The Environmental Defenders Office, has recently commenced legal proceedings on behalf of People for the Plains to challenge Santos’ approval to build a water treatment facility at Leewood, a property owned by Santos and its joint venture partner. The proposed reverse osmosis plant would be similar to that used elsewhere in Australia to treat water to a very high standard.
The Leewood reverse osmosis plant is intended to treat salty ground water produced by the exploration and appraisal operations to a very high standard.
The proposed reverse osmosis plant, fully detailed in The Leewood Phase 2 Produced Water Treatment and Beneficial Reuse Project’s Review of Environmental Factors (REF), has been assessed and approved as part of Santos’ exploration and appraisal activities by the appropriate regulatory body following a rigorous and detailed assessment process. This assessment process has been carried out in accordance with the relevant regulatory guidelines. The proposed activity is of low environmental risk.