The allegation was originally flagged by the Lock the Gate Northern Rivers branch, which raised the matter with the Richmond Valley Council.

The council then referred the matter to the NSW Environmental Protection Agency on April 2 which found the breach of both Metgasco’s water management plan and the council’s Sewage Treatment Plan licence.

In a letter penned by the EPA to the senior solicitor at the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office, the EPA said the practice did not comply with the conditions imposed on the STP.

The EPA has advised both the Richmond Valley council which is responsible for the running of the STP and Metgasco to stop the practice immediately.

It also liased with the NSW Office of Water on the issue, with the office finding that disposal of produced water by STP as inappropriate, and that it would be unlikely to provide approval for “this disposal pathway”

It also said it would work with the NSW Department of Trade, Investment, Regional Infrastructure and Services on Metgasco’s draft water management plan, which is currently under review.

Crucially, Metgasco has been advised that that the disposal of water contained in its storage ponds cannot be disposed of via a STP.

However, follow-up work from the EPA found that no environmental harm or disruption to the sewage treatment process was found.

Despite the conclusion from the EPA, the Lock the Gate Alliance is still worried that the practice highlighted shortcomings in Metgasco’s handling of produced water.

“This disposal practice makes it obvious that Metgasco’s holding ponds are unable to contain the volumes of wastewater produced in drilling operations, despite repeated assurances by them that the ponds are sufficient and will not overflow during heavy rainfall events,” said Boudicca Cerese, spokesperson for Lock the Gate Alliance Northern Rivers.

“The whole matter indicates complete disregard by Metgasco of the regulations under which this industry is supposed to operate, an apparent lack of concern for the impacts of their activities on the environment, and an inability to properly manage the operations which they are undertaking”

Metgasco chief executive Peter Henderson has been quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying that he saw no problem with the practice itself.

“The use of the sewage treatment plant is an appropriate disposal mechanism for what is essentially just salty water,” he said.

Richmond Valley mayor Col Sullivan appeared to be in agreement with Henderson this morning, taking to the airwaves to dispel fears that the council acted out of haste in accepting the arrangement with Metgasco.

"Yes, we did accept some water, water that had already been chemically tested which showed no threat," he told ABC Radio.

"The water was all tested and we believe it could have been treated, there's plenty of evidence of similar water being treated at other treatment plants."

In a statement provided to EnergyNewsPremium by Metgasco, Henderson said Metgasco has had its produced water independently tested.

“All of our operations are approved by government authorities, including the management of produced water during the exploration phase,” he said.

“We have independent technical advice that produced water, which is essentially just salty water, can be discharged safely to the local sewage treatment plant.”

He reiterated that the EPA found no evidence or harm in the practice, and flagged that a change in the way Metgasco handles produced water could be on the cards.

“Metgasco is currently reviewing a range of long-term water treatment options, some of which include use by local industry and agriculture. We note that the EPA has acknowledged the potential to use produced water for agricultural [purposes],” Henderson said.

This article first appeared in ILN's sister publication EnergyNewsBulletin.net.