On November the 16th , while returning from a Council meeting at Wee Waa I came across a cleared site on the southern side of the “back road” from Wee Waa to Narrabri about 4 km east of the Yarrie Lake turn-off . What raised my interest was two stacks ,two pallets high of Chemicals and nothing else . These chemicals were in the original black plastic shipping wrap and had no top covering . I thought the site a bit strange because I had just crossed a sign posted causeway and another was coming up, so why put a drill site there ? I thought to myself , surely Eastern Star Gas could not be that stupid as to put a Exploration Core hole in a flood way , surely they had learnt from past mistakes , how mistaken I was . The rain event of the 29-11-10 to 3-12-10 was to prove again to me that this company is nothing but a bunch of “Irresponsible Cowboys” pretending to be Responsible and Knowledgeable .
My next encounter with the site was on Friday 3rd of December when I was informed that on the previous day Eastern Star Gas and Drilling personnel were all lined up on the road watching water flowing thru the site , and that the caravans , machinery and chemicals were all in the water. I tried to get to the site to film it , but the road was closed by water from Bohena Creek covering the road , and I could not get thru .
I managed to get to the site on Saturday the 4th of December , and what a sight it was , the water was no-longer running thru the site but rather along the very front and out and away from the site via a pipe under the road locate adjacent to the entrance gate of the Gulgoora-2 site , surely that pipe along withthe two cause-ways should have raised some suspicion if not withEasternStar Gas , but with the pad builder Lein Constructions , but no the pad was located right in the middle of a Flood-way and everyone was so proud of their work they even left signs to show who had done it .
The site was all churned-up and it was evident that much of the machinery and caravans had been lifted , but not the Chemicals , most of which were still in the water and at the lowest point of the pad and with the water lapping above the lower bag . Closer inspection revealed that there was a large amount of both liquid and granular chemical on site and most of this was still in water. The drill pond was full of water and you could see water flowing from it .
Looking around the site , one could clearly see , as if the two flood-ways and the under road pipe were not enough , that the site was in a basin , and in order to make the site safer Eastern Star Gas should have taken levels and , if the Exploration Core hole had to go in that location , then a small surrounding wall should have been built around the site , at least 400 mm high and a flow trench put around the outside , as mentioned in various REF’s since the last flooding event at Dewhurst 8 in December 2009/January 2010 . The inside of the pad should have been levelled in such a way as to drain the water trapped inside to a sump from where it could be pumped away . The Chemicals could then have been stored as they should have been on a slightly raised earthen mound .
Sunday 5th of December saw me back at the site again , this time with others , and again problems were noticed . It had rained Saturday night and water was again washing thru the pad in places and was washing out the drill pond. I tried to count the Chemicals and their types , but I could not get a accurate amount , although the video did pick up some interesting names.
Monday 6thof December saw me back on site with another witness , this time I was able to film and get the names of most of the Chemicals and was staggered to count 17 one tonne pallets of Potassium Chloride . Now why would you need 17 tonnes of this Drilling aid ? and as the Corehole was down 700 metres at the time , how much had been already been used ? and this is a so-called harmless chemical . How much did Eastern Star Gas’s Drillers use getting this far ? Eastern Star Gas’s own REF (Review of Environmental Factors) written July 2010 and called : 2010/2011: Bellata-3; Culgoora-2 and Strathmore-2 Core Holes , in the section 4.3.4 Subsurface Impacts , third paragraph down states : ” Whilst some exchange of fluids is inevitable in the lead up to the formation of the filter cake or where the mud system is too low in weight (or ‘under balanced’), the gain or losses of fluids is readily controllable and is unlikely to be result in loss/generation of any significant volumes of water or fluids”. – Now , apart from the fact that the Drillers drill an unsupported (uncased hole) for up to 300 plus metres (depending on availability of suitable rock strata to support the “cemented casing”) , Why would Eastern Star Gas’s Drillers need so much of a drilling aid , if the losses were only “small” ? Eastern Star Gas , this is not the first time that a huge amount of Potassium Chloride has been seen on you pad sites is it ( Dewhurst 8 springs to mind). By this day (Monday) the water had gone down a little and the full extent of the Chemical submersion was evident , at least 3 bags in height had been under water, and from information received a large amount of already mixed drilling chemical in the recirculation and separating system had escaped into the environment via the flooding wash-overs. To the management of Eastern Star Gas , the Drillers and staff , does not the Safety Data Sheet on Potassium Chloride as issued by the supplier Rheochem , not warm you under point 12. Ecological Information , Environment , to ” Ensure appropriate measures are taken to prevent this product from entering the environment “. Did you ? or does Eastern Star Gas consider themselves above any rules and regulations that govern us mere mortals ?
We talked about Site Drainage earlier , and I see in the REF under 4.3.2: Drainage: that Eastern Star Gas does agree . So why does not Eastern Star Gas , do as the say in print ? and what about 4.2: Water: ” There are no identifiable impacts likely to be introduced onto localised creeks and water courses through the installation or short term operation of the core hole sites”. Yes , that would be correct if Eastern Star Gas actually put into practice what it put on paper to the NSW Government and the people of New South Wales.
Eastern Star Gas , this again just proves what a Cowboy Company you really are and how much Eastern Star Gas respects the Environment and others around them .
I cannot wait for the next chapter in the Eastern Star Gas saga, stay tuned.
The incident was reported to the DII at Maitland and along with my photos and video , others also sent in photos . I do not expect any action to be taken against Eastern Star Gas , as for some reason everyone that is empowered to enforce regulations just cannot bring themselves to undertake a full and open investigation and to take this Company to Court over obvious breaches of the Environment Act.
9-1-2011
