Gas seams to be a cloudy issue

The leaking well at Bentley has now been fixed.

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• Greens running gas fear campaign

While the list of organisations calling for a moratorium on coal seam gas exploration and mining grows, Metgasco, the company developing the Richmond Valley Power Station near Casino is calling for calm.

Metgasco chief operating officer Mick O’Brien said there was a high degree of lack of knowledge in the community.

He said there had been two test wells in the area that had been leaking methane but that they had been minor leaks that were easily repaired.

“Like a water pipe, the fittings screw together and you can get leakage around the threads,” Mr O’Brien said. “We test when we go down, test them regularly, but these connections can start to leak with age, that’s why we check them all the time. What we do is we shut off the source of gas and remake the connection so you don’t have the leak any more.

“The quantities of gas that leak from these is very small, there’d be more methane coming from the cattle in the Northern Rivers than ever come from the leaks. Everywhere you produce gas you will get small gas leaks, but the production from cattle is about twice that of leakage of the natural gas industry.”

Last week Rous Water resolved to write to state and federal politicians supporting the NSW Farmers Association’s call for a moratorium on all CSG mining in NSW. Lismore City Council unanimously supported a similar motion last December.

Rous Water operations manager Wayne Franklin said the biggest issue seemed to be lack of information. Arrow Energy has a test well at Keerrong, upstream from the Wilsons River Source, one of three supplies of water for Rous.

“The real issue in this exercise seems to be the lack of information and consultation by the companies who carried out the exploration and the state government in allowing them to do it,” Mr Franklin said. “I’ve had recent discussions with the Environmental Defender’s Office, which held a public workshop to try to allay some of the fears.

“It’s really frustrating, the state government really needs to make some tighter regulations. When there are issues they should at least consult with the local group council so they could disseminate the information. For example when Lismore City Council has a big DA they consult with us but with an exploration the process is a very closed shop.”

Metgasco’s manager director David Johnson agreed there had been some misinformation in the community.

“Certainly there has been some controversy that we might be interfering with aquifers and I think it should be made clear that we consider ourselves to be sufficiently ethical and professional that in no way would we want to act in a manner that causes environmental harm,” Mr Johnson said. “We’ve been engaged in this process now for some years without any environmental incidents, it would be our intention to continue to act in that manner.

“We are conscious of the expectations of the community but, at the same time, I think we can bring a new industry to parts of the Northern Rivers, those areas that will be able to produce gas, that can make a contribution to the economic well-being of the area whilst acting in an environmentally responsible manner at the same time.”

Clarence MP Steve Cansdell said he had worked hard with Metgasco to get the power station approved.

“The Nationals policy on this is a great policy, it’s supported by farmers, supported by the mining industry, to some extent it’s supported by the Greens. We’re calling for a moratorium on new licenses and for stricter guidelines on any current mining and exploration,” Mr Cansdell said. “Locally Metgasco have given assurances that they don’t use any chemicals, and don’t do fracking. I believe in the precautionary principle.

“Five years ago, the Greens said gas is the way to go, it’s environmentally safe, and we can get away from coal, and I totally agree, as long as you have precautionary measures with strict guidelines, working with the environment rather than working with the dollar as your primary source of motivation. This could be very successful, create employment, create power supply, but you have to be very careful that we don’t follow the process America followed.

“All safety processes and directions must be adhered to and I believe government should crack down. If Metgasco found two leaks then fixed them up, it doesn’t mean you should stop everything and throw the baby out with the bath water.”

The Keerrong Anti Gas Squad is screening Gasland at the Keerrong Hall tomorrow (Friday, February 25) from 5.30pm for a 7pm screening.

Next week The Echo will run an in-depth piece on gas in the region.