Worth Recycling facility at South Windsor has confirmed coal seam gas (CSG) waste water was last processed at its site in June.
The response from the facility comes after Hawkesbury Council and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both failed to give a definitive answer as to whether CSG waste water had, or was, being processed at the site.
Mario Tesoriero from Worth Recycling told the Gazette at this stage they don’t know when CSG waste water will next be processed at the facility.
‘‘The water we receive isn’t necessarily from gas drilling, it’s ground water and all tested,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s the same quality of water you would use on a farm.’’
Mr Tesoriero said Worth Recycling operates a state-of-the-art facility and is a vital service for the community.
‘‘We were instrumental in assisting with horizontal drilling connecting the Glossodia, Wilberforce and Freemans Reach sewerage system and we also assisted with the national broadband network rollout,’’ he said.
‘‘Any water we have taken from any sort of operation is virtually tap water.’’
Mr Tesoriero said the water is not a risk to the community and once processed is used as an alternative to household tap water in operations such a brick making, thermal insulation and starch managing.
The question as to whether CSG waste water was processed at the South Windsor facility was first raised at a council meeting in July.
Council said it was unaware and had asked the Office of CSG and Sydney Water, both could not provide an answer.
The question was again asked at the August 26 council meeting. Council said it would ‘‘look into’’ it again — another report is in progress.
Hawkesbury Council said it had ‘‘no control over the source or type of waste water coming into the site’’. The regulatory body is the EPA.
Council does control the discharge from the site through a Trade Waste Agreement.
Worth Recycling is licensed to process various chemicals and waste water, including CSG waste water.
It has a permit — an environment protection licence (EPL), issued by the EPA.
