People have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the
natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. The Canning
Basin is a natural resource is the common property of all the people, including
generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the state should
conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.
Concerns
with fracking of shale include the potential contamination of ground water,
risks to air quality, the potential migration of gases and hydraulic fracturing
chemicals to the surface, the potential mishandling of waste, and the health
effects of these, such as cancer. Many cases of suspected groundwater
contamination have been documented. With the explosive threat of natural gas in
the public exposure to the many chemicals involved in Canning Basin is expected
to increase over the next few years in our community, with uncertain
consequences.
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| Buru's Yulleroo tailing dam |
The wording Pilot Exploration Program is clearly and
simply a corporate managed propaganda, designed to deceive the general public
of their true intentions. Buru undertook their pilot program in 2010 – 2013
these activities planned in 2014 are for oil/ gas extractions and
infrastructure development. The gas obtained will be marketed.
Buru’s fracking proposal is to
undertake over 32 fractures in four existing wells on the Roebuck Wetlands in
2014, two on Roebuck Plains and
two in the Fitzroy River Valley.
Public Perception of the EPA
No
matter how hard this government and the EPA tried to sweep all their dirty
deals and dealings under the carpet in regards to the James Price Point (JPP),
this decadal lifted a corner of that carpet only to reveal an infestation of
corruption and injustice, for all to see.
The
Brome community still holds this incredible mistrust of the EPA. It is believed
that the EPA holds more reverence for their close association the oil and gas players then
they have ever shown to the environment, or a healthy society in recent years.
Our
community and the WA public has seen absolutely no consequences for: the
serious betrayal of community trust of public servants, the duplicity of government
departments and the imprudent of state ministers who can tick the box but
cannot dot their I’s or cross their T’s. We have seen the manipulation of
process, the total lack of any consequences for serious conflicts of interest and
the million of dollars and hours that were squandered throughout the JPP story
by the current EPA Board.
The
Broome community now holds no trust in the purported impassivity,
professionalism or independence of the WA EPA.
There
is a very strong view that the EPA is not working for the protection of the
environment but are the handmaidens of the corporations and their government
masters. Protecting the environment is in all reality the last thing on this government’s
department’s agenda.
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| Buru's Yulleroo tailings dam |
There
were no penalties for the fraudulent discharge of executive and ministerial duty?
No one’s head rolled, no board positions were made vacant, no resignations
and no enquiry into the EPA or policy changers have been undertaken. No member
of the EPA has showed any moral or ethical fortitude by resigning from his or
her position. And the Minister at the time was given anew portfolio.
That
fact that there were no consequences for this appalling behavior of public
deception has not been forgotten and as a consequence there is no confidence
and trust held for the EPA in the public’s eyes.
The
conflicts of interest were no surprise to the Environment Minister. Not only
did the courts overturn the JJP EPA’s decision because of the conflicts of
interest fiasco it casted serious doubts over a number of other project
approvals.
The
EPA’s decision not to assess the Laurel Formation Tight Gas has only validated
these widely held community suspicion and scepticism about the current
integrity of the EPA.
The EPA has failed to
assess a number of gas fracking proposals despite the very high community
concerns held, evidence of unacceptable environmental risks and a lack of
effective regulations, monitoring and or compliance.To many it seems that instead of protecting the environment, the approach the EPA has been taking, whether strategic or not, simply facilitates destroying and polluting our land, water and wildlife.
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| Buru's Yulleroo tailings dam |
The inevitable consequence is a fundamental breakdown of community confidence in the EPA – an outcome that does not serve government or industry, and certainly does not serve the environment.
The EPA’s knowledge of our environment is by no means
complete. We are all still learning how our marine and terrestrial ecosystems
function. We are still trying to understand the short and long term
consequences of pressures such as pollution, climate change, and our history of
land clearing.
The State of the Environment Report provided a snapshot of our environmental
health. It showed that air quality and the marine environment were, overall, in
reasonable shape. However, it also showed that our waterways, wetlands,
biodiversity, and land resources, were under significant pressure.
That’s where the Environmental Protection Authority
(EPA) plays an important role. It has the duty – on behalf of all Western
Australians – to rigorously assess development proposals to determine what
impacts they are likely to have, and whether those impacts are able to be
managed to an acceptable level.
The EPA has not based its decision on any of its own analysis,
has not drawn on the best scientific advice from other areas of Government,
academia and the private sector.
After watching the EPAs dealings over several years it
has been become clear that the environment that should be highly valued and
protected, however the EPA has been total lacking in their duty of care and
legislated requirements.
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Photo Damian Kelly
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