I wonder if we can now take them before the court for much worse...

I wonder if we can now take them before the court for much worse damage and we have the proof that their well is actually leaking gas to the atmosphere-d-heads

NEWS

Opinion: Linc Energy discovers embarrassing eco blunder by watchdog investigating gas leak allegations
DES HOUGHTON THE COURIER-MAIL JULY 11, 2015 12:00AM SHARE

'Potentially explosive' gas leak
THE State Government’s environmental watchdog is itself under scrutiny for an ecological blunder on the Surat Basin gas fields.

A well drilled into a coal seam on the Darling Downs by contractors for the Department of Environment and Heritage was found to be leaking methane gas at “potentially explosive” levels.

Ironically, the embarrassing error happened while the department was investigating allegations of dangerous hydrogen gas leaks at wells near Chinchilla.

I have been handed a video of the hissing well which sent gas detector alarms screaming.

The leaking well was discovered by accident by Linc Energy technicians working for the very company under investigation by the department.

“This is an appallingly and intrinsically unsafe well completion and it is not surprising that it is leaking in the way that it is,” said Linc’s Matthew Buchanan in a formal complaint to the department on June 24, the day of the discovery.

Buchanan, the general manager of environment, health and safety, said the leaking well was close to the boundary of Linc’s underground coal gasification research station on a private property at Hopeland near Chinchilla. It was 120m deep.

Contractors for the department drilled the well as part of a two-year investigation into allegations Linc caused “wilful damage” to farmland.

Linc faces fines of up to $32.5 million as the Queensland Government pursues it for allegedly causing serious environmental damage to farmland and operating well outside the terms of its licence. Linc denies the allegations.

Linc’s pilot project involved burning coal deep underground and then processing the resultant gases into liquid fuel. The plant is now shut.

The leaking well was one of more than 100 drilled by the department’s contractors as it searched for hydrogen gas leaks across a 340sq km area.

In a formal complaint to the Ombudsman, Linc’s managing director Craig Ricato asked for an independent inquiry.

The leaking well was discovered by accident by Linc Energy technicians working for the very company under investigation by the department.

“Linc Energy is concerned that the department will not undertake a proper internal examination into the circumstances that resulted in the well being constructed in a manner and using inappropriate materials which resulted in it venting potentially explosive methane into the atmosphere for up to six weeks,” he said.

“Linc has no faith and confidence in the department being able to properly discharge its statutory duties as a regulator of Linc Energy, and the coal-seam gas industry more generally.

“It is not unreasonable to expect the regulator to meet the same industry standards that it requires Linc Energy and the coal-seam industry to meet when constructing monitoring wells.”

Buchanan warned the department that several aspects of the well construction did not comply with industry standards. He said it was built with inferior parts and was poorly installed.

The leaking well raises further questions about the regulator.

A scathing Auditor-General’s report last April found the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection was not fully effective in its supervision, monitoring and enforcement of environmental conditions.

Failures in data collection hampered many EHP functions, Parliament was told.

An Ombudsman’s report tabled in 2012 questioned whether the EHP even had the expertise to conduct investigations.

Environment Minister Steven Miles did not return calls.

Link Provided: www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-linc-e...