Queensland ban on underground coal gasification

The Queensland government has immediately banned underground coal gasification in the state, arguing the environmental risks outweigh economic benefits.

Natural resources minister Dr Anthony Lynham says the ban, which would apply immediately as government policy, would be made official by the end of the year through legislation introduced into parliament.

The ban came after UCG pilot company Linc Energy, which last week went into voluntary administration, was recently committed for trial in the district court on five counts of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm.

“The potential risk to Queensland’s environment and our valuable agricultural industries outweigh any potential economic benefits from the particular industry,” Lynham said on Monday.

Queensland’s three trial sites, including Linc Energy’s site at Hopeland in the western Darling Downs, would now be decommissioned, he said.

Read The Guardian story - “Queensland bans underground coal gasification over environmental risk.”