Opposition has flared up in the wake of the contentious Narrabri Gas Project clearing its final regulatory hurdle and securing environmental approval from the Federal Government.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley said she was satisfied the plan by Santos to drill up to 850 coal seam gas wells in northern New South Wales would not damage groundwater and biodiversity in the Pilliga Forest.
The NSW Farmers Association, however, is not convinced.
"To be fair to Sussan Ley, she has put conditions about monitoring the water table and water resources, embedded that in the approval," president James Jackson said.
"But the problem with these aquifers is that once you damage them, remediating the damage is almost impossible."
Opposition for the $3.6 billion proposal stems from environmental and cultural concerns, largely around the groundwater of the Great Artesian Basin.
Mr Jackson said access to groundwater was critical for the farming sector.
"In the drought, the water kept people going. It was the aquifers that people used for their stock water resources and these are very critical to our businesses," he said.
"You're probably aware of that big aquifer that's under Sydney that's become contaminated.
"It'd be a very useful plan B for the Sydney water supply but it's unusable, it's been contaminated, it's stuffed.
Mr Jackson said the association did not have a problem "philosophically with gas", but the issue was the risk involved in extraction.
"The conditions that are underpinning this approval, acknowledge the risk and try to mitigate the risk," he said.
Traditional owners not standing down
Traditional owners are vowing to continue the fight against the project with a united front.
Gomeroi Native Title applicant Polly Cutmore said she had been "very upset" by it.
"Santos needs our production line and our land and water. It doesn't belong to the Federal Government, the State Government, and it doesn't belong to Santos — it belongs to us and we say no," she said.
Ms Cutmore said the Federal Government had not been on country to understand the issue.
"We always knew the Federal Government was going to do this," she said.
"Scott Morrison and Sussan Ley haven't spent one day in Gomeroi or sat down with our elders. Until they can do that, they can just run back wherever they come from.
"They're not welcome in Gomeroi."
Santos ready to roll in the coming months
In Ms Ley's approval, conditions have been placed to protect the groundwater including: ongoing bore monitoring and modelling, identifying corrective actions and "cease-work provisions at gas wells where groundwater exceedance is predicted", "robust" chemical risk assessments, and the establishment of a Community Benefit Fund of up to $120 million.
Ms Ley also outlined that Santos must not clear more than 989 hectares of native vegetation in the project area, which sits largely in the Pilliga Forest, to protect biodiversity.
The Federal go-ahead comes two months since the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) gave the nod for Santos to proceed, with 134 conditions, after 23,000 public submissions were put to the IPC during its deliberations.
Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the federal conditions were consistent with those already set by the IPC and it aimed to begin appraisal work in 2021.
"We accept the conditions from the Commonwealth, which are very much in line with our other operations across the country, and welcome the approval that all relevant matters of national environmental significance have been adequately addressed," Mr Gallagher said.
"Santos is excited about the prospect of developing the Narrabri Gas Project, a 100 per cent domestic gas project that will deliver the lowest-cost source of gas for NSW customers.
"The project has been properly evaluated using the best available science, is in the public interest, and is capable of development without harm to water resources or the environment."
