Stop Fracking in Gloucester Petition & Facts.

GetUp 

Gloucester Knitting Nanas

Hi Mary .....   (if they send it to me - I send it to the world)

We've got exciting news -- and a big opportunity.

After a spate of environmental breaches and cover-ups, GetUp members and local groups asked AGL's new CEO Andrew Vesey to shut down the dangerous Gloucester coal seam gas project.

Just days later, Mr Vesey has announced a 'comprehensive review' of the company's gas operations, including CSG. The General Manager who oversaw their gas extraction sector immediately retired.¹

This is a significant win and a testament to everyone working to protect our land and water, but it's far from a knockout blow. But it does mean right now AGL is deciding whether to continue fracking for CSG in NSW.

Can you add your name and ask AGL to walk away from their dangerous CSG projects?

AGL's CSG projects have been plagued by a string of breaches and disasters, proving beyond doubt that they cannot be trusted. Just to recap what AGL have been up to in the last few months;

1: AGL's CSG drilling in Gloucester has been suspended by the NSW Government after finding hazardous BTEX chemicals in the water of two of its wells²
2: AGL has been drilling for CSG under people's homes in Sydney, and residents had no idea³
3: AGL's said its gas wells 200m away from homes were fine. An EPA report showed one-in-ten were leaking.⁴
4: Hunter Water refused AGL permission to dump wastewater in the sewer system, but AGL did it anyway⁵
5: There have been huge fluctuation levels in the groundwater table near AGL's CSG wells⁶

With a track record like that it's no wonder people don't trust AGL, and now's our chance to make it count.

Just today, leading analyst Citi said, "It's not worth risking AGL's brand for a Gloucester development." They noted the strength of public opposition, and warned AGL that if the negative connotations surrounding the Gloucester project become too mainstream it could end up jeopardising their entire brand and earnings.⁷

The pressure is already building, thanks to you and to our friends at organisations like Groundswell Gloucester, Land Water Future and Lock the Gate. Their tireless campaigning against AGL's dangerous project means that community opposition to CSG is already mainstream.

Can you sign the petition to stop CSG in Gloucester?

Over 20,000 GetUp members have already signed the petition to Mr Vesey. Of those people there were 6004 AGL customers, 515 AGL shareholders, and 105 AGL employees.









Click here to sign the petition against AGL's dangerous CSG projects: http://www.getup.org.au/agl-suspended.

The news is great, but we've got so far to go. Thanks to you, we know this massive corporation is taking our message very seriously.

Let's use this window of opportunity to protect our land and our water for good.

Thanks for everything that you do,
Sam R and Adam, for the GetUp Team

PS - If you're an AGL customer and you're unhappy about the company's contaminations, breaches and cover-ups, you can switch your power away from AGL to renewable energy in less then ten minutes! Join almost 6,000 Australians who've moved away from the dirty power companies to a green energy future. If you're in Victoria, you can do it right now. If you're elsewhere, you can pledge to switch now and we'll contact you when we're ready to go.

No CSG Welcome.

http://getup.to/X4PYGUO24IrowiVPZ

References:
[1] AGL to review coal seam gas business in wake of Gloucester toxic chemical leak controversy, ABC News Online, February 19 2015
[2] AGL faces delays, additional conditions after BTEX chemicals detected, SMH. January 28, 2015
[3] Proof of CSG drilling under family homes in Sydney Yahoo News, January 22, 2015
[4] Leaks found at almost one in 10 AGL CSG wells at Camden, SMH, October 14, 2014
[5] EPA investigation into discharge of treated flow back water into Hunter Water sewer network, Hunter Water, January 22, 2015
[6] Shifting ground water levels add to AGL's CSG doubts, SMH, January 27, 2015
[7] Upstream gas restructure, a material prize worth chasing, Citiresearch, February 18 2015

HALLIBURTON BTEX in flowback water at Gloucester NSW.

Photo from Flickr

AGL (Australian Gas Light)  advised the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) that ground and surface water monitoring data from the Gloucester Gas Project logged during November shows detected traces of a chemical used in the fracking process. 

This is a BTEX Chemical cocktail.  Halliburton patent this chemical cocktail of environmental death and destruction.  Halliburton did the Frack at Gloucester NSW.  The workers were ferried in  buses under police guard.

