This may have something to do with the recent SP drop; We're being thwarted at every turn. Perhaps it will get the go-ahead without this recommendation, but still a spanner in our NT works.
Come on Surat Basin. You need to shine.
Fracking NT: Hydraulic fracturing inquiry draft final report urges 3-year NT fracking studies
ENVIRONMENTAL studies spanning up to three years must be conducted before fracking extraction of gas begins in the Northern Territory, an inquiry says.
The independent hydraulic fracturing inquiry draft final report was released on Tuesday with 120 recommendations for the Gunner government, which continues to feel federal pressure to lift its onshore gas ban.
Inquiry chair Justice Rachel Pepper said it was not her role to recommend whether Labor should end its moratorium on the controversial shale gas extraction method, but to advise on how to mitigate the risks to an acceptable level if it did.
The report advised that a two to three year study to gather baseline regional data must be completed before any fracking production licences are granted or the industry developed, but exploration can start beforehand.
This assessment would investigate human health, ecosystems and groundwater impacts.
Only land that is environmentally, socially, and culturally appropriate should be released for development, the report said.
It said the reinjection of waste water into aquifers must not be permitted until investigations can determine whether risks can be managed to acceptable levels.
The report calls for monitoring of methane gas concentrations to be undertaken for at least one year before shale gas production starts.
It also recommends that an independent regulator should be introduced and the current regulatory framework should be reformed to ensure compliance and strengthen accountability.
“The overall conclusion of the report is that risk is inherent in all development and that an onshore shale gas industry is no exception,” Justice Pepper said.
“However, if the recommendations made in this draft report are adopted and implemented in full, those risks may be mitigated or reduced - and in many cases eliminated altogether.”
A final report will be delivered to the government in March.
(20min delay)