Leaks found at almost one in 10 AGL CSG wells at Camden

A coal seam gas field within 200 metres of residents in south-western Sydney has been revealed by the government regulator to have suffered a series of leaks.

The Environment Protection Authority report found one in 10 of the well heads in the Camden gasfield were leaking methane gas, despite an earlier 10-day investigation by AGL giving the field a clean bill of health.

The leaks, and the EPA and AGL’s failure to release the information until it was sought under freedom of information laws, have caused much concern.

Also, residents want to know why the NSW government’s 2 kilometre buffer zone for CSG in residential areas (in place since last year) does not apply to the thousands of residents living in the Camden electorate right now.

It appears that the leaks detected by the EPA were not picked up by AGL so there is a question mark over AGL’s ability to regulate itself.