fears HAYLEY SORENSEN, THE NORTH WEST STAR 22 Jul, 2011 01:29 PM TWO weeks after the State Government ordered the permanent closure of an underground coal gasification (UCG) project at Kingaroy, information has emerged revealing UCG company Linc Energy lodged permits to conduct coal exploration projects at several sites across the North West.
Edgar Burnett of Lara Downs Station near Julia Creek told The North West Star he had been provided with a notice of entry into his property by Linc Energy in May.
?Their proposed activity is to drill three exploration holes,? Mr Burnett said.
?They?re looking for seams of black coal to mine which they light up and then extract the resultant gas through the bore hole.?
Mr Burnett said he was presented with a conduct and compensation agreement by Linc Energy.
?That empowers them to make us negotiate with them for them to come onto our land and drill these three holes,? he said.
Linc Energy chief executive officer Peter Bond denied the company was searching for UCG project locations.
He said Linc?s exploration was limited to searching for coal.
?There may be a UCG opportunity there but that?s not what we?re looking for,? he said.
?There doesn?t need to be any angst or anyone worrying about their farm being lost.?
Talks over the use of Mr Burnett?s land have stalled on the issue of compensation.
Mr Burnett said he held grave concerns over the project, in particular the prospect of contamination of the Great Artesian Basin which is the primary water source for towns and properties in the North West.
?I don?t think people realise the value of the Great Artesian Basin,? Mr Burnett said.
In UCG, holes are drilled under the water table and into deep coal seams before coal is converted to gas through combustion.
UCG company Cougar Energy was recently ordered by the State Government to permanently shut down its project in Kingaroy after the carcinogenic chemical benzene was detected in groundwater monitoring bores.
Mr Bond said Linc Energy did not use benzene in its UCG operations.
AgForce policy advisor Drew Wagner said the lobby group was wary of UCG technology.
?There are three underground coal gasification projects in Queensland; one has been ordered to shut down and another has had major issues,? he said.
?We need to ensure sustainability because it is the landholder who will be left with the legacy of these projects.
?As soon as we lose these resources [Great Artesian Basin] they?re gone forever.?
Mr Wagner advised landholders approached by mining or energy companies to seek legal advice.
Drill sites are also planned for properties adjoining Lara Downs Station.
Properties in the McKinlay Shire aren?t the only ones to be affected by coal exploration.
The North West Star has received reports that similar projects are planned for the Richmond and Flinders Shires.
Richmond Mayor John Wharton confirmed coal exploration was planned in the shire.
He said information about the projects was scarce.
?We need a lot more information before we can clarify what?s going on,? he said.
?I know they?re having a lot of problems in the settled areas with this but up in these wide open places it might be different.?
Councillor Wharton said he was concerned about the protection of the Great Artesian Basin.
?If the Artesian Basin gets contaminated it will be the end of this western pastoral industry.?
Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter said landholders had approached him at public meetings with their concerns about coal exploration.
?The issue was raised with considerable aggression and very serious concern,? he said.
Mr Katter said contamination of the Great Artesian Basin would be ?cataclysmic? for the North West.
?All of the cattle industry on Queensland?s plains and all of the sheep and kangaroo industries are totally dependent on water coming from those aquifers,? he said.
?All the government can see is the royalty dollars; they don?t care what destruction they wreak on industry.?
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