STATE government agencies highlighted the strict regulation of the gas industry at a community information session in Penola on Monday night and the need for the community to be on-side before any unconventional shale gas project could proceed in the South East.
But many of the 100 people in attendance remained unconvinced. They want an ironclad guarantee that underground aquifers will not be contaminated and that the cash-strapped state government will act in the interests of existing industries in the region.
The meeting, hosted by the SE Local Government Association, brought together for the first time the proponents, Beach Energy - which has drilled an exploration well on the outskirts of Penola - regulating bodies, the Department for Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy, Environment Protection Authority, Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, and those concerned about the risks to development and economic impacts of gas development on other industries.
Individual presentations in a question and answer session went for close to an hour - nearly 30 minutes longer than scheduled - and there were still many hands up at the close of the meeting.
Among concerns were the risk of increased seismic activity from fracking, well-integrity, the chemical content of fracking fluid, the level of fines for breaches of licences, rulings around decommissioning of wells and the industrialisation of the landscape.
DMITRE director of engineering operations branch Michael Malavazos, whose team regulates gas and petroleum projects under the Petroleum and Geothermal Energy Act 2000, said that Beach Energy had only sought and been granted approval for the drilling of two exploration wells to determine the economic viability of gas production in the region.
He said that the area had a long history of conventional drilling with 133 wells drilled in the SE for which a Statement of Environmental Objectives had been approved.
There was, however, no such document for unconventional drilling, required for test fracking.
An SEO addresses the environmental risks associated with water, air and soil pollution, social and cultural issues, and economic impact of other land uses.
"Beach Energy would need to prove that any potential risks are as low as reasonably practical and the industry has addressed all the community's concerns," Mr Malavazos said.
Environment Protection Authority acting executive director operations Peter Dolan explained that in the exploration phase Beach Energy was exempt from EPA guidelines, but that in production it would be subject to all regulation.
There was also transparency with monitoring data from mining sites available for free to download from its website.
* Full report in Stock Journal, April 17, 2014 issue.
Catherine Miller
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
Stock Journal's livestock editor and South East correspondent.
