THEDOWNSFARMER Projectfaces murkywater

Local councils nationwide oppose Glencore’s carbon capture and storage trial in the Great Artesian Basin over water supply risks

Aregional Queensland council has presented a motion in Canberra to stop a carbon capture and storage project near Injune, citing major safety concerns to local water supply.

In June, Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun ‘‘Zoro’’ Radnedge addressed more than 500 councils at the 2023 National General Assembly of Local Government, asking them to call on the federal government to take immediate action against the project. He wants the federal government to stop a subsidiary of coalmining giant Glencore from moving forward with a project that would involve injecting its waste carbon dioxide from the Millmerran Power Station into the Great Artesian Basin –Australia’s largest groundwater basin. Radnedge says the current threeyear trial being undertaken by Glencore’s Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation aims to demonstrate the effective permanent storage of liquefied CO2 in geological structures, which in this case is an underground freshwater reserve that could fill the Sydney Harbour 130,000 times.

“They want to turn the CO2 into a liquid and pump it into a geological structure, a similar process to fracking,” Radnedge says. “They’re saying there’s no water bores within 50km of this, but what we’re calling for is more information and more stringency.”

He questions where the liquid CO2 will end up, reflecting concerns of scientists familiar with the research.

“It’s a liquid, so it moves like a liquid,” Radnedge says. “So over time the 110,000 tonnes of liquid they plan to inject into the basin will move around and quite possibly escape from one of the other 35,000 bores, defeating the purpose of the whole expensive exercise.”

Radnedge says his biggest concern is the potential risk to the agricultural industry, which relies on this basin to grow crops and maintain livestock.

“When you’ve got a water force underneath you (that you) rely on, if you damage that we’re in for a world of hurt,” he says.

“The biggest thing you need is water to keep stock and livestock alive. If we damage this water source and rely on rain, we’re really going to struggle.

“When you’re in the middle of a drought, you can always buy more feed, when it’s the other way around it costs far more.

“We need to protect our agriculture industry, it’s our main industry and we need to look after it. Our belief is that the government is there to put on the checks and balances.

“It’s really alarming we’re even thinking of doing that – every town in southwest Queensland relies on this water asset.

“Would they look to pump CO2 under the Great Barrier Reef? I don’t think so.

“The local community is saying unanimously they don’t want waste from a power station miles away dumped in our water supply.”

Radnedge makes it clear that CO2, while harmless, is not inert and can change the chemistry of the water when liquefied, which could impact crops and livestock.

“For farmers, this could have serious consequences, which could have consequences for our whole state,” he says.

“It’s just not worth the risk.”

The 537 councils at the assembly unanimously voted in favour of the motion to oppose CTSCo’s carbon capture trial.

Glencore’s CTSCo project general manager Darren Greer says the comments surprised him, and he labelled them “inaccurate and misleading”.

“It’s disappointing Mr Radnedge has never taken the time to meet or speak to us about our project and his claims about leakage of CO2 into agricultural bores lack any credible scientific evidence,” Greer says

“Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a proven technology currently being used around the world today.

“We understand the critical importance of water access and management for the agricultural community.

“The CTSCo project can easily coexist with agricultural activities in the region.

“Glencore has been open and transparent about our project and the environmental studies which underpin our confidence that the CTSCo project will not adversely impact potable water sources in the Great Artesian Basin.

“The Australian government’s independent Expert Scientific Committee has reviewed our project’s Environmental Impact Statement and has noted that the impacts are expected to be local and minor.

“The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency and the Australian government all support CCS as a key technology for meeting global emissions reduction goals.”

Glencore has addressed safety concerns previously in an open letter to the public, outlining how the trial impacts have been deemed by an independent body as “minimal and manageable” given the “small scope of the project and geological stability of the storage complex at the project location”.

The open letter further says: “Glencore understands the critical importance of water access and management and we have no intention of interfering with shallower aquifers used by the agricultural community.

“Our project is deliberately focusing on a very deep, low-quality sandstone section of an aquifer that is geologically isolated from shallower aquifers used by the agricultural community.”