Senate Inquiry into Glencore’s Proposed Carbon Capture and Storage Project

The NFF’s membership comprises all of Australia’s major agricultural commodities across the breadth and the length of the supply chain. [...] The GAB is a critical natural water resource, asset, and lifeblood for regional communities and has played a critical role in the development of Australian agriculture and farming businesses across the Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales. [...] CTSCo’s proposal is novel and significant and has the potential to inflict unacceptable risk to the Australian agriculture sector, public trust and confidence in domestic food production, public health and human security, and the pristine environment of the GAB which spans across several State and Territory jurisdictions. [...] This puts the scope of the proposed project into perspective, it is irresponsible to trial a significant project and technology of consequence in one of the world’s largest and clean natural water resources that supports over 180,000 Australians, 7,600 businesses, and 120 towns. [...] Potential Risks and Impacts A large contingent of reputable hydrologists have expressed concern that the proposed project may turn the environment of the underground aquifer acidic, potentially resulting in the dissolution and leaching of heavy metals including lead, arsenic, and cadmium (via chemical reaction) into the underlying groundwater resource.