CSIRO rejects claims made by APPEA regarding groundwater and coal seam gas

CSIRO has rejected the claim made in a television commercial aired on 2 September that ‘CSIRO [and government studies] have shown that groundwater is safe with coal seam gas’.

CSIRO has said that such a statement was never made, nor do the results of CSIRO research support such a statement.

CSIRO has stated on the public record that coal seam gas extraction is likely to pose a ‘low risk’ to groundwater quality through contamination. CSIRO has also indicated that groundwater levels will fall as a consequence of coal seam gas extraction. In some places this could see aquifer levels subside by tens of metres for tens of years; in others it is likely to reduce aquifer levels by several metres for several hundred years.

CSIRO is currently continuing to undertake research to better understand the impacts of coal seam gas extraction on groundwater quality and quantity.

CSIRO became aware of the advertisement produced by Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) via a scan of social media on 31 August and requested that the commercial not be aired.