Queensland councils are celebrating following a decision by the state government to ban carbon capture and storage in the Great Artesian Basin.

The 1.7 million square kilometre hydrogeological system, lying beneath parts of Queensland, Northern Territory, SA and NSW, is Australia’s largest underground freshwater resource .

LGAQ has been lobbying against the use of carbon capture and storage at the site, which would involves injecting greenhouse gases into underground geological formations to keep them out of the environment.

Greenhouse gas storage activities, including carbon capture and storage projects, will be permanently prohibited in the basin to protect the ‘critically important’ resource, Premier Steven Miles announced last week.

“I think the Great Artesian Basin’s unique environmental, agricultural, economic and cultural significance was worth protecting,” Mr Miles said.

“It’s why I will be legislating to prohibit carbon capture and storage projects in the Great Artesian Basin here in Queensland.”

Proposal rejected

It comes after the state’s independent environment regulator assessed and rejected a proposed carbon capture and storage project by Carbon Transport and Storage Corporation (CTSCo), a subsidiary of Glencore, which would have involved injecting CO₂ into the Precipice Sandstone within the Great Artesian Basin.

Mayors from across regional Queensland have argued that carbon capture and storage presents too big a risk to communities and the water they rely on.

Councils from across the state voted at their annual conference last October to lobby the State Government not to approve carbon capture and storage and to ask the State and Federal governments to work together to protect what the fresh water source.

LGAQ CEO Alison Smith thanked the Government for listening to the concerns of local government leaders on behalf of rural communities, as well as landholders, farmers and conservationists.
 
“Councils and communities across Queensland rely on the Great Artesian Basin for everything from safe drinking water to agriculture, industry and jobs,” Ms Smith said.
 
“That councils, conservationists and farmers spoke with a united voice calling for the moratorium shows how critical preserving Queensland’s underground life blood is.
 
“It is simply not worth the risk with so many local communities depending on safe, secure water.”

 The government says it will appoint a Technical Expert Panel to review the safety aspects of greenhouse gas storage for areas outside the Great Artesian Basin, with a report due in 2025.