That is right, of the 20 UCG projects that I am aware of, 2 have...

That is right, of the 20 UCG projects that I am aware of, 2 have failed. The most serious failure was Hoe creek, where the ground water contamination posed a serious risk to human health. That puts the rate closer to 10%. 90% is still a good chance of success but no one will know for sure until the pilot burn, which is why they monitor the groundwater. Of course success depends of ones thresh-hold for failure. I would think that Australia would be at the more stringent end of the environmental spectrum. Do you know if the UCG burn location is upstream or downstream from the town’s water supply?

If they can control the burn so that the operating pressure is less than the hydrostatic pressure, then contamination of the groundwater will be minimised.