State Government bans underground coal gasification following contamination
THE State Government has put a blanket ban on the controversial underground coal gasification (UCG) technology that has contaminated two of the three trial sites in Queensland.
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THE State Government has put a blanket ban on the controversial underground coal gasification technology that has contaminated two of the three trial sites in Queensland.
Natural Resources and Mining Minister Anthony Lynham described the UCG trial initiated by the Beattie government as a failure.
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UCG had been touted as a low-cost gas producer that could have created 1000 construction jobs and hundreds of manufacturing jobs.
The Queensland Resources Council yesterday said the ban, with no consultation, “can only raise concern for business confidence and investment in this state”.
The decision follows the collapse last week of Linc Energy, which had also been charged with five counts of causing environmental harm at its UCG site near Chinchilla. A second site under the control of Cougar Energy, was shut down in 2010 after contamination of nearby water.
“We have looked at the evidence from three pilot projects and the potential risks to Queensland’s environment and agricultural industries outweigh any potential economic benefit,” Dr Lynham said.
The Government also admitted it was chasing Linc Energy for a $29 million bond to cover environmental damage before its collapse last week.
Pam Bender, the widow of George Bender, who committed suicide last year after years of fighting against gas developments, said UCG and Linc should have been banned years ago.
“No one cares what happened,” Mrs Bender said. “Everything George was warning about way back in 2005 has happened.”
Peter Bond, who started Linc Energy but stood down as an executive and a director, said the Government was never interested in UCG and was just looking for an excuse to shut it down after throwing its support behind coal seam gas. “Of course it was safe,” Mr Bond said.
Mr Bond admitted he had lost a fortune with the collapse of Linc.
“Too much to say without it hurting,” he said.
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