A grassroots group in Central Australia is challenging the NT government's decision to approve fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.
The Central Australian Frack Free Alliance will ask the NT Supreme Court to review the environment minister's decision to approve the proposed plan for extracting gas from the area, submitted by resources company Tamboran.
The approval allows Tamboran to drill 12 gas wells about 600km south of Darwin.
"By approving this exploration application, the minister is laying the grounds for potentially thousands of fracking wells to be drilled in the NT," said the alliance's Hannah Ekin.
According to the group, which will be represented in court by the Environmental Defenders Office, the NT government's approval failed to take into account the future impact of the proposed project.
"Tamboran's fracking plans could cause significant impacts on water resources that are vital to the future of the Territory, through unsustainable water take and potential contamination from leaks and spills," Ms Ekin said.
"The minister has failed to acknowledge these cumulative impacts in her approval."
NT Environment Minister Lauren Moss approved the environmental management plan in November 2022.
Environmental Defenders Office CEO David Morris said it argues that the minister failed in her responsibility to ensure all risks are reviewed.
"The law places the responsibility on the minister to ensure all risks are identified and considered, we say she failed in that task," he said.
"In this instance, we're arguing the minister failed to lawfully assess Tamboran's environmental plan by not identifying and considering all the risks."
