FEARS that a loophole in federal environmental protection laws may not protect Australia's groundwater were raised in a Senate committee inquiry on Thursday.
A Bill to create an independent scientific committee to assess the potential effects large coal mines and CSG operations might have on ground water and advise governments is currently before the Senate.
Various interest groups, including the Minerals Council of Australia and environmental lobby groups, told the committee about their concerns.
The Northern Inland Council for the Environment's Carmel Flint said the juggernaut coal seam gas industry was riding rough-shod over local communities in a system balanced towards project approvals.
She said the bill was a good thing, and hoped it would be enshrined as soon as possible to protect local communities and the environment.
But Ms Flint said she was concerned an agreement to hand environmental approvals to state governments and a lack of a trigger for the Federal Environment Minister to assess projects that threaten ground water was a "massive loophole.
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