The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has recommended the approval of a controversial fracking project in the state’s Kimberley region, drawing widespread criticism from environmental groups and the local community.
The Valhalla project, proposed by Bennett Resources, a subsidiary of US-based Black Mountain Energy, aims to drill up to 20 gas wells in the Canning Basin, located approximately 123km southeast of the town of Derby. The EPA’s decision has been described as “outrageous” due to the project’s potential climate impact and environmental consequences.
Climate scientist and Chief Executive of Climate Analytics, Bill Hare, has estimated that the Valhalla project, if developed as planned, could add between 1.8-2.6% to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. This comes just months after Western Australian Labor members voted for a statewide moratorium on fracking, which covers 98% of the state.
Sophie McNeill, the WA fossil fuels spokesperson for The Greens, criticised the EPA’s decision, stating that it is at odds with the overwhelming community sentiment against fracking. “The Kimberley has the largest, most intact tropical savannah left in the world, and its nature and culture, with vast dramatic landscapes, are the drawcards for the $500m tourism industry every year,” she said.
The EPA’s recommendation has also been met with criticism from other environmental groups, such as the Conservation Council of WA and Environs Kimberley. Matt Roberts, the executive director of the Conservation Council, described the EPA’s decision as “reckless,” stating that the council had raised concerns during the project assessment about the potential contamination of groundwater, impacts on subterranean fauna, and increased greenhouse gas emissions, which the proponent had not adequately addressed.
Martin Pritchard, the director of Environs Kimberley, warned that fracking would “pollute the water that sustains life in the Kimberley and threaten rare and endangered wildlife as well as the National Heritage-listed Martuwarra Fitzroy River.”
The state environment minister, Matthew Swinbourn, will have the final say on the proposal. Pritchard has called upon Premier Roger Cook and Swinbourn to reject the fracking project, warning that there will be significant electoral consequences if they do not.
The Valhalla project is also being assessed under federal environmental law. In a statement, the executive chairman of Black Mountain Energy, Rhett Bennett, described the EPA report as “an encouraging step forward,” expressing his belief in the “vast resource development opportunity” that exists in the company’s permit area in the Canning Basin.
