AGL Hits Back At Councillor's Allegations
AGL has hit back at allegations it is failing to consult with the Gloucester community on its coal seam gas project.
A consultative forum was formed by Gloucester Councillor Aled Hoggett, to assist ìtrust and encourage open communicationî between the community and AGL, it is chaired by NSW Land and Water Commissioner Jock Laurie and includes representatives from government, council, the community and AGL.
Gloucester Councillor Aled Hoggett had quit the Gloucester Dialogue, that he helped set up as be believed it failed, ìit became a means by which AGL and the State Government provide carefully selected and manicured information to the council and the communityíí that ëëcreates an illusion of consultation where in fact none existsíí.
However, AGL has hit back at those claims, identifying a number of key examples were the dialogue has achieved results.
ëëFor example, when the Dialogue members raised concerns about produced water and salt, AGL released its plans for a desalination plant,íí a spokeswoman said.
ëëWhen the issue of water and faultlines in the local geology was discussed, AGL committed to installing two extra water bores below the floodplain and in the faults to learn more about the shallow groundwater.
ëëAirbourne methane emissions was raised at the Dialogue and as a result AGL completed baseline monitoring before commencing activities, which will be compared to results once hydraulic fracturing is completed.
ëëThe Dialogue understandably wanted to know what the community benefits of our project were, so we informed them that in [the 2014 financial year] the Gloucester Gas Project contributed over $2.5 million to the local regionís economy. Of that, $1.4 million was spent on local suppliers.íí
In statement Cr Hoggett said AGL and the government had inundated the dialogue with ëëone-sided technical informationíí that ëësystematically ignored the fundamental social and economic consequences that are likely to result from AGLís projectíí.
But the spokeswoman said it was a ëëcomplexíí industry, and that the company had ëëmade our numerous experts available to discuss hydrogeology, exploration, operations and hydraulic fracturingíí.
ëëMr Hoggettís claims about the effectiveness of the Dialogue are his personal opinions alone and not agreed by many who take the time out of their busy schedules to be part of the Dialogue,íí the spokeswoman said.
