A 600-strong crowd packed The Crossing Theatre last Thursday night to hear American farmer John Fenton speak about the damage coal seam gas has caused to his Wyoming property.
Mr Fenton, who was in Narrabri as part of his Australian tour and has 24 gas wells on his Pavillion farm, said coal seam gas operations had ruined his small town’s water supply .
In 2010 the US EPA warned Pavillion residents not to drink the water and use a fan when bathing or washing clothes to avoid the risk of explosion, after it found the water contaminated.
“Once you have something like this move in on agricultural ground it’s never the same,” he told the audience.
“Our productivity has dropped ... we cannot get the soil to be productive again.”
Many of his concerns centred on the effects from hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, which Santos says won’t be used as part of its Narrabri Gas Project.
Mr Fenton spoke of the concerns many people in the United States hold about the mass rollout of further gas wells in other states, with plans to drill in a major agricultural food bowl in California.
“Twenty thousand wells in an area that produces 90 per cent of fresh produce for the States,” he said.
Using slides, he showed that his water is now a black colour and how a neighbour who had previously worked in the uranium industry and would usually be “the most unlikely to take up the action of being an environmentalist” was now taking the lead on the issue.
“He said ‘John my water is starting to change’,” Mr Fenton said.
“Another neighbour lives on a former dairy farm...his washing machine plugged up and it had black stuff running out of it, black slime all over the floor.
“If it wasn’t so tragic it would be funny.
“Our future is drastically different to what we dreamed it would be 15 years ago,” he said. “It affects everything we like about home and it’s changed everything for us.”
Mr Fenton was flown to Australia by Greens MLC Jeremy Buckingham, with the help of the Lock the Gate Alliance.
On Thursday afternoon the Wyoming farmer met with a large group of people in the Pilliga, where he was shown the location of Santos’ coal seam gas operation.
“I had the privilege of being out in the Pilliga and meeting some of the farmers,” he said.
“The thing that came through to me was pride and honour of raising animals and crops and being on the land, but that can change very quickly.
“I encourage people to drive out to the Pilliga and allow yourself to block everything out and take in what’s going on in front of you.
“Then walk into a field you love, a cotton field or a wheat field, and imagine that transposed on where you have your crops, it’s terrifying.”
He showed the audience slides which included a photo of an area which was previously used as grazing country, but which now sits bare after a holding pond broke “and wrecked the area”.
Under US law, if landholders don’t own the mineral rights, as in Mr Fenton’s case, companies can enter properties and install gas wells for a fee.
Thursday’s meeting also heard from Burren Junction farmer Jeff Carolan and Queensland producer Rob McCreath.
Mr Carolan compared the fight against coal seam gas to that of World War I.
“In 2014 it will be 100 years since the first battalion of the Light Horse was formed, when our grandparents walked off the land ... to go overseas and to fight for Australia, and for their land and water to keep it a place of ours,” he said.
“It’s really bad, really tough, when you think in 100 years the politicians have given it all away,” which was followed by a standing ovation.
“We have been betrayed by governments on all three levels.
“We know that politicians are concerned about coal seam gas because they’ve banned it in their own backyards, but suddenly it’s alright for us to have it and we don’t think that’s right.”
Mr McCreath, from Felton, 30 kilometres west of Toowoomba, said that the Condamine River now “bubbles” following the development of coal seam gas in the area.
“The mayor said it’s natural but locals said they have never seen it before,” he said.
The Courier contacted Santos for comments in light of Thursday’s meeting.
A spokesperson said that its coal seam gas operation will involve different processes compared with those used overseas.
“John Fenton is talking about his experiences in Wyoming - we’re talking about our plans for NSW,” the spokesperson said.
“The geology is different, the water systems are different, we have different operating standards and different company practices.
“Up in Queensland, where we have been drilling and exploring for gas for over 20 years, we have agreements in place with over 300 landholders.”
The company also reiterated that it will only go on land if the owner agrees.
“Santos has always said we will only drill wells where landholders are happy to host our activities and won’t be accessing land without landholders’ consent. We also have no
plans to frack in the area.”
John Fenton’s tour stop in Narrabri was followed by a talk in Gloucester and Taree on Friday and
Illawarra on Sunday.
He was due to speak at Bowral tonight, Melbourne this Thursday and Gippsland on Friday.
