IPC taps experts over Santos Narrabri gas project
The planning body weighing the merits of the Santos Narrabri gas development has requested meetings with NSW environment and water experts.
The planning body weighing the merits of Santos’s $3.6bn Narrabri gas development has requested two meetings with NSW planning, environment and water experts after a public hearing raised concerns over “knowledge gaps” in crucial modelling for the project.
The Independent Planning Commission will hold a meeting on Tuesday with the four-member independent Water Expert Panel that was first engaged to review Santos’s environmental impact statement in 2017.
Top officials from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment will also dial into the forum as part of the IPC’s determination process.
The meeting will discuss “concerns raised during the public hearing that knowledge gaps in relation to the groundwater model, geology, hydrogeology and seismic activity create uncertainty about the risks posed by the Narrabri gas project”, the IPC document published on Friday says.
It will also discuss “the potential for groundwater contamination via well integrity failure or geological pathways such as faults” along with “the risks and options associated with management of the salt waste”.
After hearing from hundreds of individuals, green groups and community organisations almost all opposed to the project this week, the IPC will now weigh up a raft of issues raised at the forum with concern over water contamination on agricultural land and climate change among the biggest gripes.
The Environmental Defenders Office has claimed the Narrabri independent expert reports raise significant concerns about the inadequacy of the groundwater modelling carried out in the environmental assessment.
Santos backed the IPC for holding the meetings.
“Santos is very pleased to see that the IPC will be hearing from the Water Expert Panel and the regulator next week,” Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said.
“Australia has a merit-based system of appointments to its public service, regulatory agencies and government advisory bodies. This underpins the strong institutions that are vital to make balanced decisions in the best interests of the community as a whole, despite the competing interests of various individuals or special interest groups, and it’s important that their expert opinion be heard and their expertise respected.”
The IPC will also hold a second meeting on Tuesday with the NSW Environment Protection Authority with agenda items including the “EPA as lead regulator — resourcing and technical ability, the groundwater model — data input, management and transparency and salt waste including classification, storage and disposal, and the EPA’s position on the salt waste management plan as a post-approval measure”.
The gas producer touts the development — which could supply half the state’s gas needs — as a solution to the tight east coast market by undercutting LNG imports and offering the cheapest new supply source in the state if it does get the nod from planning tsars.
Santos argues gas users in NSW and Victoria pay $2 to $4 more per gigajoule for supplies simply because of transportation costs which would be eased for local manufacturers who are closer to the source of supply.
The controversial energy project in the Gunnedah Basin heard from several dozen concerned community members and interest groups opposed to the development’s potential impact on groundwater and the surrounding agriculture.
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