The Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Unconventional Gas Development and Large Coal Mining Development (IESC) regularly meets with interested parties to promote its work. These meetings ensure the roles and functions of the committee are well understood.

Site visit to Beetaloo Basin

In July 2025, the IESC visited several key water resources and a shale gas operation in the Beetaloo Basin, Northern Territory. These included the Cutta Cutta Caves, which are a representative example of the important limestone aquifer in the region, various water-related environmental assets in the Elsey National Park and a shale gas operation.

The purpose of the site visit was to enhance the IESC's knowledge and understanding of groundwater and surface water resources, their dependent environmental assets and shale gas operations in the Beetaloo Basin.

IESC Stakeholder Forum 2023

On 7 March 2023, the Committee hosted a full day stakeholder forum at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. The forum was held to increase stakeholder understanding of the role of the IESC and to raise awareness of the wide range of resources that the Committee has published.

The forum comprised a number of presentations highlighting the Committee’s on-going research projects and recent updates to the IESC Information Guidelines and Explanatory Notes. There were 51 attendees from Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, representing 25 different organisations that included industry, consultants, Commonwealth and state government regulators, and academics.

A post-event survey of attendees confirmed that the objectives of the forum were met successfully. All survey participants reported that the forum was ‘very successful’ or ‘successful’ at increasing their awareness of the role of the IESC and 97% of them reported that the forum was ‘very successful’ or ‘successful’ at increasing the awareness of the resources developed by the IESC.

Explanatory Notes Virtual Masterclass Series

In May and June of 2021, the IESC hosted a series of virtual masterclasses. The virtual series, targeted at industry consultants, included masterclasses based on each of the IESC Explanatory Notes available at the time. The sessions, presented by each Note’s authors, provided the opportunity to describe how the methods in each Explanatory Note can be applied and to answer questions from the participants.

The series comprised three masterclass sessions:

• 26 May 2021 – Uncertainty analysis–Guidance for groundwater modelling within a risk management framework
• 2 June 2021 – Assessing groundwater-dependent ecosystems
• 9 June 2021 – Deriving site-specific guideline values for physico-chemical parameters and toxicants

The masterclass series was strongly supported by industry consultants, with 59 individual attendees from 17 different organisations attending throughout the series. Attendees joined the virtual event from locations throughout Australia as well as from the USA, Canada and New Zealand.

The series was well received, with approximately 90% of participants across the masterclasses reporting that the objectives of the masterclasses were met to a high or very high degree.

Industry Workshop

On 19 June 2019, the IESC held its first Industry Workshop, with over 20 representatives from the coal and coal seam gas industries and industry peak bodies. The purpose of the workshop was to increase awareness of the IESC’s role and functions and encourage uptake of the Information Guidelines to improve the quality of information provided in Environmental Impact Assessments.

Presentations and plenary and table discussions on particular themes provided a unique opportunity for industry representatives to discuss their experiences, challenges and successes in developing Environmental Impact Assessments and undertaking risk assessments. The workshop provided a valuable opportunity for the IESC members to increase their understanding of industry perspectives and priorities.

Key discussion topics included:

• how to address risk in the context of the protection and management of water resources and water-dependent ecosystems
• opportunities for enhancing data collection
• primary knowledge gaps when considering Environmental Impact Assessments and risk analysis processes
• opportunities for better alignment and integration with other research.

Participants provided positive feedback on the facilitation of open engagement, useful knowledge exchange and networking at the workshop. Many appreciated the opportunity for candid discussion with the IESC and encouraged their continuing engagement.

Panel discussion during the IESC Symposium.

Research Symposium

On 19 June 2018, the IESC hosted a Research Symposium at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Presentations highlighted how research has advanced scientific understanding of the impacts of coal seam gas extraction and large coal mining developments on water flow, surface and groundwater connectivity, water quality changes, ecosystem impacts and cumulative impacts. The focus of the day was the $19 million of research projects commissioned by the Australian Government between 2013 and 2017. The IESC guided these projects because one of its functions is to advise the Australian Government on research into the impacts of coal resource development on Australia’s water resources.

