Gas fracking wars to open up on a new frontANDREW BURRELLTHE...

Gas fracking wars to open up on a new front
ANDREW BURRELLTHE AUSTRALIANDECEMBER 30, 2013 12:00AM

Gas wars on a new front
Broome Shire councillor Anne Poelina, in Broome yesterday, says people worry about fracking. Picture: Colin Murty Source: News Limited
THE remote Kimberley region, which contains the nation's most lucrative untapped shale gas deposits and is attracting rising interest from major petroleum companies, is poised to become the next battleground for companies seeking to use hydraulic fracturing amid vocal opposition from green activists, Aboriginal groups and West Australian health authorities.

More than 100 submissions sent to a parliamentary inquiry before Christmas reveal the depth of opposition to the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, despite industry groups insisting that the practice is not harmful to the environment and the mining of fresh onshore gas reserves would lower domestic gas prices.

The likely development of a shale gas industry in Western Australia follows intense debate in other states over the use of fracking. Victoria recently banned the activity until July 2015.

Some companies have also encountered strong opposition from farmers and environmentalists in NSW and Queensland over plans to extract coal-seam gas using fracking.

With the debate set to ignite in the resource-rich state of Western Australia, Howard government minister Peter Reith yesterday called on the Barnett government to stand up to environmentalists who are gearing up to campaign against fracking, saying it had been proven to be a safe practice and new discoveries would help bring down domestic gas prices. "I'd be surprised if the state government in WA would take a green line on it," said Mr Reith, who led an inquiry into the gas sector for the Victorian government.

West Australian Mines Minister Bill Marmion said last night the government would ensure all future shale gas projects were assessed, with auditors conducting inspections to check compliance with safety and environmental standards.

Western Australia has potential onshore shale gas resources of 267 trillion cubic feet, a figure that dwarfs the state's current consumption of 0.5 trillion cubic feet of gas per year.

Much of the gas is located in the onshore Canning Basin in the Kimberley, which was also the scene of a recent dispute involving industry, environmentalists and indigenous groups over plans - since abandoned - by Woodside Petroleum to build a gas plant at James Price Point.

In its submission to the West Australian fracking inquiry, the Yawuru native title body, led by respected indigenous elder Patrick Dodson, said it was opposed to the practice on its traditional lands until independent scientific evidence proved "beyond doubt" that its water supplies would be safe. "The implications of potential water contamination through fracking would be devastating for Yawuru," it said.

"More information is necessary to ensure that fracking does not cause irreversible harm to human health, the natural environment and indigenous people's enjoyment of and connection to country."

A Broome-based academic and Aboriginal leader, Anne Poelina, said yesterday that a big group of local indigenous people had met recently to co-ordinate their opposition to fracking.

She said many were concerned about companies being able to ignore the wishes of traditional owners to push through projects with potential environmental impacts.

"A lot of things are being fast-tracked through the native title process - there is no time for the science," she said.

But the oil and gas industry said fracking had been conducted for decades without incident and the development of the state's unconventional gas resources would create jobs, boost the economy and lower greenhouse emissions.

Fracking involves drilling into the earth before a high-pressure mix of water, sand and chemicals is injected to free gas from rocks deep underground.

Most shale gas deposits in Western Australia are at a depth of 1500m-3000m below groundwater, much deeper than the wells drilled for coal-seam gas deposits on the east coast. However, some believe there is still a risk chemicals can leak into aquifers and pollute the groundwater.

The industry's peak body, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, said with appropriate monitoring and robust regulation in place, shale and tight gas resources could be developed safely in the state as a key energy source.

"The industry has the technical capability to develop shale and tight gas resources but acceptable development of the industry will rely on community confidence," it said. "This confidence will require robust regulation, responsible operator practices and early and effective communication with stakeholders."

But in its submission to the inquiry, the state government-owned Water Corporation called for fracking to be banned from public drinking-water areas.

"The liability of the WA government and Water Corporation for any illness (or even death) associated with water-borne contamination of drinking water as a result of the relaxation of access restrictions should be a serious concern," it said.

The Water Corporation said it had been hindered in attempting to understand the risks of fracking by the "inability to obtain regular and valued communications" with the Department of Mines and Petroleum.

The state Department of Health said it had conducted a study which found that fracking had the potential to contaminate groundwater, including drinking-water supplies.

It said it should be given the power to assess the public health risks of fracking before any drilling takes place.

The Lock the Gate Alliance, a lobby group that has campaigned against fracking on the east coast, urged the state government to impose a moratorium on the expansion of the shale gas industry in the state until the risks were fully understood.

The Conservation Council of Western Australia said it disputed industry claims that the risk of water contamination due to fracking was negligible because most deposits were deeper than in other states and overseas.

"US studies have found clear evidence of groundwater pollution from shale and tight gas developments where target formations are at similar depths to those in Western Australia," it said.

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