BREAKING! Council Left in the Dark with Seismic Testing starting Monday in Lake Macquarie

Centennial Coal will begin seismic testing and drilling in the basin of Lake Macquarie on Monday the 3rd of February with the aim of opening it up for further mining. 

The project includes;

• A shallow marine survey of the lake.
• A rockhead drilling programme which will see multiple boreholes drilled from a barge to confirm the depth and thickness of the strata between the Lake floor and the coal seam.
• An exploration drilling programme with selected boreholes drilled to the coal seam to investigate the continuity and quality of the coal seam. 

Community concern has been raised as similar testing is usually carried out in deep ocean waters, however some areas of the lake are just 11 meters deep. 

Lake Macquarie Council says staff only recently received notification from Centennial Coal regarding the survey program and they did not have an approval role in the proposed survey works or the environmental  assessment of the project. 

The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment is the determining authority for the proposal. 

Lake Macquarie Council says, "We acknowledge the concerns within the community about the adequacy of consultation by Centennial Coal prior to the survey being approved, and the potential impact to sea animals and the marine environment" 

The Council have sought further details on the environmental assessment for the project, as well as arranged for Centennial Coal to brief Council staff on the proposed works.

Local Greens MP, Abigail Boyd says, “There’s been no meaningful consultation. No notice. Nothing.” 

“And it won’t just be seismic testing – there are plans to drill the lake floor over the coming five years.

“The lake is already contaminated by lead and zinc, caused largely by the coal industry, which has already impacted on fishing quotas. By disturbing the lake sediment, this proposal risks spreading the impacts of that contamination further," she said. 

“The environmental report states clearly that the seismic testing will have harmful impacts on marine life, including turtles, dolphins and already threatened seagrass beds which are critical habitat."

Centennial Coal is due to release a statement. 

                                       Image Courtesy: 

More Seismic Protests In Newcastle Today

BY IAN CROUCH

Protesters will gather at Civic Park this morning from 9am as the fight against seismic testing off the coast of Newcastle intensifies.

It comes as Asset Energy continues planning for 3D testing of the ocean floor for oil and gas deposits.

The protest coincides with a meeting between federal officials, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and Hunter representatives at City Hall and a community information session this afternoon.

Another protest will be staged outside City Hall this afternoon from 5.30.

Locals Blame Seismic Testing For Washed Up Remains

BY OLIVIA PORTELL

Hunter locals have taken to social media to blame the seismic testing for what appears to be whale remains that have washed up on Blacksmith's Beach.

The testing took place off the coast of Newcastle last week, however, Swansea MP Yasmin Catley says it has no connection to the body parts.

She says the washed-up remains are common in this area, and that the testing was not a factor.

"Marine life is washed up onto our beaches up and down the eastern seaboard on a regular basis and it can be said that this is another example of that," she says.

"There is certainly no suggestion that the body parts that we see on Blacksmith's Beach have any relationship whatsoever to the testing that's going on off Newcastle recently."

Catley says the community should not jump to conclusions, as measures were put in place to protect marine life in the area.

"During the testing, the vessel saw a pod of dolphins at one stage- they immediately ceased their activities until the dolphins left the exclusion zone," she says.

"The safety authority NOPSEMA were actually present on the vessel, and they put in place the highest safety precautions and environmental protection that we would expect,"

"If the community is concerned, then they should ask fisheries to do an examination of those body parts, and get some conclusive evidence."

Asset Energy blast criticisms levelled against seismic testing

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

The company behind seismic testing off Newcastle's coastline is defending the operation in the face of widespread community opposition.

It comes after a protest in Carrington greeted the start of the testing on Saturday, with Former Greens Leader Bob Brown addressing the crowd, describing the partnership between Asset Energy and the federal government as 'corporate exploitation.'

However, Asset Director, Tobias Foster, said the effect of the testing upon marine life has been blown out of proportion.

"The seismic survey is utilising a very small acoustic energy blast, certainly not blasting the water as some antagonists have claimed.

"We don't expect any sort of impact to the degree that the Greens and others have suggested."

NSW Greens MP Justin Field has spoken on behalf of the party, condemning the underwater air-gun blasts which he says will hurt 22 species of threatened marine life and consequently impact commercial fishers and Port Stephens whale watching businesses.

The 4578 square kilometres off Newcastle's coastline which is subject to the PEP11 Exploration Title is being touted as "highly prospective" for the discovery of significant quantities of natural gas, with Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan in support, despite the disapproval of his NSW counterpart, Don Harwin.

A similar survey was conducted in the same location off our coastline in 2010, prior to the drilling of the first ever exploration well 55 kilometres due-east of Newcastle.

Tobias Foster said that round of testing yeilded no recorded marine-life impact, stating the company undertakes it operations transparently.

"We undertook a community consultative process during that exercise and continue to engage all stakeholders and continue to do so for this process," he said.

"We look forward to continuing that dialogue and explaining how our exploration efforts are within reasonable environmental guidelines and acceptable under the Offshore Petroleum Greenhouse Gas Storage Act."

Mr Foster reiterated the 'minor' nature of the testing, saying it's being confined to a two-dimensional survey.

"Three dimensional is great for much larger, broader scale interpretations of the Earth's geology," he said.

"In this situation we're refining it to a very small location and performing what's called a high-resolution survey so we're actually getting information from the geology only a few hundred metres to possibly a kilometre below the seabed. "

Asset Energy is a subsidiary of Perth-based company, Advent Energy.

Not happy: Protestors gather as the PMG Pride sets out to conduct seismic testing. Image: The Herald.

Protesters Walk For Whales

BY IAN CROUCH

The seismic testing rig to be used off the coast of Newcastle is now on its way after being held up by Cyclone Iris.

The PMG Pride was due to arrive yesterday to start work today.

More than 100 people gathered for a peaceful protest yesterday, walking from Queens Wharf to Nobbys Beach chanting "Whales Not Gas" and "Save Our Marine Life, No More Rigs".

Environment groups are calling on Federal Resources Minister Matthew Canavan to put a stop to the testing.

Protesters Gather On Nobbys Beach Photos: Ian Crouch

Rally planned against Newcastle seismic testing

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

A federal government decision to plough ahead with seismic testing off Newcastle's coastline has met with great opposition from the community, and they will make their voices heard this Sunday.

Seismic testing will be conducted by Asset Energy, which will see air gun blasts every 3 to 10 seconds continuously over three to four days.

It comes as the federal government moved to expand an oil and gas exploration permit despite objections from state resources Minister, Don Harwin.

Starting from 1pm at Nobbys beach, the Stop Seismic Testing Newcastle group will hold a rally against the move, amidst fears local marine life will be impacted.

It is understood 22 threatened species including whales, turtles and migratory birds will be put at risk if the tests go ahead.

Group spokesperson Natasha Deen says previous tests have shown seismic testing can be fatal for marine life.

"Seismic testing has been shown to be quite detrimental to whales and dolphins.

"Whales and dolphins are very acoustic creatures," Ms Deen said, "and these underwater airgun blasts have been shown to interfere with their listening, sound and communication.

"It can actually cause death and mass drownings in dolphins and whales," she said.

Greens MP Justin Field has overtly criticised the move, slamming the Federal Government's decision to override a NSW decision against the tests.

Image: The Herald.