The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) said the unprecedented level of public concern about Black Mountain Energy’s (BME) Kimberley fracking project was a clear indication that West Australians do not want it to go ahead.
CCWA, other organisations, experts and members of the public lodged submissions with the Office of the Appeals Convenor opposing the approval of the fracking proposal, highlighting the WA Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) failures to address the serious risks it poses to threatened species and groundwater.
CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said the Appeals Convenor has already received a record number of appeals for this outrageous proposal.
In a media statement, the office of the Appeals Convenor said it had received an unprecedented number of appeals relating to the Valhalla Gas Exploration... ‘while our team will be working as efficiently as possible to progress all matters, the significant volume of appeals may result in delays in responding within our usual timeframes’.
“Clearly, thousands of West Australians have taken the opportunity to make their objections to this project loud and clear,” Mr Roberts said.
“The EPA has got it seriously wrong, but the final decision on this project will sit with the Cook government and Environment Minister Matt Swinbourn.
“We’ve called on the Appeals convenor to recommend the rejection of Valhalla given the EPA and BME have not provided evidence there will be no impact to stygofauna, threatened species, groundwater or groundwater dependent ecosystems, or the Martuwarra Fitzroy River National Heritage area.
“It's clear the WA community doesn’t want fracking in the Kimberley, and neither does the WA Labor Party, which voted for a statewide ban at its conference late last year. The EPA should never have recommended in favour of this project.”
Mr Roberts said the project would emit 229,503 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year and is one of the first big emitters to be assessed under the new state policy which defers all responsibility for reducing emissions to the federal government.
“The EPA has not adequately considered contamination risks to critical ground and surface water systems like Mount Hardman Creek. Nor has it adequately addressed risks to stygofauna and threatened species like the endangered Greater Bilby put at risk from contaminants and the attraction of feral animals and predators to the area,” he said.
“We are also concerned about the precarious financial capacity of the proponents to meet the already inadequate rehabilitation conditions under the terms of the EPA, let alone in the event of a catastrophic water contamination event.
“The EPA has relied on loose and unsubstantiated claims by the proponent about managing waste water contamination risks, which leaves us fearing there are no substantial plans in place to deal with the issue, or fund clean-up efforts post event.
“Environment Minister Matt Swinbourn must reject the proposal, and we hope Premier Roger Cook will listen to his party and ban fracking across the entire state.”
ENDS
Media contact: John Cooke – 0433 679 780