Can community concerns be alleviated using science?
Naomi Rowe A and John Ross AAGL.
The APPEA Journal 53(2) 475-475 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ12086
Published: 2013
Abstract
AGL’s manager of hydrogeology John Ross and community relations manager Naomi Rowe look at case studies about communicating the science of groundwater to answer the question of whether community concerns can be alleviated using science.
Successful project delivery is now directly related to a company’s success in engaging the community. Boards demand it, government approvals are sped up, and operations run more smoothly when the company’s activities are accepted by the community.
Like most companies in the upstream sector, AGL is facing significant community challenges as the company aims to advance its CSG exploration in the face of sophisticated and emotional opposition in search of scientific guarantees. Much of the infrastructure associated with CSG development is below ground, making the science surrounding such projects difficult to convey. In particular, water management and groundwater effects that cannot be seen are difficult to conceptualise.
The present community climate of increasing scepticism of corporations, where Facebook and university professors are equally trusted sources of information, requires a new community-engagement approach.
Community engagement is no longer just the province of community relations staff. AGL is engaging communities differently in delivering project information. Science is not absolute in its answers; rather, it suggests explanations of what is happening in nature then proves or disproves these theories.
The head of operations to field workers and all layers between need to have a clear role in understanding community concerns and in actively working as part of a multidisciplinary team to resolve them.
Naomi Rowe is a community relations manager in AGL’s upstream business unit. Her present work focuses on the intersection between AGL’s upstream assets and projects in conventional oil and gas, CSG, and gas storage in Queensland and NSW. Her interest is in creating a shared understanding on groundwater issues. She specialises in community and stakeholder relations, risk identification, issue management, strategy development, and internal capacity building. |
John joined AGL upstream gas in 2010 as manager of hydrogeology. He has more than 35 years of hydrogeology experience, mainly with major infrastructure, water resource, and contaminated land and water projects. He is responsible for all of AGL’s CSG groundwater investigations and communication of the science to a various stakeholders. Studies range from basin-wide studies to complex drilling and monitoring programs and produced water-management projects. He also provides strategic advice about water policy, delivers technical communication, and is responsible for water-regulatory negotiations and associated compliance reporting. |
