Mahalo North Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999 – Application 2023/09689.

The Mahalo North Project (the project) involves a greenfield coal seam gas (CSG) development approximately 45 km north of Rolleston and 70 km southeast of Emerald, within the Central Highlands Regional Council Local Government Area of Central Queensland. The project is contained within Petroleum Lease (PL) 1128 application and covers an area of 14,000 hectares. The project’s life span is estimated to be 30 years and will supply the domestic Australian gas market.

The project includes the following key components:

• • 68 CSG wells (using a combination of vertical and lateral wells)
  • Gas and water gathering pipelines
  • Gas compression facility
  • New access tracks, with existing tracks used where possible
  • Water management infrastructure

This webpage contains a copy of the Public Notification notice, the Preliminary Document (PD) report and supporting documentation (as Appendices), which are available for public review and comment (as per the Public Notification notice).

The PD report consolidates and references all relevant information, including the original referral, the Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), the response to the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Unconventional Gas Development and large Coal Minding Development (IESC) advice and updated technical impact assessments to allow the Minister to make an informed decision whether to approve, under Part 9 of the EPBC Act, the taking of the action for the purposes of each controlling provision.

    Public Notification notice

    Preliminary Documentation

    Appendix A – EA conditions

    Appendix B – Internal Review SoR

    Appendix C – EAR

    Appendix D – Aquatic Ecology Assessment

    Appendix E – GDE Assessment

    Appendix F – CSG Water Management Plan

    Appendix G – Groundwater Impact Assessment

    Appendix H – Chemical Risk Assessment

  Appendix I – Environmental Management Plan

  Appendix J – IESC Advice

  Appendix K – IESC Response Memo

  Appendix L – Water Monitoring and Management Plan

  Appendix M – Comet Ridge Connectivity Plan

  Appendix N – Stormwater and Water Balance Assessment

  Appendix O – Ecohydrological Model