Common sense prevails in the Queensland Government's rejection of the Great Artesian Basin carbon capture and storage project

The Honourable Cr Lawrence Springborg AM, Mayor of Goondiwindi Regional Council, today welcomed the news that the Queensland Government had rejected the proposal by a mining company to undertake a carbon capture and storage project in the Great Artesian Basin.

"Last month, I joined a local government and industry delegation to meet with the Queensland Premier to express our concerns regarding this project. The outcome today is a triumph for common sense. 

The project was on our doorstep, with the proposed location just north of the Goondiwindi Region boundary, near Moonie.  The proposal to convert carbon gas into a liquid and store it within an active water supply is not just risky, it's extraordinarily so,” he said, highlighting the potential environmental hazards.

“This is good news for all communities, farmers and graziers that draw from this aquifer, whether it be for household or livestock water purposes,” he said.

The proposal was to inject and store hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power station into the deep Precipice Aquifer. 

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation's statement today confirmed the project's failure to meet stringent regulatory requirements. The assessment revealed that CO2 injected into the aquifer could migrate, likely causing irreversible or long-term changes in groundwater quality and environmental values. This includes the possible increase in concentrations of contaminants such as chloride, sulphate, salinity, various metals, and metalloids (including lead and arsenic).