Danger signs at Broke drilling
Date: 07-Sep-08
Author: Paul Maguire (The Herald)
In an article in The Herald (online) yesterday Sydney Gas (SGL) General Manager Mark Harper totally dismissed the concerns of the Broke Community in regards to the proximity of the Gas Well to the village and school and the significant danger of gas migration that this proximity represents.
According to Paul Maguire of The Herald, Mr Harper said:
"There are no leaks at the wells, the gas will be under little more pressure than a car tyre and the explosive danger would be less than the local petrol station."
"Methane is also passed from the back passages of animals and humans and although I haven't tested it, I'd say there is more methane gas coming from cows in the next paddock, or even leaking from the children in the school playground, than coming from our wells."
Unfortunately the Harper "fart joke" seems to be better news copy than the real concerns of the citizens of Broke/Bulga.
I tried to clear the situation with a comment beneath the story and the un-named Herald Editor (or Moderator) chose to take the meat out of my post.
The point, Mr Harper, is that the company that drills for Sydney Gas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AJ Lucas, who presumably used the same people to drill for coal seam methane in the Gloucester region in their own right, AND that they had gas migration problems on that site. The very issue WE are discussing and complaining about to Mark Harper.
The very people doing the drilling have proved our point already, regardless of who they were drilling for, but also keeping in mind that they - AJ Lucas - are a major shareholder of Sydney Gas.
It's not about leaking gas from the well-head, it's about the gas underground, having had the ground water removed and the coal seam fractured, now under pressure, finding it's own way to the surface via faults, fractures, bore (and an SGL representative said, core) holes, springs etc.
Mark Harper will continue to completely ignore the actual complaint about unpredictable gas migration and make stupid references to petrol stations and leaking well-heads and then, for a rim-shot, reduce the whole issue to a fart joke.
It's not that he doesn't get it, or that he's stupid... he hears the complaint loud and clear and knows full well that we (the communities it will affect) are right and that he has no possible answer to give that question without putting his whole Hunter operation in jeopardy.
It's not a joke Mark. This is a very serious issue. You have said that you will listen to the community, that "we are trying to get away from our previous habits...". Community consultation is a two-way street. You have to listen, not just stand up the front of a room and tell people what you want them to believe!
The community has clearly said that this site is too close to Broke and especially Broke Public School! Got the message?
I'd like to thank Paul Maguire for his continuing coverage of the issue in The Herald, but the person who is responsible for checking and publishing public comments on the website (the "Moderator") needs to take a good hard look at the terms and conditions they refer to. It would also be a good idea to actually sign their name when commenting about edited comments.
I gave them that courtesy, including my contact details and I always sign what I write, it's my own opinion.
My comments on that page now look ridiculous as they are totally out of context to what I actually wrote. Media Watch has been informed.
Peter Firminger
