The growth in the coal seam gas industry over the past decade has presented challenges for governments, communities and the industry. The development of projects requires balanced consideration of their environmental, social, economic and governance aspects.

Impact assessment and management undertaken across project exploration (including exploration activities, design and approvals), construction and commissioning, production / operation, rehabilitation and closure (including suspension, decommissioning and abandonment) ensures sustainable development of the industry.

The industry and the natural gas it supplies is vital to the east coast gas market and liquefied natural gas exports.

The leading practices for development of natural gas from coal seams contained in this Guide have been framed around the following six themes

1. Impact assessment and management including of air and noise emissions
2. Well planning and operations
3. Social performance including transparency, community outreach and adaptive management
4. Protection of water resources
5. Management of waste including produced water and sustainable options for solid and liquid waste streams
6. Rehabilitation and closure planning.

Each theme and associated leading practices are presented in this guide. While these leading practices are aimed to provide guidance to regulators, information related to industry practices is also included.