Glencore’s carbon capture and storage project killed by environmental regulator

Queensland’s environmental regulator has killed off Swiss mining giant Glencore’s proposal to dump carbon dioxide waste in the aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin.

AgForce CEO Michael Guerin has celebrated the Queensland environmental regulator’s decision to kill off Glencore’s carbon capture and storage project, but fears the Great Artesian Basin is still at risk.

Queensland’s environmental regulator has killed off Swiss mining giant Glencore’s proposal to dump carbon dioxide waste in the aquifers of the Great Artesian Basin.

The CTSCo project – in which Glencore partnered with Low Emission Technology Australia, a $700m fund established by the Australian black coal industry – proposed to inject captured carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power station into the underground water source in southern Queensland and was vehemently opposed by farmers, environmentalists and local mayors.

On Friday, the state environment department announced it had determined the project was “not suitable to proceed due to potential impacts on groundwater resources in the Great Artesian Basin”.

“The assessment found that the Precipice Sandstone aquifer in the Great Artesian Basin, where the project had proposed to inject captured CO2 for storage, is not a confined aquifer, which is a strict requirement of the regulation,” an environment department spokeswoman said.

“The assessment also found that CO injected into the aquifer could migrate, likely causing irreversible or long-term change to groundwater quality and environmental values if the project were to proceed.

“This includes potential increased concentrations of contaminants including chloride, sulfate, salinity, various metals, and metalloids (including lead and arsenic).

“Several submissions on the (environmental impact statement) confirmed that groundwater in the Precipice Sandstone holds environmental values, as it is used for agriculture, irrigation, and stock watering.”

The department said the decision “made it clear that other carbon capture and storage projects will not be viable in the Great Artesian Basin”.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles and Anthony Albanese at Beef Week in Rockhampton, where Mr Miles said Glencore’s project ‘doesn’t sound like a good idea to me’. Picture: Annette Dew

It had been given federal approval by the Morrison government in 2022, but this month Premier Steven Miles appeared to pre-empt the state’s environment department decision and said he shared the concerns of the project’s opponents.

“Knowing Queensland’s environmental laws as well as I do, I think it’s unlikely to pass that environmental test … it doesn’t sound like a good idea to me,” Mr Miles, a former environment minister, said at Rockhampton’s Beef Week event.

A Glencore spokesman said the decision was disappointing and came after a “damaging misinformation campaign and political opportunism by multiple players”. “With this decision the Queensland government has now effectively banned carbon capture and storage projects in Queensland,” he said.

“It is a missed opportunity for Queensland and sends mixed messages on emissions reduction to industry who are looking to invest in low emission technologies, including CCS. It is also in direct opposition to the Albanese Labor government’s ongoing support for CCS.”

AgForce chief executive Michael Guerin said federal laws needed to be tightened to protect the basin from future threats.