Coal and Salinity

Does anyone else see the irony when farmers complain about the effects of coal seam gas and coal mines on the water table?  I mean pot, kettle, coal black.

The farmers and environmental lobby are screaming from the rooftops that Australians need to "protect the national foodbowl" against the (read) inevitable dirtying of the water table by the Coal Seam Gas ("CSG") and Coal Mine operators.

One problem - this conveniently ignores that farmers are responsible for irrigation salinity and dryland salinity which has salinised (read ruined) close to 6 million hectares of Australian agricultural land, expected to rise to 50 million hectares in 2050.  For context, the hotly contested Shenhua Coal Mine on the Liverpool Plains, would worst case scenario affect 1.2 million hectares (that's the whole are of the Liverpool Plains).

This is without considering the significant water covenants that Shenhua is required to enter into as part of its Mining Permit arrangements.

So, what do you reckon Doubters?  Should farmers have to pay for the damage they've done, and should the bores they use also be subject to the same rigorous covenants that Shenhua faces?

Sounds fair to Doubting Thomas.

DT