In a December-released water monitoring report for fraccing and flow testing of the Waukivory Pilot well, AGL revealed that minute levels of monoethanolamine borate were found.

According to the ABC this morning, AGL said this chemical was a constituent of hydraulic fracturing fluid but was also contained in mammal urine and associated with agricultural land.

An AGL spokesman told the Newcastle Herald that the chemical was found before the pilot testing kicked off.

‘‘While it is a constituent of hydraulic fracturing fluid, our baseline sampling found background levels of monoethanolamine in groundwater and surface water in September and October 2014, before hydraulic fracturing operations commenced,'' the spokesman said.

EPA chief environmental regulator Mark Gifford told the newspaper that the levels of the compound were ‘‘extremely low'' and ‘‘highly unlikely to pose any risk to human health or the environment'', but it was important that the find be investigated.

"The EPA will review the data and will determine the next steps once its analyses are complete," he said.

AGL told the newspaper that it was undertaking a full review of the sampling and testing process of the water monitoring for the project.

Various CSG opposition groups have called for the project and fraccing operations to be suspended.