The fines imposed on Santos and Eastern Star Gas for polluting a local creek system with coal seam gas waste water have variously been described as “inadequate”, “a slap on the wrist”, “chickenfeed”, “pathetic” and “like being hit over the face with wet lettuce”.

The Lock the Gate Alliance, The Greens and the Wilderness Society have joined the chorus of complaints begun by the Northern Inland Council for the Environment over last Friday’s news of the pollution penalties issued to the two companies over a spill in the Pilliga last year.

The Lock The Gate Alliance says there’s mounting evidence from across the country of the environmental damage coal seam gas companies are causing.

“The pattern of environmental damage, blanket denial by gas companies, government inaction and then weak and inadequate penalties that has occurred in the Pilliga is being repeated in coal seam gas operations across the country,” alliance president Drew Hutton said.

“This is a classic example of everything that is wrong with coal seam gas regulation in Australia.

“Both Eastern Star Gas and Santos have been pinged for polluting creeks in the Pilliga, despite repeated denials on their part, but all they have got for it is a dainty little slap over the wrist.

“Three thousand dollars is chickenfeed to a coal seam gas company. This penalty basically gives the green light to coal seam gas companies to do their worst to our precious water resources.

“This is a nod and a wink to coal seam gas companies that, no matter how bad their practices, they will never be held to account in any serious way. It puts coal seam gas companies above the environment, above communities and above the law.”

The Greens NSW mining spokesman Jeremy Buckingham said it was good the Environment Protection Authority investigated incidents of coal seam gas pollution, but the penalty was hardly a disincentive to the industry not to pollute.

“Coal seam gas produces large amounts of wastewater that can be highly saline, can contain heavy metals and volatile organic compounds and poses a risk to our water resources,” he said.

“The industry claims it does not pollute water, but here we have two fines and one warning for water pollution.”

The Northern Inland Council for the Environment last Friday described the fines as pathetic, but said the penalties confirmed that regulation of the coal seam gas industry was a complete failure.

“A fine of just $3000 and a formal warning is like hitting the gas company with a piece of wet lettuce – it means absolutely nothing to them and will not act as a deterrent,” spokeswoman Carmel Flint said.

“Environment groups spent more money on getting the water tests conducted to expose the pollution than the gas companies have been fined for breaching the law – it’s a disgrace.”

The Wilderness Society said the NSW government should act immediately to put in place a moratorium on the industry until regulatory failures were fixed.

Society campaigner Prue Bodsworth said the Pilliga forest was an inappropriate place for an enormous coal seam gas field and that state and federal governments should step in and protect the Pilliga from any further coal seam gas development.