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Contamination concerns after CSG wells flood

Two tanks containing CSG waste water have been tipped over in flooding waters, raising concerns about possible contamination of the Nepean River southwest of Sydney.

A number of AGL’s coal seam gas wells at Menangle Park and Glenlee have also been submerged by the floodwaters after heavy rain over the weekend.

AGL disputed claims by anti-CSG activists that bubbles surfacing near a flooded well site were methane leaks, instead suggesting they were carbon-dixoide.

“Our technicians have used highly sensitive gas detectors to confirm the bubbles in these floodwaters are not methane,” an AGL spokesperson said, according to reports.

“This also was independently verified after previous flood events in the region.”

The company were yet to determine the number of wells inundated because some remained off-limits because of road closures.

Lock the Gate Alliance’s Dan Robins has called on the NSW Environmental Pr0tection Authority to urgently investigate the contamination risk posed to nearby residents, the adjoining Nepean River nearby creeks and waterways.

“We believe that there is a high risk that untreated waste water from AGL’s Camden CSG wells has been dumped into the Nepean River during the flooding, as tanks have been upended,” Mr Robins said.

“According to AGL’s own water monitoring data, the waste water they produce from the Camden gasfield is extremely salty and also contains pollutants like barium and boron.

“This looks like a pollution event that never should have happened, and we don’t believe AGL has any licence or authority which allows it to pollute the Nepean River, so we are calling for urgent action from the EPA to investigate.”

 

Image supplied: Dan Robins

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