# Gas, groundwater bubbles up on farmland near Chinchilla, sparking contamination fears Source URL: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-31/coal-seam-gas-water-bubbles-up-through-farming-land-and-creek/12612922 Date: 20200831T0807 A landholder consultant is calling for greater transparency after gas and groundwater bubbled to the surface of a creek and on farmland in southern Queensland. ## Key points: * Gas and groundwater has unexpectedly bubbled up through farmland and a creek near Chinchilla * The area is surrounded by hundreds of coal seam gas wells, which may have contributed to the leaks * A landholder consultant says it is another example of the risk farmers take when hosting gas Four coal mining exploration holes on a farming property south of Chinchilla began bubbling with water and gas some time in July. The affected property has overlapping resource licences owned separately by Yancoal and Origin Energy. Neither companies have any mining operations on the land. Photos and video supplied to the ABC appear to show gas and water bubbling up through the ground. It is unconfirmed whether the leaks were caused by nearby coal seam gas activity. "These exploration holes were drilled in 2007 on a coal exploration tenement that was subsequently acquired and is currently managed by Yancoal," a Yancoal spokesperson said. Bubbling methane gas was set alight by Jeremy Buckingham.(Supplied: Jeremy Buckingham) ## Bubbles in the lake of fire Gas bubbles have also reportedly appeared in the nearby Charleys Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River — the same waterway that [Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham set on fire in a viral video in 2016][1]. On July 29 Yancoal was notified by the Department of Natural Resources Mines and Energy (DNRME) that Origin Energy had requested to undertake remediation on the leaking coal boreholes. During the month after the contamination event occurred Origin Energy plugged the boreholes **** with cement and there is no longer any gas or water coming to the surface. "Yancoal is providing appropriate assistance to the affected landholders and Government, as well as Origin Energy," the Yancoal spokesperson said. Loading... Origin Energy has dozens of CSG wells around the area of the concern, but not on the property with the leaks. "There is no gas development on this particular property and no fracking has occurred in this area," an Origin Energy spokesperson said. To extract gas, the coal seam must first be "dewatered", which involves pumping groundwater to the surface to release the trapped gas. As underground pressure is released, gas can migrate to areas like unplugged bores. "The edge of **** the Surat Basin is characterised by extensive contemporary and historical or legacy coal exploration," the Origin Energy spokesperson said. There are hundreds of coal boreholes in the area, which has been targeted by both gas and coal mining companies. ## Two more leaking bores discovered A spokesman for the DNRME)said they had identified two other leaking boreholes on a neighbouring property that were "releasing low levels of water and gas". Currently, the Department is working closely with other state government agencies, resource tenure holders and affected landholders to investigate two separate coal exploration borehole," they said. "Both boreholes have since ceased activity and evidence to date suggests that there is no risk to public safety." There is no CSG or coal mining activity on the property where the leaks occurred, but there is a lot of coal seam gas activity nearby.(Source: Google Earth) ## 'There wasn't a lot of transparency' Shay Dougall is a landholder consultant in Chinchilla who assists farmers who have gas tenures on their properties. She said nearby landholders were not made aware of what was going on, despite the contamination event happening weeks ago. "They have heard this for the first time in a news article," Ms Dougall said. "They haven't been given any advice by Origin that there was something happening. Gas company Origin Energy worked to seal the four coal exploration holes, despite not owning the wells.(Supplied: Harry Clarke, Country Caller) Early this year the Queensland Audit Office released a [damning report][2] about CSG regulation, singling out transparency as an issue. Ms Dougall said while there were obvious safety concerns about gas leaks and salty groundwater contaminating farming land, the ongoing worry was about industry regulation. "Why had it not already been identified and addressed with protocols in place to make sure it was managed appropriately and not managed as an emergency?" she said. Under state law, landholders are forced to negotiate with gas companies via a conduct and compensation agreement (CCA) that sets out the contractual arrangements. But Ms Dougall said the response to the leaking Chinchilla coal bore holes **** was another example of how the process favoured gas companies. "When these people's livelihoods and their businesses are being expected to co-locate with this industry, then they should be getting the same information that everyone else is getting," she said. [1]: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-23/condamine-river-bubbling-methane-gas-set-alight-greens-mp/7352578 [2]: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-09/audit-questions-confidence-in-csg-regulation/12026136