Frequently asked questions
Protecting groundwater and the environment
1. What is the government doing to protect Queensland’s groundwater?
Coal seam gas (CSG) operations in Queensland are subject to strict laws to minimise impacts on natural systems, protect groundwater and sustain the environment.
The Queensland Government’s laws are in place to:
- protect groundwater and the Great Artesian Basin
- protect landholders’ water quality
- prohibit harmful chemicals being used in fraccing operations
- require evaporation dams to be decommissioned
- deliver policies that address the environmentally sensitive treatment and disposal of CSG salt and water
More information on the environmental laws relating to CSG (PDF, 210K)* administered by the department is available.
2. What is the government doing to protect landholders’ water bores?
The Queensland Government has introduced an adaptive management framework to protect landholders' groundwater supplies and the local environment from any adverse impacts from CSG activities.
CSG operators must:
- undertake baseline assessments of water bores
- develop spring impact management strategies
- conduct annual bore assessments
- enter into ‘make good agreements’ with landholders.
In areas where the impacts of water extraction by individual CSG operations overlap—called ‘cumulative management areas’ (CMA)—the Queensland Water Commission prepares an underground water impact report to assess the impacts and develop management responses.
The report includes mapping to predict how coal seams and adjacent aquifers might be affected. It also assigns responsibilities to individual CSG operators to undertake certain water management activities.
More details on the underground water management framework (PDF, 127K)* is available.
More information on the role of the Queensland Water Commission is also available.
3. What is fraccing?
Fraccing is the process of creating cracks in underground coal seams to increase the flow and recovery of gas or oil out of a well.
In the case of CSG, fraccing involves pumping a fluid comprised largely of water and sand (99 per cent) under pressure, into a coal seam. This action fractures the coal seam which increases the flow of gas from the seam.
Due to the varying geology of coal seams, fraccing is not carried out in all CSG operations. Currently, around eight per cent of Queensland’s domestic CSG wells have been fracced.
It is estimated that as the industry expands, between 10 and 40 per cent of wells may be fracced.
More information on fraccing is available.
4. Is fraccing safe?
Before any fraccing activities are authorised by the department, a CSG operator must submit a risk assessment. The risk assessment evaluates the risk of fraccing activities over the life of the project for all wells.
The risk assessment ensures that all the relevant matters for each well are considered prior to fraccing activities taking place and that any identified risks will be mitigated or managed to prevent environmental harm.
Fraccing is only allowed to go ahead if the department determines that the risk of groundwater or environmental contamination is minimal. If fraccing is authorised, companies must meet a number of strict environmental approval conditions, including adherence with the risk assessment and comprehensive monitoring requirements.
More information on fraccing is available.
5. Are BTEX chemicals used in the fraccing process?
The Queensland Government has introduced new laws which strictly regulate adding BTEX chemicals to fluids used in CSG fraccing activities.
Under the laws, the BTEX chemicals benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene are not allowed to be added to fraccing fluids.
As BTEX chemicals commonly occur in natural water sources, the government has restricted the use of BTEX in the fraccing process in line with Australian environmental and human health standards.
The BTEX standards are measured in parts per billion (ppb). As guidance, 1 ppb is equivalent to 20 drops of liquid in a 25 metre swimming pool:
- Benzene – 1 ppb*
- Toluene – 180 ppb#
- Ethylbenzene – 80 ppb#
- m-Xylene – 75 ppb#
- o-Xylene – 350 ppb#
- p-Xylene – 200 ppb#
*Australian Drinking Water Guidelines
# Australia and New Zealand Environment Conservation Council (ANZECC) Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality.
Environmental licences
1. What environmental licences are CSG operators required to hold?
A CSG or liquefied natural gas (LNG) operator must be issued with an environmental authority (EA) from the department before they can start work.
Operators of large scale or significant CSG/LNG projects must also submit a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the EA process.
The EIS review process can be undertaken by either the government’s Coordinator-General or the department. The review of an EIS includes an extensive public consultation and review period.
As part of this process, operators must develop an environmental management plan (PDF, 352K)* for all proposed activities. This plan identifies and manages potential impacts on the surrounding environment and community.
Where potential risks or impacts are identified, approval conditions are set in the EA to ensure that the activity is managed sustainably and responsibly.
The department monitors and enforces these conditions with a compliance program which involves undertaking inspections, audits and responding to complaints. The compliance program ensures industry activities are lawful and performed to a high standard.
There are a range of enforcement tools and penalties in place under various laws that regulate the CSG industry. For example, if serious environmental harm is caused, fines can be up to $2.08 million for a company, and $416,500 as well as terms of imprisonment, for an individual.
Monitoring and compliance
1. What is the role of the Queensland Water Commission?
The independent Queensland Water Commission is responsible for overseeing the management of groundwater impacts of water extraction in cumulative management areas (CMAs).
CMAs are areas where the impact of water extraction by CSG operators overlap, such as the Surat Basin, the State’s first declared CMA.
In CMAs, the Commission prepares an underground water impact report every three years. The reports include:
- maps which show the predicted extent of water level impacts
- a water monitoring strategy
- a spring management strategy
- an assignment of responsibilities to individual CSG operators to undertake activities such as elements of the monitoring program.
The Commission also maintains a database to store data such as baseline assessments and provides advice to the department on matters such as the need for additional CMAs in other parts of Queensland.
2. What is the role of the LNG Enforcement Unit?
The State Government’s LNG Enforcement Unit monitors CSG operators and ensures they comply with laws and policies affecting the industry.
The unit includes multi-disciplinary staff from across government. These staff include environmental and groundwater experts, and specialists in petroleum and gas safety as well as land access.
The unit is responsible for the regionally coordinated delivery of compliance activities and also ensures that there is an integrated whole-of-government approach to managing complaints.
The unit:
- acts as a one-stop shop to respond to safety, land access and environmental concerns
- manages and investigates complaints
- undertakes planned and unplanned site inspections
- is responsible for sampling 300 groundwater bores per year to monitor the impacts of groundwater quality from CSG activity and to verify the monitoring data that is being supplied by CSG companies.
More information on compliance and enforcement activities.
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Last updated 17 May 2012