FOR 10 years now, the Hunter Valley Protection Alliance (HVPA) has been fighting to stop the expansion of coal seam gas (CSG) mining in the Broke Fordwich wine growing region and, for some time, have staunchly argued there is no “gas supply crisis” in the state.
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Two recent developments appear to support their position and add strength to the organisation’s call to protect the entire region from this perceived threat.
One of the companies who have been pursuing CSG in the region, AGL, recently entered into a Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) with Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and BHP Billiton Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd to purchase up to 198 petajoules (PJ) of conventional natural gas from Bass Strait over three years.
This means they have secured a competitively-priced gas supply until 2020 for their 1.5 million residential and small business gas customers.
Earlier this week, the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2015 Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO) forecasts no supply gaps for any of Australia’s eastern and south-eastern gas markets over the short-term to 2019.
Taken together, HVPA’s Stewart Ewen says the state government should withdraw the Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) that covers the area and put in place a blanket exclusion zone.
He says similar zones exist in other wine-growing areas like the Barossa Valley and the Margaret River.
“That’s what has worked in other parts of Australia and it is quite amazing NSW hasn’t made the move yet,” he says.
“We are not anti-energy, this is a land use conflict issue.
“Why would you put a gas field in the middle of one of the state’s biggest tourism areas?
“It does not make sense to have gas wells in the middle of cropping vineyards.”
He says we also need to take look at the rapid expansion of open cut coal mining and its cumulative impacts on human health, and the environment, in the area.
His concerns were also controversially echoed by prominent Sydney horse trainer Gai Waterhouse last week.
Ms Waterhouse, along with other leading trainers, owners, breeders and industry figures, asked the government to reject the latest proposal from Anglo American to expand their Drayton open cut coal mine.
The mine is in close proximity of international thoroughbred stud, Coolmore and Darley.
They publicly backed the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association (HTBA) and Hunter Wine Tourism Associations call for a 10km buffer zone between their industries and mining operations.
However, it looks like there is no end in sight when it comes to conflicting land use in the Hunter Valley with the Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) recently recommending that the village of Bulga could be relocated to avoid the impacts of the Mt Thorley Warkworth mine expansion.