Agribusiness, Coal Seam Gas and Mining

We regularly distribute updates to our clients and contacts on specialised areas of law.

Please contact us if you wish to be added to the distribution list for these newsletters. The information is accurate at the time of writing but the law may have changed. You should treat this information as general advice only and seek specific advice for your particular circumstances.

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Landholders – What to do when Coal Seam Gas and Renewable Energy Companies come knocking.

Rural land is often well-suited for both petroleum activities and renewable energy projects. Landowners will often agree to both types of companies developing their separate projects on the same land. The law does not currently require any coordination of those projects, creating potential problems for landowners. (more…)

Our submission highlights that there is no identified “management” of CSG induced subsidence proposed

P & E Laws’ agribusiness and planning team has provided a submission on the proposed amendments to the MERCP Act. Our submission highlights that in terms of arresting potential damage and further potential liability the draft legislative is lacking. It does not address the subsidence impacts on lineal and other infrastructure. Those impacts and the ongoing intermittent and regular subsidence impact on farming land will continue long after the companies responsible for the subsidence have gone. An analysis of the monitoring, the science, and the liability for compensation in relation to CSG subsidence and the draft legislative proposals is provided. Suggested alternative legislative amendments are included. …

CSG Activities and Cattle – Compensation for Impacts

This edition of our Landholder Newsletter focuses on the potential for compensation for the impacts of CSG activities on grazing land and stock. It also includes a review on the state of play regarding Mining Lease Objections. (more…)

Our submission seeks to prevent changes that threaten food and water security and private assets

P & E Law’s agribusiness and planning teams have provided a submission to the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning about the proposed amendments to the Regional Planning Interests Act 2014. The submission has focused on impacts on priority agricultural areas above the Walloon coal measures in the Condamine Alluvium. The examples given relate particularly to that area and are mostly directed to impacts on farms in priority agricultural areas for priority agricultural land uses. Many factors raised in the submission apply to the other areas of State significance including townships, environmental areas and strategic cropping land. …

CSG – Deviated Drilling & Subsidence

This edition of our Landholder Newsletter covers CSG Deviated Drilling, CSG related subsidence, and Regional Interests Development Approvals in Priority agricultural areas & Strategic cropping areas. (more…)

Latest CSG Industry Snapshot – How has it changed, what does it look like, what is planned?

The latest Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR 2019) was finalised by the Department of Environment and Science and released in November 2019. It provides an important snapshot into the coal seam gas (CSG) industry and the gas companies’ plans for future development. With the recent plummet in oil and gas prices, the figures and planned development for CSG will no doubt change. However the UWIR 2019 still provides useful industry insight. Since 2016, the area of existing and planned CSG production in the Surat cumulative management area (CMA) (which includes the Surat and Bowen Basins) has expanded by about 17%. Currently, there are approximately 6,800 CSG wells within existing production areas. According to UWIR 2019, this is projected to increase…

Audit on CSG Regulators

One of P&E Law’s key concerns representing landowners affected by the coal seam gas (CSG) industry over the last decade has been the lack of enforcement of environmental authority conditions by the Department of Environment and Science (DES), including conditions relating to noise, weeds, dust and land rehabilitation. As a result, P&E Law have always emphasised the importance of including strong contractual obligations into a Conduct and Compensation Agreement (CCA) requiring CSG companies to comply with environmental authority conditions so that landowners themselves have the power to enforce compliance. The Queensland Audit Office has recently audited the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (DNRME),…