THE Greens are warning that coal seam gas mining will pollute the Hastings.
Greens in NSW have responded to news that the Hastings was surveyed for coal seam gas in December by planes contracted by Sydney-based Pangea.
They warn that ground exploration may follow.
NSW Greens MP Cate Faerhmann said she was concerned the mining technique used in the exploration would pollute the environment.
“Port Macquarie landholders and farmers should be quite concerned,” she said.
“Even exploration poses unacceptable risk to water supply.”
Ms Faerhmann said a company must get permission from landowners to conduct ground exploration but, unlike with council development approvals, surrounding landholders would not be notified.
She said Hastings residents would have to “scour the Department of Industry and Investment website” to find out.
“The most likley scenario is that the township won’t know about the first two or three [coal seam gas exploration wells],” she said.
Department of Industry and Investment said no sites in the Hastings had been identified for ground exploration.
Based on mining of coal seam gas in Queensland, the Hastings would see mining on a larger scale only if a commercially viable amount of coal-seam gas was found through exploration.
Email a friend