AN EXPLORATION core hole for coal seam gas is expected to begin at Putty, 500 metres from the world heritage-listed Wollemi National Park this week, despite protests by residents on Sunday.
Residents of the small rural community were informed of the exploration by Dart Energy in a letter recently, resulting in about 50 of them gathering to protest on Sunday.
Putty residents said they were told at a meeting in Leichhardt Town Hall on August 1 that drilling would not commence until the mid- to late-September.
However a spokesperson for Dart Energy said residents were made aware of their movements via a letter sent out to homes in the area.
Chairperson of the Putty Community Association CSG sub-committee, Kathy McKenzie, said the only community consultation Dart Energy has had with the people of Putty was at their instigation.
“I write a community newsletter and they have my contact details, but I was only informed about drilling starting on Monday when I called Jason Needham on another matter,” Ms McKenzie said.
“When asked if the neighbouring landholders had been informed I was told that someone was at Putty today informing them.”
The Dart Energy spokesperson said there were a number of issues that needed to be corrected. He said residents in Putty were made aware of the company’s plans for exploration through public consultation.
“What needs to be understood and corrected is, first the company has consulted widely in the past and is continuing with its consultation and has let residents know this week,” the spokesperson said.
“Second, this is on a farmer’s block of land that has already given consent and is not near the township. Third, the drilling is of one well, not multiple wells.
“Fourth, the company has repeated time and again it does not use fracking and this is an exploration hole, not a production well.
“And if another company were to buy Dart in the future, it also would have to undergo stringent environment approvals before any commercial production.
“The drilling at about 900 metres is well below any local aquifers, the wells are doubled lined and cased in steel and cement.
“To call CSG a mining activity is to misconstrue what is really happening.”
Ms McKenzie said the community was outraged at Dart Energy’s plans for exploration, and in turn planned the protests at a neighbouring property ‘Wheeny’, 85km from Windsor and 86km from Singleton on the Putty Road.
“We understand that an exploration core hole should not require fracking, does not usually extract production water and will therefore cause less environmental damage than a pilot or production well,” Ms McKenzie said.
“We also know that exploration approvals are given with fewer controls than for production to make it viable for mining companies to assess an area’s potential. However, if commercially viable quantities of gas are identified during exploration, there will be pressure to turn the entire area into industrial production facilities to the detriment of the Hawkesbury River catchment area and the national parks.”
The core hole is located on Long Wheeny Creek which runs through the national park into the Colo River before joining the Hawkesbury River.
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