The research has improved understanding in key areas and strengthened the science to support regulatory decision-making. Results are used by the IESC to inform advice given to regulators.

An overview of the research presented at the IESC Research Symposium is available in the IESC Research Summary. Technical reports can be found at Coal and coal seam gas - Science and research.

IESC at Mandalong Underground Coal Mine

Site visit to Mandalong Underground Coal Mine

In March 2018 the IESC visited the Mandalong mine in the Newcastle coalfields near Morisset to get a first-hand understanding of the site operations. The mine supplies the Hunter region power stations.

The IESC had the opportunity to go underground and observe a continuous miner (a mining machine that produces a constant flow of ore from the working face of the mine) both cutting coal and roof and rib bolting in action and to have explained how issues such as subsidence (localised lowering of the land surface) were being managed on site.

Further information on subsidence is available in the IESC’s Explanatory Notes:

• Information Guidelines Explanatory Note - Subsidence associated with underground coal mining
• Information Guidelines Explanatory Note - Subsidence associated with coal seam gas production

IESC members inspect the centrifuge: (from left) Dr Wendy Timms, Dr Ian Prosser and Dr Andrew Boulton

University of New South Wales – Water Research Laboratory

The IESC visited the University of New South Wales Water Research Laboratory in November 2017, to view a demonstration of the large centrifuge permeameter facility which is one of only two of its type in the world.

The centrifuge can be used to characterise and model fluid flow processes in geology over spatial and time scales that are not otherwise possible, simulating flow over thousands of years within  experimental time frames of weeks or months.

 

IESC visit the University of Queensland’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas

Visit to the University of Queensland’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas

At the Centre for Coal Seam Gas in August 2017, researchers briefed the IESC on current projects including the 3D Water Atlas a publicly available transparent view of groundwater variability over time and space.

The visit concluded with a lab tour in the School of Chemical Engineering to see the new high-pressure well-simulator facility for plugging old oil and gas wells once they have been decommissioned. The Centre gave a demonstration of the large-scale experimental well bore used for investigating and measuring gas and water flows and how they interact.

Visit to the Surat and Bowen Basins

In May 2017, the IESC travelled to Emerald and Roma in central Queensland to visit an open-cut coal mine and a coal seam gas facility. The site visits were very informative and helped the IESC gain a better first-hand understanding of the ground operations of these sites.

Glencore’s Oaky Creek Coal Mine

At Oaky Creek, in the Bowen Basin between Middlemount and Tieri, open cut mining began in 1982 and underground mining in 1989. The mine consists of two longwall mining operations and a coal preparation plant that produces medium volatile coking coal.

The IESC had the opportunity to inspect a reverse osmosis water treatment plant and hear a briefing by site staff regarding the plant process as well as the mine’s water storage and management operations.

I appreciated the efforts by the on-site staff to explain their operations, to demonstrate their techniques for rehabilitation and mitigation and to answer our many questions about the day-to-day operations.

(Dr Andrew Boulton IESC Member)

The IESC at Glencore’s Oaky Creek Coal Mine

Australia Pacific LNG Reedy Creek Coal Seam Gas Water Treatment Facility

The Reedy Creek coal seam gas site is north-east of Roma in the Surat Basin and hosts Australia’s largest treated water aquifer recharge scheme.

The IESC saw some of the site’s operations focusing on infrastructure for managing water resources, and were particularly interested to see the extensive on-site water treatment and aquifer-reinjection facilities.

Getting out into the field and seeing the coal seam gas operation and hearing first-hand from industry experts about its intricate operational details was incredibly valuable.

(Professor Craig Simmons IESC Member)

The IESC at the Australia Pacific LNG Reedy Creek site