Underground coal gasification plants must all be shut down now

The decision by the Department of Resource Management to shut down Cougar Energy's underground coal gasification (UCG) plant at Kingaroy is welcome but far too late.

In fact, this plant and two others like it should never have been given the go-ahead by the Queensland Government in the first place given what is known (and what is not known) about the impacts of this technology.

In these three experiments, the companies are testing whether they can extract gas by burning coal seams underground. The Government has shut down the Cougar Energy Plant after it was discovered that local bores had become polluted and poisoned with carcinogenic chemicals.

Friends of the Earth spokesperson Drew Hutton, who has been working with Queensland farmers on gas issues, said environmentalists had told the Bligh Government at the start that UCG pilot plants should not be allowed because of their bad environmental record around the world.

According to Mr Hutton:  

The Government knew that UCG was a very questionable technology but still gave permission for three pilot plants to be set up - a Linc Energy plant at Chinchilla and a Carbon Energy plant at Kogan.

Now we have an aquifer at Kingaroy, upstream from the town water supply, that is poisoned with carcinogens like benzene and toluene.

The State Government is conducting an uncontrolled experiment with the environment of Queensland with both UCG and coal seam gas.

UCG must be shut down immediately and there must be a moratorium on all CSG development until there are clear answers to the questions being raised about its social and environmental impacts.

The Environment and Resource Management Department says Cougar Energy has reported traces of carcinogenic chemicals in tests on monitoring bores.

The Director-General of DERM, John Bradley, says farmers near the site are being asked not to use bores until further tests prove there is no more contamination.

All three of these UCG experiments have now reported environmental hazards. The ironically named Carbon Energy's trial site in Chinchilla has leaked contaminated waste into a local creek system. Also, the Linc Energy trial has reported high salinity in water near their site on the Western Downs region.

UPDATE (12:35pm): 

ABC News online has reported that a member of bureaucracy has been stood aside over this case.

It turns out that the cancer-causing chemicals benzine and toluene were found in monitoring bores in April, but the company did not notify the department until the end of June.

Cougar is still not available for comment.

UPDATE (1:30pm):

In this article in Queensland Country Life the Basin Sustainability Alliance, Agforce and the Queensland Farmers Federation have all connected the tragedy at Kingaroy to the issues of coal seam gas extraction.

Basin Sustainability Alliance chair Ian Hayllor said: 

The forced shut down of the Cougar Energy plant is a prime example of the need to ensure the science is right before steaming ahead with the coal seam gas and LNG industries in Queensland.

I am very concerned that the federal opposition is not supporting Mr Garrett’s request for a three-month delay to conduct additional investigations.  Three months is not a long time to hold up projects when we are talking about environmental impacts that could last a lifetime. 

Queensland Farmers Federation chief executive Dan Galligan said: 

The underground water supply must be protected at all costs when underground gas is being extracted.

The aquifer is a vital economic and environmental resource – and all sectors of the community deserve assurance that it is not being polluted.

The checks and balances must be in place. The resource is simply too valuable to put at risk with experiments.

And AgForce mining spokesman Drew Wagner says:

Although the underground coal gasification process differs from the production of coal seam gas, it raises serious concerns about the lack of knowledge both the government and the resource industry have about the impact of mining practices on groundwater resources.

UPDATE (2:04pm) 

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Department of Environment and Resource Management is likely to investigate the two other UCG companies - Linc Energy and Carbon Energy - in the coming days. It also reports that investors are rapidly abandoning Carbon and Linc shares.

Cougar shares are in a trading halt pending a statement.

UPDATE (27th July) 

The Courier Mail reports today that the company at the centre of the Kingaroy water-poisoning scare raised more than $1 million from investors before its contamination leak was made public.

Cougar Energy has since admitted it first knew of the leak in April and told the State Government on June 30, but the public was not made aware until Independent MP Dorothy Pratt raised the issue in Parliament on July 14, the day Cougar completed its fund-raising.

If you live in the area and need more information about the safety issues phone 1800 657 567 anytime between 8:30am and 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

DERM is consulting with Queensland Health on any potential risks to human health. Anyone with health related questions or concerns should call the health line 13HEALTH.

A DERM officer will be onsite in Kingaroy today and anyone interested in discussing questions in relation to the investigation can visit them at the Council offices or contact DERM officers on (07) 3330 5628.

You could also try the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) hotline 13 25 23.

Lodge your objections to these dangerous experiments with the DERM Director General John Bradley on (07) 3330 6298.

Also, you can read the background to these experiments at the Department of Mines and Energy website: 

• Underground Coal Gasification policy