WA EPA Approves Kimberley Fracking Project Near Fitzroy River Despite Federal Scientists' Criticism

Summary

The WA Environmental Protection Authority has approved Black Mountain Energy's controversial plan to drill and hydraulically fracture 20 gas wells in the Canning Basin, just 16 kilometers from the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region. This is the first major fracking approval in the area since the McGowan government lifted its complete moratorium in 2018. The decision came only three months after independent federal scientists found the company's environmental risk assessment to be "limited and disjointed" with "largely unsupported" conclusions, raising concerns about environmental oversight and the protection of the Fitzroy River.