tony. It is not known how long it will remain in this condition.

Crumbling chunks like this are found all around unused well pads. We are told this is pumped down the unused well as part of the rehabilitation process.

Around almost all of the well pad sites we saw there was a ring of dead trees. Tony calls this the “kill zone”. This fungi is the only thing growing in the space surrounding a site that was in recent years home to an unlined pond that would hold waste coal seam gas water.

A common site amongst the trees of the Pilliga, another unused coal seam gas well pad.

We are told this is the last remaining unlined coal seam gas water holding pond. While this well is no longer used (the water that it holds is from recent rain), the pond sits waiting to be filled in.

Fencing around the newer coal seam gas well pads is an improvement on that around the initial exploration wells dropped by Eastern Star Gas. Formerly flimsy wire fences, the sites are now surrounded by more sturdy fence posts, trimmed with barbed wire.

This is a newer well pad and one currently in use. Note the surface footprint of the single well, not on par with an open-cut, but hardly slight.

Land clearing and gas extracting, this is coal seam gas exploration in the Pilliga.

Treated coal seam gas water is pumped out of this pipe into the local river system.

Water produced by coal seam gas operations is treated at processing facilities in the Pilliga, before and after the treatment process the water is held in giant ponds. This is one of the ponds.

A coal seam gas water holding pond.

A work site in the Pilliga, between a water holding pond and a flare site.

This is a flare, “the flare burns gas that cannot be used commercially or economically piped for use elsewhere, or gas that needs to be released for safety reasons,” learn more about flaring here (pdf).

The land that Santos operates its Narrabri Gas Project on is largely Crown Land. It is open to the public, except for fenced off project sites. Despite this, the miners don’t like visitors, as on my other trips out to the Pilliga, we were followed by several different vehicles marked with the Eastern Star Gas branding. The uniformed gas company workers took down our vehicle registration details and filmed us on their phones.

Forest versus coal seam gas.

See more photos from my trip here on Flickr.

The Narrabri Gas Project was initially a joint venture between Eastern Star Gas (ESG), who held majority interest, and Santos. ESG was wholly acquired by Santos in July this year and now the project in the Pilliga is owned and run entirely by Santos. More details about the acquisition are here.

The Pilliga is in northern NSW, click here to see a map of its location, and nearby towns include Coonabarabran and Narrabri.

View Larger Map

I’ve been on a few other trips to the Pilliga: click here to see photos from my first trip around the CSG project, click here to see photos of the ‘Stop CSG’ banner drop direct action, click here to see photos of the nearby sandstone caves.

Santos are currently working through the state government approvals process seeking to move the Narrabri Gas Project into full production with over 1000 coal seam gas wells.

A report produced by a coalition of environment groups including The Wilderness Society and the Nature Conservation Council of NSW identified the Pilliga as an “icon under threat” as a result of this coal seam gas project proposal, click here to read the report and find out more.