Read Sledge's take on Halliburton and co... HERE

Halliburton along with BP  also caused one of the biggest Gas disaster in the planets living history to date and were involved in the Marcellus Shale Gas rush in Pennsylvania.  They changed the towns they went into from quiet idyllic places to absolute bedlam.  People  were reported to have said if the trucks were painted green you would think you were being invaded.

Death threats were rife against people who refused access.  In one town a the Ecologist reports:

In 2010 alone, it was reported that more than a dozen children around the small town of Towanda had been put into foster care, their families turfed out of low-rent accommodation by unscrupulous landlords to make way for gas-industry employees who are able to offer higher rents. 'The feel of the place has just changed,' remarked Tom and Amy, a couple from Towanda, lifelong local residents who have recently put their house on the market and are looking to move away. 'Greed is ugly and greed is rampant in Bradford county today.'
Things changed dramatically for the fracking industry when the so called loophole was born in politics in the USA.

Halliburton loophole
http://www.theecologist.org/trial_investigations/687515/us_natural_gas_drilling_boom_linked_to_pollution_and_social_strife.html

Fracking involves the use of huge volumes of water and a potent cocktail of chemical ingredients that are pumped underground to assist with the process.

What isn't known, however, is exactly which chemical combinations are actually being used, a confidentiality that is enshrined in national law.

Referred to affectionately as the ‘Halliburton loophole’, in 2005 the Bush administration effectively exempted the gas industry from a number of federal acts that would have enabled critics to clamp down, regulate and scrutinise the gas industry; and specifically, understand the precise nature of the chemicals being used in fracking processes.

It is a situation that exasperates healthcare professionals and local citizens alike.

‘Am I comfortable with an industry that won't disclose and tell me, as an American citizen, what they're putting underneath my feet?’ asks John Lykens, an engineer from Bradford county. ‘Absolutely not. They're exempt from the Superfund Act, the Safe Drinking Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act... environmental acts that were put down to protect everyday citizens.’

Fracking fluid shows up in water monitoring | Gloucester Advocate

I am beginning to feel that because Halliburton are so entrenched in the Fracking process at Gloucester and Mark Vaille was responsible for Queensland company getting the Halliburton war contracts that there is some sort of shady connection with this deal as well.

AGL - Aussie Gas Lairs  - we don't care.  That should be their Motto (pictured AGL Frack Gate)

Considering Mark Vaille was the deputy Prime Minister at the same time and participated in all of the other Halliburton War contracts which were handed out to Australian contractors eager to profit from the war in Iraq.   Halliburton opened their futuristic offices in Canberra.   This grand entrance and "Opening" in Canberra leaves me thinking there is more to look at regarding Mark Vaille.  

He should be looked at concerning all things Halliburton.  Considering that AGL's Frack farm is in his former electorate seemingly is too close to be a mistake.  But hey these are just all suspicions to be looked at.  I would look at them more closely if I was on a panel for example.

Given that the Nationals bloke Dr David Gillespie (Gastroenterologist, Port Macquarie) is now sitting in the seat of Lynne (Mark Vaille's former seat) and this is traditionally the seat of the Deputy Prime Minister, it did make me think that he had that one in the bag if he could keep us all quiet perhaps.   So far this has not reared its ugly head to happen.

Both Dr Gillespie and his wife are shareholders of AGL Energy, according to his "Register of Public Interests".   How wonderful for them to have wasted their money because AGL will not profit from being involved with Halliburton either.  It does not seem to be the way they work.

Just before the election this is what he was quoted saying:

"I am very concerned about coal seam gas development and its potential effect on water but the federal government doesn't have the power to ban coal seam gas development.

What it can do is provide environmental protections such as the 'Water Trigger' amendment to the Environmental Biodiversity and Conservation Act, which The Nationals supported.

Our policy is quite clear on coal seam gas.

I do not support coal seam gas development where it poses a significant risk to the water, prime agricultural land or the wider environment.

I do not support coal seam gas development close to existing residential areas and I believe that landholders and communities should get a fair return from coal seam gas development on their land and in their towns.

Dr David Gillespie

I am absolutely committed to seeing that our environment is preserved for the benefit of our future generations.

