NSW’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has issued an unusually critical response to AGL’s announcement it had voluntarily suspended its pilot project at Waukivory near Gloucester after detecting elevated levels of chemicals used for fracking.
BTEX is a group of chemicals (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene) used in the fracking process to extract CSG.
EPA chief environmental regulator Mark Gifford questioned the timing of AGL’s reporting of the BTEX chemicals.
“The EPA is very concerned at AGL’s lack of timeliness and transparency in informing us of these results and we will be conducting a full investigation.
“AGL informed the EPA that it was aware of these elevated levels of BTEX chemicals on January 15, but it did not make these results known to the EPA or the public until (Tuesday 27 January).”
Santos told the authority that groundwater contamination had been detected in March 2013, but the EPA only finalised and publicly released its investigation findings in March 2014.
The EPA’s investigation confirmed a groundwater system beneath the Bibblewindi storage pond contained heavy metals and other elements, including elevating uranium levels to 20 times the safe drinking limits. Santos was fined $1500 by the EPA for causing the contamination.
Use of BTEX chemicals to frack coal seams is banned in NSW.
No BTEX components were used during fracking operations, AGL said in a statement.
Mr Gifford said BTEX chemicals were not detected in the samples of AGL’s fracking fluid analysed by the EPA in November last year, which were taken prior to the wells starting up.
According to AGL, the BTEX chemicals detected were "most likely" naturally occurring and could have been drawn to the surface from deep coal seams.
AGL said its monitoring detected BTEX in concentration of 555 parts per billion in one instance at Waukivory, more than nine times higher than background levels.
The EPA is investigating the incident.
AGL has been contacted for comment.