call to cancel oil, coal seam gas licences

Pholk may find this piece from the Northern Daily Leader of interest

TR


http://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/news/local/news/general/call-to-cancel-oil-coal-seam-gas-licences/2302576.aspx?storypage=0

Call to cancel oil, coal seam gas licences
BY JACQUELINE VAN AANHOLT
24 Sep, 2011 04:00 AM

CONSERVATION and environmentalist councils have continued to demand an overhaul of oil and coal seam gas exploration licences.

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW and Northern Inland Council for the Environment are urging the state government to cancel 5.4 million hectares of expired petroleum licences, until more adequate protections are in place for communities and their environmental resources.

The groups found that the 5.4 million hectares of exploration titles - which included areas around Gunnedah, Narrabri and Moree - had expired across the state and had not yet been renewed, but under current legislation coal seam gas exploration was able to continue, even though the titles had expired. A further 1.7 million hectares are due to expire at the end of this year.

Nature Conservation Council of NSW chief executive officer Pepe Clarke said the expiry of 25 per cent of all petroleum exploration licences in the state was "a not-to-be-missed opportunity" to respond to growing community concerns about coal seam gas mining and deliver real protection for local communities and the environment.

"Existing exploration licences do not provide adequate protection for the environment and were granted without meaningful public participation," he said.

Mr Clarke said the process for renewing exploration licences must be made more transparent.

"Not a single licence should be renewed until the public has had a meaningful opportunity to have their views heard," he said.

"The expiry of these exploration licences presents a real opportunity for the government to deliver on its promise of making sensitive areas off-limits to coal seam gas development. There are simply areas in NSW where the risk to local communities, water supplies and the community is too great and exploration licences should not be renewed."

Under the present process, when exploration licences are granted, there is no requirement for specific environmental issues to be addressed in detail, with no public exhibition or consultation requirements.

Mr Clarke said title renewals were equally problematic.

"There are no clear, objective tests which the minister must apply and no public consultation requirements," he said.

"There should be a rigorous process introduced to apply before titles are granted, with full public transparency.''

An estimated 5.5 million hectares of petroleum exploration titles have expired, with no information available on the status of these licences or how they are assessed for renewal.

"There appears to be no limit to how long such a situation may continue, with some expired titles now at least seven months old," Mr Clarke said.