To: the Honourable the Speaker & Members of the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales 

This petition of citizens of New South Wales draws to the attention of the House that Coal Seam Gas Mining (CSG):

* always involves contaminated water, as extraction of gas draws water out of the coal seam that is highly saline & can contain toxic & radioactive compounds, endocrine disruptors & heavy metals;
* when using hydraulic fracturing (fracking), pollutes large quantities of fresh water with sand & chemicals that are pumped underground;
* is proven to lower the fresh water table, yet exploration licenses have been issued in vital NSW water catchment areas;
* involves leaky wells, processing plants & pipelines that are a fire hazard & cause air pollution;
* risks a range of direct & indirect health impacts such as heart, lung, kidney & neurological problems & cancer; &
* produces greenhouse gas emissions – particularly from large scale methane leakage – such that CSG mining has a global warming impact that is as bad if not worse than coal, over a twenty year period.

We also note that, while the NSW Liberal Government has promised to ban the use of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, & xylenes (BTEX) for the drilling process, this cannot eliminate BTEX from CSG mining. BTEX can occur naturally in coal seams & extraction of water from such seams releases these hazardous compounds.

Your petitioners therefore request the House to:

* call a Royal Commission into all impacts of CSG mining;
* implement a moratorium on CSG mining until the outcome of the Royal Commission; &
* ban the extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing.

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