Here is the transcript Coal seam gas plans for Pilliga...

Here is the transcript


Coal seam gas plans for Pilliga criticised


Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 09/06/2011
Reporter: Brigid Glanville
Energy company Eastern Star's plans to drill for coal seam gas in north west New South Wales have run into environmental opposition.

Transcript
TICKY FULLERTON, PRESENTER: Eastern Star's plans to drill for coal seam gas in north-west NSW have run into major opposition.

Environmentalists say they're concerned about the potential impact. The Pilliga is a huge area of native forest.

Eastern Star wants to put in 550 wells, and none will involve the controversial fracking process.

From Narribri, here's Bridget Glanville.

BRIDGET GLANVILLE, REPORTER: The Pilliga scrub is one of the largest native forests in NSW. It's home to hundreds of threatened plant and animal species. Eastern Star Gas also wants it to be home to a coal seam gas field.

JOHN ANDERSON, CHAIRMAN, EASTERN STAR GAS: We're active in a very small area of it, very small area only, and our activities with these 550 wells will involve some three per cent of the area that we're active in and they can be rehabilitated.

BRIDGET GLANVILLE: If the proposal gets the go-ahead, the 550 gas wells will be constructed on 2,400 hectares of cleared land, a small portion of the half a million-hectare forest. Environmental groups say the damage though will be much more widespread.

PEPE CLARKE, CEO, NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL: Already we're seeing with the current production wells failures of containment ponds and leaking of salt water. This has impacts like killing vegetation.

It also leaves salt-laden soil, which means it's very difficult to rehabilitate that site.

BRIDGET GLANVILLE: Tony Pickard is a sheep farmer in the Pilliga. He's been watching Eastern Star since 2002 and doesn't believe the company's looking after the forest.

TONY PICKARD, SHEEP FARMER: The storage pond actually collapsed and the salty water and the drilling fluids spread out, now - and just killed the vegetation. Now this is going on 12 - 10 years old now, and as you can see, there's nothing here.

BRIDGET GLANVILLE: Eastern Star Gas says its proposal to construct another 550 well sets will create up to 200 ongoing jobs for the region. It's now up to the state and federal governments to work out though at what cost those jobs may be to the environment, with proposals now being assessed.

JOHN ANDERSON: I had 19 years as the member for the north-west of NSW, and indeed in a leadership position in the National Party, where the constant catchcry was, "Get us some regional development, get us some jobs."

BRIDGET GLANVILLE: The coal seam gas field won't use the controversial fracking technique. Instead, it will extract the gas through horizontal drilling.


Environmentalists say that is a good step but mining companies have a long way to go to convince them that the Pilliga scrub will survive as a state treasure.


Cheers Mattocks