Date: 07-Feb-10
Author: Hunter Valley Protection Alliance
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AGL Energy has just received approval from the Department of Industry & Investment, Minerals to drill a further 8 core holes and stratigraphic holes on the properties it has bought at Spring Mountain, Broke, and Windermere at Bulga.  Well they had to buy some land.  There aren't too many keen to have AGL invade their properties with their drilling rigs, underground pipes, gas flares, access roads etc.

Again they will be drilling through the upper fresh water aquifers, potentially putting at risk the water relied upon by village residents and farming residents alike.

The process used by the Department in considering these applications is flawed.  It does not allow the public, or any other Government Departments (such as Department of the Environment, Climate Change and Water) to have any input into the approvals process.  We are allowed to look at the Review of Environmental factors, but not in fact make any comment in relation to it.

This application was dealt with in-house by the Department, and AGL Energy obtained their approval.

This time they are permitted to drill 7 days a week, 11 hours a day.  They have said they will start drilling about 15^th February and that each core hole will take about 5 weeks.  That is 5 weeks of 11 hours a day noise and disruption for their neighbours.  They don't care.  And, if the weather is inclement (as it is predicted to be), then the drilling could take much longer.

Why this Company, AGL Energy, persists in drilling holes in the Broke and Bulga areas of the Hunter Valley, when there is very little surface area available to it by virtue of the buffers required at law, it is hard to fathom.  Particularly when they have thousands of square miles available to them away from heavily settled rural areas. 

And they still won't confirm that they won't build a gas processing plan or a water treatment plant right next to the Broke village.  They still haven't answered that question, and we ask it again:

OPEN QUESTION TO AGL ENERGY:  Will your Company give an irrevocable, legally binding guarantee that neither a gas processing plant nor any other industrial plant will be built on the land owned by you adjacent to the village of Broke or at Spring Mountain or at Bulga?

PO Box 120 Broke NSW 2330
www.huntervalleyprotectionalliance.com