ombudsman scathing over coal burnoff

A CONTROVERSIAL trial to burn coal underground and free natural gas started before regulators had assessed its potential impact on groundwater, the Queensland Ombudsman has found.

In a scathing report on the monitoring of Cougar Energy's stalled underground coal gasification project, Phil Clarke found there was no baseline data on groundwater and the company's own expert adviser was allowed to set the "safe" level of contaminants without any oversight from Queensland's Environment Department.

Mr Clarke found environmental approvals for the $550 million project, near the southeast Queensland town of Kingaroy, were ad hoc, inconsistent and not grounded in expert knowledge.

"The inadequacies with the conditions in the environmental authority for the Kingaroy project led to the UCG process commencing with insufficient oversight from the environmental regulator," he said in the report tabled in Queensland parliament yesterday.

"The major groundwater report had not been reviewed; insufficient baseline groundwater data had not been obtained; the contaminant trigger levels had not been checked; the department had not been able to comment on any shutdown procedure.

"Projects involving novel or emerging technologies that have high or unknown risks warrant greater oversight and compliance monitoring."

The UCG process ran for five days in March 2010 before it was stopped by Cougar because of well blockages, but three months later it advised the Environment Department the chemical benzene had been detected in local groundwater.

In July 2010, the Queensland government shut down the project, sparking a $34m lawsuit alleging negligence and breach of statutory duty against three former bureaucrats, which was lodged last October.

Cougar Energy is also taking action in the Planning and Environment Court to overturn the environmental order stopping them conducting their trial.

Mr Clarke did not investigate the benzene in the groundwater as the legal actions are ongoing.

Three UCG projects have been trialled in Australia - all in Queensland - based on the technology developed and conducted in Russia for four decades.

Mr Clarke found a "lack of common understanding" between departments meant bureaucrats did not have adequate expert advice about the conditions on groundwater impacts and no one with expertise had input into the conditions.

He said it was inappropriate not to notify the community of the novel project, despite an expectation of a "high impact" on water quality, discharges, hydrology, groundwater, land erosion, stability and rehabilitation.

Cougar Energy chief executive Rob Neill said the company appreciated that the report "identified a range of departmental inadequacies and shortcomings".

However, he said it was unable to make specific comment because of the legal proceedings.

Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the report was a "complex document" and some of the recommendations had already been implemented.

"The government gives a commitment to look closely at all recommendations that will improve environmental procedures and practices," Mr Powell said.

Source - http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/ombudsman-scathing-over-coal-burnoff/story-e6frgczx-1226482122819