OPPONENTS of coal seam gas (CSG) activities in the Sydney Water catchment "special areas" have welcomed the cancellation of the remaining exploration licence.
However, they said the fight was not over and they would continue to campaign against any new longwall coal mining operations in the same areas.
The state government cancelled Petroleum Exploration Licence (PEL) 2 yesterday after gas company AGL agreed to surrender it along with two other licences in the Hunter region.
The announcement came a day after protesters gathered at Woronora Dam for the latest in a series of "pop-up picnics" designed to protest against the "dual threat" of CSG and longwall coal mining to Sydney's drinking water. Other licences covering part of the catchment's "special areas" — buffer zones around the waterways — were surrendered early this year.
PEL 2, the largest and most significant, which stretched from Fitzroy Falls through the Illawarra escarpment to western Sydney and north to the central coast, remained in place until yesterday.
Georges River Environmental Alliance secretary Sharyn Cullis said AGL's decision was "brilliant news".
"But the campaign against longwall mining will continue," she said. "Woronora Dam is among areas being impacted, with the Waratah rivulet being undermined," she said.
Sydney co-ordinator of the Our Land, Our Water, Our Future campaign Nell Schofield said the "pop-up picnics" were having "a marvellous effect".
"Common sense has prevailed and the drinking water of 4.5 million will be protected," she said.
"I just hope the government will put in place legislation to protect these areas in perpetuity."
Stop CSG Illawarra spokeswoman Jess Moore said community opposition had achieved the victory.
‘‘But we’re not done,’’ she said.
‘‘Before the 2011 election [then opposition leader] Barry O’Farrell promised to ban mining in NSW drinking water catchment areas.
‘‘If this government is serious about securing our drinking water supply, they’ll go beyond cancelling licences and announce a ban.’’
The cancellation of PEL 2 was ‘‘effectively’’ a permanent ban on CSG operations in the catchment ‘‘special areas,’’ said Industry, Resources and Energy Minister Anthony Roberts.
Mr Roberts said any future application would be stopped by the government’s strategic land release program, which would ‘‘decide where, when, how and if land will be released and for what purpose ... for resource allocation’’.
‘‘The door’s not open, not at all,’’ he said.
Mr Roberts said the three PELs that were cancelled yesterday covered almost 2 per cent of the state.
‘‘The buy-back scheme, action 4 of the NSW Gas Plan, has seen 15 PELs bought back from titleholders and cancelled,’’ he said.
‘‘We have now reduced the footprint of CSG from around 60 percent of NSW to 9 percent.’’
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