A landmark legal challenge to protect Northern Territory water and communities from fracking will enter its final day of hearing today (10.15am east coast time, Thursday August 14) at the Federal Court in Sydney.
The court already heard four days of evidence, between June 23 to 26 earlier this year. Today, the parties will make their closing submissions.
Lock the Gate Alliance has argued that Tamboran B2 Pty Ltd’s Shenandoah South Exploration and Appraisal fracking project, which is targeting shale gas in the Beetaloo Basin near Elliott and the culturally and ecologically significant Lake Woods, is likely to contaminate groundwater.
Lock the Gate Alliance is seeking an injunction and says the project should be referred to the Federal Environment Minister for assessment and a decision under national environment laws designed to protect water from significant impacts, known as the “water trigger”.
Tamboran B2 has already begun work on the project, having drilled and fracked the first two of 15 wells, and drilling of a further three wells is now underway. However, the company has not referred the activity to the Federal Environment Minister for assessment under the water trigger. In June, the Federal Court heard evidence – consistent with publicly available documents – that Tamboran B2 expects and intends the 15 planned exploration and appraisal wells to become production wells, and to be supplemented by further wells.
Lock the Gate Alliance is being represented by Environmental Justice Australia. The court is expected to make a decision in the coming months.
Lock the Gate Alliance head of research and investigations Georgina Woods said:
“We are pursuing this case because we believe Tamboran’s fracking project is likely to contaminate precious groundwater in the Northern Territory and we want Australia’s national environmental law applied.
“We believe the expanded water trigger should be used to assess this fracking project for its impacts on water resources. Since neither Tamboran nor the Federal Environment Minister have chosen to do this we have stepped in to take action ourselves.
“Protection of water resources is of the utmost importance.”
Darwin local and Lock the Gate Alliance spokesperson Pete Callender said: “We want NT groundwater to be safe from the likely significant risk of contamination from fracking chemicals, escaped methane gas, and toxic wastewater.
“We are trying to make sure the water trigger does its job of protecting water in the Northern Territory.”
Environmental Justice Australia senior specialist lawyer Retta Berryman said:
"When the federal government extended the 'water trigger' in our national environment laws to apply to all forms of unconventional gas, the community hoped it would ensure fracking projects would be properly scrutinised.
“This case is the first challenge under the extended water trigger. Our client hopes bringing this case will ensure that Tamboran B2’s project is rigorously assessed for its impact on essential water resources.
A livestream of proceedings will be available via the Federal Court’s Youtube page.
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