Qld government to promote use of CSG water - won't be allowed to evaporate ...
Excerpt from ABC News:
Govt to crack down on mine water disposal
31 October 2008
The Queensland Government has announced plans to boost environmental protections and potentially help secure water supplies for communities in the Surat and Bowen basins.
Deputy Premier Paul Lucas says Cabinet has endorsed a proposal to strengthen disposal requirements for water generated when mining companies extract gas from underground coal seams.
He has told Parliament the policy will discourage mining companies from using ponds for evaporation.
"Ponds will only be approved if they are required as a part of a water treatment facility," Mr Lucas said.
"And if they are used, ponds must be lined to prevent soil contamination from salt and minerals.
"I'm a firm believer that using modern technology such as reverse osmosis treatment plants to clean the CSG [coal seam gas] water will allow for more environmentally friendly disposal and provide a valuable new source of water."
He says unless producers are using the CSG water, they'll have to treat it to standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency before disposing it or supplying it to others.
See - CSG water regulations overhauled.
posted by Concerned Ratepayer at 8:21 AM
2 Comments:
Hansard:
30 October 2008
Coal Seam Gas Water Management Policy
Hon. PT LUCAS (Lytton—ALP) (Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning)
(9.51 am): Today I can announce an initiative that not only is good for the environment but also will potentially provide a new source of water in the Surat and Bowen basins.
Cabinet has endorsed a plan for tighter rules around the disposal of water generated when mining companies extract gas from
underground coal seams. When the gas is extracted, it is often accompanied by brackish water high in minerals and salt content.
The majority of CSG water produced is currently disposed of in large
evaporation ponds of up to 100 hectares in size. I and many Queenslanders think this is potentially damaging to the environment and also a waste of what could, in the right circumstances, be a valuable
resource.
The current estimate of water extracted as a result of CSG production is 8,500 megalitres per year. However, this volume is expected to increase rapidly and exceed 30,000 megalitres a year within five years.
The government wants to see this water turned into a valuable resource for environmental, agricultural, industrial and, possibly, domestic benefit rather than being discarded or evaporated away.
The new policy will mean from now on that ponds will only be approved if they are required as part of a water treatment facility. If they are used, ponds must be lined to prevent soil contamination from salt and minerals.
I am a firm believer that using modern technology such as reverse osmosis treatment plants to clean the CSG water will allow for more environmentally friendly disposal and provide a valuable new source of water.
We do not expect that this policy will fix water supply issues in central and western Queensland, because supplying CSG water to towns could involve substantial costs due to the long distances involved. But we should make the most of any water we have, not simply waste it.
I appreciate there is a cost to producers but there is a cost to any business to treat its output. The opportunity to turn unwanted salt water into treated water that can actually be sold is a win-win: it is good for the environment and it makes good business sense.
Already some Queensland CSG producers have moved towards treating their water or putting it to beneficial use—for example, Origin Energy and Arrow Energy.
This is just one aspect of a comprehensive policy to guide the future growth of the LNG industry which the government will consider early next year.
By doing the right planning now, we can make sure that Queensland not only reaps the huge economic benefits on offer here but also properly manages this industry’s impacts on the environment and communities. Sustainable resources communities are about win-wins for everybody.
9:35 AM, October 31, 2008
WIN News
CSG Use
31 October 2008
Meanwhile, the state government has announced steps to realise the potential of another major source - coal seam gas water.
Cabinet has endorsed a plan requiring companies involved in gas extraction to meet higher standards for its treatment, and to look at options for beneficial use of the water by-product.
Mining companies must also discontinue the use of evaporation ponds as the primary means of disposing of the water.
In the Surat Basin coal seam gas extraction has the potential to produce twenty five gigalitres of water annually for the next quarter of a century.
5:30 PM, October 31, 2008
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