All Sydneysiders should be worried by coal seam mining, with trillions of cubic feet of recoverable gas lying below the city, a Greens MP has warned.
Dart Energy manager Robbert (Robbert) de Weijer has outlined plans to extract coal seam gas at St Peters in Sydney's inner west, with wells in industrial estates feeding the gas into pipelines or small-scale power plants.
Mr de Weijer's plans, outlined in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, would see drilling begin as early as September.
NSW Greens MP and mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said inner west residents should not be the only ones concerned, with recoverable gas lying throughout the city.
"Residents in St Peters are right to be very concerned about gas drilling near their homes as the coal seam gas industry has not been proved safe," Mr Buckingham said in a statement on Saturday.
"All of Sydney is covered by Dart's petroleum exploration licence, with an estimated 13 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas in the coal seams below Sydney, so it's not just St Peters residents who should be concerned."
Mr Buckingham called on the NSW Liberal government to ban drilling in dense residential areas, citing health and safety concerns.
"Coal seam gas extraction can lead to gas leaks, involves the use of hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals, and leads to millions of litres of often toxic waste water being produced that must be disposed of somehow."
Dart Energy says its work will be done in close consultation with the state government and people living near drill sites.
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