Well by the sound of things we had better shut down nearly the...

Well by the sound of things we had better shut down nearly the entire NSW coastline and some parts of South East Queensland. Coal has been burning underground out of control for yonks [a long time]. Coal seams in Newcastle, Lithgow, the Illawarra area of NSW, and Ipswich in Qld, have had underground heatings and fires burning out of control on and off for ages. Coal in Central Qld can be mined on a Friday and be on fire if left unattended on the ground three days later on the Sunday. Coal fires in the home for heating and hot water are part of our heritage, and yes there can be problems from time to time introducing new ideas to pristine areas, and, if the risk can not be reduced to an acceptable level and science can not solve the issues, I am sure we would all agree to walk away from it. However with DERM carrying out the monitoring of the environmental sensitive areas I do believe UCG can be successful, using a transparent system agreed upon by the local concerned land holders and community to arrive at a positive outcome for both parties.
Scim.