Keep the Kimberley’s Martuwarra / Fitzroy River frack-free

Texan fracking corporate Black Mountain is seeking approval for its ‘Valhalla’ project—the largest gas fracking proposal Western Australia has ever seen.

The plans are to drill 20 horizontal fracking wells using 2 billion litres of ancient groundwater, within the National Heritage Listed Martuwarra / Fitzroy River’s catchment. If approved, the project would threaten the extraordinary plant and animal life of the Kimberley, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth.

Until 7 October, the WA EPA is seeking input on this giant proposal which would have massive impacts on the water, communities and climate.

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Texan fracking corporate Black Mountain is seeking approval for its ‘Valhalla’ project—the largest gas fracking proposal Western Australia has ever seen.

The plans are to drill 20 horizontal fracking wells using 2 billion litres of ancient groundwater, within the National Heritage Listed Martuwarra / Fitzroy River’s catchment. If approved, the project would threaten the extraordinary plant and animal life of the Kimberley, some of which is found nowhere else on Earth.

Until 7 October, the WA EPA is seeking input on this giant proposal which would have massive impacts on the water, communities and climate.

Please add your name to the Wilderness Society’s submission so we can show the WA EPA that Australians by the thousands oppose the broad-scale destruction of this irreplaceable cultural and natural landscape.

Thanks to people like you, gas frackers haven’t been able to get a foothold across the Kimberley region for the last 15 years. Add your name today and join the chorus of voices who want to keep the Kimberly frack-free.

Images: Damian Kelly

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7,180 signatures

The Wilderness Society is making a submission to the WA EPA on the largest gas fracking proposal Western Australia has ever seen—ending on 7 October. As part of that submission, we would like to include your name in a long list of Australians to powerfully demonstrate the widespread community opposition to the government.

Black Mountain’s Valhalla Project will have significant impacts on climate, water and threatened species. If approved, it will most certainly lead to a rapid expansion of fracking activities in the Kimberley region. The significant impacts of the project include:

Impacts on National Heritage Listed cultural flows:

Using 2 billion litres of precious groundwater for drilling and fracking 20 wells is likely to have a significant impact on the interconnected surface and groundwater of Martuwarra / Fitzroy River catchment, of which the river and floodplains are National Heritage Listed for cultural flows
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and culturally important soaks downstream of the project are of particular concern, as is the drawdown of pastoral station wells. These proposed significant impacts need independent expert oversight from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee.
UNESCO recognised Martuwarra Fitzory River as 'living water museum' in April 2024.

Toxic chemical spills and contamination:

Risking toxic wastewater spillage: no details have been provided about the management of fracking wastewater in Black Mountain’s proposal. It is well documented that well failure occurs at shale gas fracking sites. Especially in flood-prone areas waste-water can be washed downstream, so the potential for surface water and aquifer contamination is real and can only be prevented by deeming this project environmentally unacceptable.

Threatened species habitat destruction:

Destroying and fragmenting intact threatened species habitat of the greater bilby, and the northern quoll. This destruction will open up the landscape to introduced predators like the feral cat and fox. Ranger groups have evidence these invasive species already have reached the Kimberley.

Unacceptable climate impacts:

This project proposes to release ~1.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution over seven years. The assessment shows that the emissions per well for this project is extraordinarily high. This also doesn’t take into consideration fugitive emissions, and contingencies for dangerous methane leaks, which recent reports have shown Australia is falling badly behind in regulating.
Ongoing emissions from Black Mountain's expanded plans to drill an unknown number of wells over 40 years are completely inconsistent with WA and Australia’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050. Instead of decarbonise in order to prevent catastrophic global warming, which is keenly being felt already by communities in the Kimberley.

I therefore recommend that the WA EPA find this project to be environmentally unacceptable, and recommend it not be approved by the Environment Minister.

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