“If the Commonwealth is going to take its responsibilities seriously it needs to fully assess this proposal under the EPBC Act,” said Environs Kimberly Strategy Director Martin Pritchard. Photo: Environs Kimberley.
The first shale gas fracking proposal has been referred under new federal environment laws, with the plan to drill oil and gas wells in the heart of the Kimberley.
National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River catchment will be host to Black Mountain subsidiary Bennet Resources, which plans to turn the Canning Basin into a US-style oil and gas field. Plans for the fracking project were released for public comment over 10 days on 24 July by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
Black Mountain has referred the proposal for six frack wells to Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who will decide on whether a full Commonwealth assessment under the EPBC Act is required for the ‘Valhalla Project’.
However, the full proposal currently under assessment by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency – is actually a 20-well fracking project.
Environs Kimberley Director of Strategy, Martin Pritchard, said it would be the first test of the new laws’ water trigger since amendments were made to include shale gas in December last year.
“Black Mountain have said they need a (1100-km) pipeline to the Pilbara (LNG facilities),” he said. “If they got such a pipeline, they’d need thousands of oil and gas wells to feed it and pay for it.
“We’d be looking at a landscape industrialised by the oil and gas industry like they have in Texas and across North America.”
According to Environs Kimberley, the fracking would require 100 million litres of groundwater per well leading to huge volumes of wastewater in the catchment. Two wells that have previously been fracked by Mitsubishi and Buru Energy on the same petroleum lease contained radioactive material in the wastewater.
Wastewater ponds have overflowed in the monsoon season, spilling onto floodplains and endangering the plants and animals of the Kimberley. This includes the habitats of the greater bilby, which is listed as threatened under the EPBC Act.
Tributaries of the Fitzroy River also host the last stronghold of the critically endangered freshwater sawfish and a highly popular barramundi fishing area. Photo: Damian Kelly.
Woodside Energy abandoned similar plans to build gas refineries costing $80 billion at James Price Point in 2013 after national protests and community backlash in the Kimberley.
“We don’t want to see a James Price Point situation unfolding again here. The Albanese and Cook governments must take action now and rule out fracking gas fields in the Kimberley,” said Mr Pritchard.
Mr Pritchard said the Kimberley was an international nature tourism destination known for its stunning landscapes, intact nature and Aboriginal culture.
“The $600 million tourism industry is dependent on the unspoilt scenery of places like the National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River Valley and is currently being looked at for World Heritage listing after a commitment from Labor at the last election.
“This company has been fined by ASIC for greenwashing and now they’re referring to the Commonwealth a different project to what’s in front of the WA EPA – we’re calling on the highest level of scrutiny to be applied to this.”
Environs Kimberley is calling on Minister Plibersek to invoke the new water trigger law on this to make sure the Kimberley is protected from fracking.
