Gas Watch 61
Date: 12-Feb-09
Author: HBGAG
Sydney Gas/AGL assure community - no further action on Broke Village wells until independent water study completed.
Sydney Gas, the minor Coal Seam METHANE gas explorer now being swallowed up by AGL Energy, has assured the community, through the Community Consultative Committee (CCC), that:
there will be no further activity related to the METHANE gas wells near the Broke Village until an independent water study is completed.
Sydney Gas anticipated that this would be completed and available for public scrutiny by about June this year.
At the last CCC meeting this undertaking was somewhat watered down with Sydney Gas saying only: "our exploration is dependent on protecting water aquifers".
We have exhorted the CCC members to hold Sydney Gas to its earlier undertaking.
It is of the utmost importance to the Broke village that nothing be done which could affect our water tables until a fully independent study is completed and scrutinised.
Activity at the well site last week was noticed and Sydney Gas asked "why?" They said that it was only a surveyor setting out fencing! So perhaps there will be no activity on the wells until the middle of the year, as they have claimed.
But it always makes us suspicious when the CCC meeting is postponed at the request of Sydney Gas. Last time Sydney Gas had the meeting postponed, from recollection, core hole 3 at Bulga was approved.
Sydney Gas has asked that the February meeting of the CCC be deferred until March because of the unavailability of its CCC members.
Call us cynical, but we have this feeling that there may be some other reason for the deferment.
Sydney Gas has breached many undertakings to the community in the past. Let's hope that they don't revert to their old ways.
Contact HB GAG Hunter Bulga Gas Action Group Inc. PO Box 120, BROKE 2330
www.huntergasactiongroup.com.au
