A review of community concerns about onshore gas development

[摘要] This report reviews societal concerns related to onshore gas development, drawing on the literature on coal seam gas development in Australia and shale gas development in Northern America.It is important to note that community perceptions of an industry, such as unconventional gas, or activities around the industry may not reflect scientific knowledge on the topic. Nonetheless, Australian and US experiences suggest that public and community concerns cannot be ignored if public trust and acceptance of onshore gas development is to be ensured.The report focuses primarily on issues raised by communities directly affected by gas development; however, it also briefly discusses concerns prevalent in the wider public discussion about onshore gas development. Concerns expressed by communities have been discussed under six main topics: water, health, the landowner, local infrastructure, economic effects, and community changes. COMMUNITY CONCERNSWaterThreats to water availability and water quality are the two primary water-related social concerns in relation to onshore gas development and production. Water availability is a particular concern for communities in gas development areas in low rainfall and drought-prone areas of Australia. Risks of concern for surface and ground water quality include contamination from hydraulic fracturing fluids and from saline groundwater, and from sediment run-off from infrastructure sites. For coal seam gas extraction, concerns about water availability relate to concerns about drawdown on fresh-water aquifers due to water extraction from coal seams and competition for domestic water from the construction workforce. In the case of shale gas extraction, the concern is about the amount of water used in the hydraulic fracturing process. People are also concerned that contamination from hydraulic fracturing will decrease the amount of water available for domestic and stock purposes.There is also the potential for reusing extracted water from CSG wells.For example, re-injecting it underground, irrigating crops, and watering stock.However, extracted water needs to be treated to suitable standards and salty bi-products safely disposed. Human HealthConcerns raised in relation to human health are: perceived risks of exposure to water or soil potentially contaminated through hydraulic fracturing; methane exposure; environmental stressors such as increased noise and light pollution; and stressors affecting quality of life, such as increased road traffic.Onshore gas activities may contribute to mental health issues by adding additional stressors to farming and community life, resulting in cumulative stress to the landowner. Thus strategies to address potential mental health effects of onshore gas development should target not only CSG related stressors, but any significant community stressor, particularly for residents and farmers who are already under stress and socially isolated. Landowner IssuesWhile the impact on individual farmers varies, their concerns typically relate to concerns about water, dust, noise, road traffic (both on-farm and off-farm), farm production, soil compaction, weed management, increased farm labour costs, and lack of privacy.Establishing protocols, codes of conduct and guidelines for gas companies’ on-farm behaviour has potentially helped to improve co-existence, although the effectiveness of these sorts of practices has yet to be reported in the literature specifically. However, the earlier these best practices become typical of the land access protocols the more likely effective farm-gas relationships can emerge.Adequate compensation payments to the farmer or landowner are important to achieving satisfactory co-existence and good working relationships between farmers and gas development companies. The negotiating process must also be considered procedurally fair and equitable by the farmer if this outcome is to be achieved.

[发布日期] 2015-04-30 [发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)