Farmers wary of local dump

The petition says the federal government should also ban all CSG mining until a solution is implemented to safely dispose of the salt and brine waste it produces.

Company We Kando, located on the banks of Stockyard Creek/Rocky Creek near Chinchilla, has now received all state and local government approvals to expand its waste facility, which deals with sewage, sullage, effluent, reverse osmosis reject (sometimes including brine), drill mud and other waste products.

However, a Department of Environment and Science spokesperson said it hadn't been advised of any CSG salt heading to the facility.

"The CSG industry has not advised us of any intention to send salt waste to the We Kando facility at this stage, nor has the necessary infrastructure been installed at the site to enable the facility to accept it under the strict conditions outlined within its Environmental Authority (EA)," they said.

"Recent estimates show the total amount of salt in brine produced by the CSG industry in Queensland has declined from 15 million tonnes to less than 5 million tonnes since 2008.

"As a result, operators are unlikely to reach local capacity limits that would require waste storage facilities before 2030 at the earliest."

Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association Queensland director Keld Knudsen said it was "not aware of any members currently using this site".

More than 16,000 CSG wells have been drilled across Queensland since the industry's inception - about half the number the state government predicts will be drilled by the end of the decade.

The majority of the waste is stored in giant brine evaporation ponds in places like Kumbarilla State Forest.

Chinchilla grazier Glen Beasley, who lives downstream of the waste facility, said salt was the number one agent for soil degradation.

"When laced with introduced and naturally occurring toxins such as the BTEX chemicals, arsenic, and radioactive material, CSG waste becomes a hazard to human health, primary industry, and the environment," Mr Beasley said.

"I was on the consultation committee for the future disposal of CSG waste and toxic brine management plan, and my and other stakeholders' scientifically-informed concerns were ignored."

Chinchilla grazier Elena Garcia said the river needed to be protected from CSG contamination at all costs.

"At almost every turn, the Palaszczuk government has backed the coal seam gas industry at the expense of farmers, communities, and the environment," Ms Garcia said.

"We're hoping the Albanese government, and the Australian public, get behind this petition and step in where the Palaszczuk government has so clearly failed."

We Kando was unable to be contacted for comment, but has previously said salt would be stored in fully contained mono-cells with full monitoring and leachate detection.

A Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson said it had written to We Kando to ensure they were aware of their obligations under environment law.