New South Wales Announces New Measure for CSG Industry

New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell and Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner Tuesday announced new measures to further regulate state’s coal seam gas industry.

“The NSW Government has listened to community concerns about CSG – these new measures build on what are already the toughest controls in the country,” O’Farrell said.

As per the new rules country towns and suburbs across NSW would be ‘no go zones’ for CSG activities, the government said in a statement. A two kilometre buffer will be imposed for CSG activities across existing residential zones, as well as lands identified for future residential growth.

These exclusion zones will apply to any CSG activity that has not yet been approved under the EP&A Act or the Petroleum (Onshore) Act, the statement said.

The government would empower the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate longstanding mining tenements and enforce licence conditions. 

Stoner said currently responsibility for approving and regulating CSG activities was spread across a number of agencies leading to confusion and complexity for the community and industry.

“The EPA is a respected and trusted independent watchdog – it will be tasked as the agency responsible for ensuring the compliance of environmental and related health regulations for CSG activities,” Stoner said.