Win for gas blockade as Santos pulls backCSG company failed to report saline spill
ABC TV - 7pm News - 13.1.2012
The discharge of 10,000 litres of saline water at a coal seam gas project in north-western New South Wales was not reported to the State Government for six months.
Santos operates the Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Project, in the Pilliga Forest. It bought the operation off Eastern Star Gas and took over in November.
The Department of Trade and Investment says last Friday night Santos advised it that in June a pipeline failure occurred which resulted in the discharge of 10,000 litres of saline coal seam gas water. The incident was not reported to government authorities by Eastern Star Gas at the time even though it was obliged to report such incidents under the conditions of its petroleum exploration licence.
The Department says it is pursuing enforcement actions on the discharge and says there is the potential for prosecution.
Watch the ABC news program:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-13/csg-company-failed-to-report-saline-spill/3771914
“The Department says it is pursuing enforcement actions on the discharge and says there is the potential for prosecution.”
What?? “POTENTIAL for prosecution”???? If the govt. doesn’t charge ESG over this incident, then they will have to admit that all their chorus about “strict regulations” are a complete sham. And that the gas companies rule the roost.
And this is the same leak that Santos denied 10 days ago. First they blamed farmers’ chemicals for the trees dying. Then they said there had been a lot of rain lately – and that “eucalypts react with water”!! The masters of ‘spin’.
Link to that story:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-02/greens-claim-csg-mine-poisoning-trees/3755362