GILLESPIE Parliamentary speeches.  In his maiden speech to parliament he ignores the important issues and does not mention Gloucester's GAS INVASION,

"And our other regional transport links that we have committed to, like the Bucketts Way that will link the Manning Valley and Gloucester primary and secondary industries".
....A secondary mention is not a MENTION. 
This alerts me his is well aware of what is going on with the Gloucester Gas Project.  His idea must be to ignore it and hope it goes away because he is probably a good guy in over his head here with Halliburton in charge of things.  They US cannot fight a war without them, and AGL could not frack without them.

Dr David Gillespie on twitter: https://twitter.com/DaveGillespieMP

The  predecessor, independent Rob Oakeshott fought hard for the issue and he was voted in after the rampant Vaille built his outrageous mansion in the Taree area.  It is the most in your face house.  It is not what I call an ordinary person's house.

CONTACT DETAILS
Parliament Office
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Telephone: (02) 6277 4960
Fax:(02) 6277 2856.

Electorate Office
75-77 Clarence Street
Port Macquarie, NSW, 2444

Postal address
PO Box 1112
Port Macquarie, NSW, 2444
Telephone: (02) 6583 2077
Fax:(02) 6584 1022

> http://www.coal-seam-gas.com/politics/gillespie.htm#.U1Tk15V_W00

Images @ Eminpee Fotography

National Assessment of Chemicals Associated with Coal Seam Gas Extraction in Australia

Overview

At the gate of AGL's FRACK FARM NEAR GLOUCESTER NSW

The Australian Government is committed to regulating industrial chemicals, including those associated with coal seam gas (CSG) extraction, for the protection of the Australian public, workers and the environment.
On advice from the interim Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) about the technical scope of the project, the Australian Government provided $4.2 million for the National Assessment of Chemicals Associated with Coal Seam Gas Extraction in Australia (the National Assessment).

The National Assessment

The National Assessment will examine human health and environmental risks from chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing for CSG extraction in Australia. It will inform the Australian Government, the IESC, industry and the public about the use and potential risks of these chemicals.
The National Assessment will:

• develop an understanding among stakeholders of the public, occupational and environmental risks arising from chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing for CSG extraction in Australia, thereby addressing some existing scientific gaps and stakeholder concerns;
• provide an evidence base for the appropriate management of chemicals as part of the broader management of CSG activities; and
• improve public access to information about chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.

Funded by the Australian Government's Office of Water Science, the National Assessment is a collaboration between the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS—lead agency), the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) and Geoscience Australia. It draws on the expertise of scientists in the fields of chemistry, hydrogeology, hydrology, geology, toxicology, eco-toxicology, natural resource management and risk assessment.
Available published and unpublished national and international data and an industry survey will inform the national assessment. It will:

• identify chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing for CSG in Australia;
• characterise any potential short and longer-term adverse effects to human health and the environment caused by chemicals used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing;
• assess the public, occupational and environmental risks arising from their use based on current Australian work practices. The assessment will consider:
  • surface handling of hydraulic fracturing and drilling chemicals at the well site (handling, storage, transport, mixing, injection, surface spills, spills into natural water courses), and
  • surface handling of flowback and produced waters that flow up the well bores  (this will include activities such as transport from the well site, storage, treatment and waste disposal);
• identify those contaminants that naturally occur underground ('geogenic' contaminants) and may be mobilised from Australian coal seams as a result of the fracturing process, and assess the environmental risks arising from these contaminants; and
• develop models and tools to predict soil and surface/shallow groundwater concentrations of chemicals used in CSG extraction from transport and site spills, overflows, runoff and leaks from surface ponds.

The National Assessment also includes:

• preliminary studies to examine the potential movement of naturally occurring underground contaminants from Australian coal seams;
• developing models to predict the extent of fracture growth within the coal seams in different locations in Australia; and
• developing tools and simulators to predict concentrations of CSG chemicals in deeper groundwater.

Timing

This project commenced in July 2012 and is expected to be completed in 2014.

Where to get more information

Information will be released progressively via the NICNAS website throughout the course of the National Assessment. See also Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
For more information on coal seam gas mining go to:
web:    http://www.environment.gov.au/coal-seam-gas-mining/index.html
email:  water.science@environment.gov.au

Images @ Eminpee Fotography

Related articles

• Coal Seam Gas: What's the rush?
• Coalition will 'get around' new law on coal seam gas
• "Water Trigger" Amendment to the EPBC Act of 1999
• Why do greenies want to wreck the place?
• CSG projects to face greater scrutiny
• Australia has huge deposits of shale gas - but it won't come cheap