Issue 156
23 January 2019
Your independent community newspaper - Ph: 4325 7369
Federal Environment Minister approves Wallarah 2 Coal Mine
T
he Wallarah 2 Coal Mine has received Federal G o v e r n m e n t approval, despite the NSW Land and Environment Court still to rule on it. Environment Minister, Melissa Price’s, decision on Friday, January 18, to give the go ahead to the Wallarah 2 Coal Mine has been condemned by community groups and opposition politicians. The Australian Coal Alliance (ACA) said it was short sighted and reckless. The Greens called the timing of the decision cynical. Resident activist, Gregory Olsen, who started a change.org petition against the mine, called it outrageous. But Wyong Coal, owned by Korean company Kores, said its Wallarah 2 project would add significant direct and indirect employment and long term economic benefit, including more than 800 ongoing jobs, and more than $600M every year in regional economic contribution. The company is working on final feasibility and detailed design activities in line with both the federal Government approval, and the NSW Planning Assessment Commission approval from 12 months ago. Wyong Coal said it had been to the Land
Mr Barry O’Farrell and Mr Alan Hayes (centre) with four Liberal politicians promising to stop Wallarah 2 in 2011
Photo: Alan Hayes
and Environment Court appeal in November, 2018, and remained confident of the determination process and approval. “This action reviewed the various administrative steps, processes and responsibilities culminating in the planning approval granted by the PAC in January, 2018,” the company said in a newsletter. The legal judgment is expected early this year. Australian Coal Alliance (ACA) said it had been estimated that the proposed mine would result in the loss of between 900 to 1300 ML of drinking water a year from the Central Coast’s drinking water catchment during its 28 year lifespan, though there was some uncertainty about the quantum of that loss. ACA Campaign
Manager, Alan Hayes, said the mining company, in their own Environmental Impact Statement, stated that between 2.5 to 3.25ML of water would be lost each day. “Proponent Kores, which plans to export the coal for power generation, proposes to construct a pipeline to deliver compensatory water to Central Coast Council, although there was no actual documentation in their EIS to show how this could be achieved,’’ Hayes said. “It is because of this and other errors by the Planning Assessment Commission in their January, 2018, approval, that enabled the community group, the Australian Coal Alliance, to take the Government and the proponent to the Land and Environment Court last November.
“A judgement on the outcome of the court action is expected sometime between mid April and early May.” Hayes said that the latest approval was an indication that the Australian government’s priorities were still not sufficiently focused on water conservation. “This summer is showing us how precious water is, and how disastrous it can be and how vulnerable we are, when it runs dry. “It’s reckless and unacceptable for a coal mine to undermine the water for the growing cities of the Central Coast, which have suffered from water shortages in the past.” Hayes said ACA had already instructed their solicitors to request a ‘’statement of reason’’, as allowed by the Environment Protection
Biodiversity and Conservation (EPBC) Act. “The Government has 28 days to supply that information from the date of their approval, and once received, we have 28 days to lodge proceedings,” he said. Federal Member for Dobell, Emma McBride, labelled the decision reckless. “Minister Price has ignored the Central Coast community’s pleas to use her powers to stop this mine,’’ McBride said. “This decision is shortsighted and dangerous. “The government is prepared to risk the water supply of the entire Central Coast for this highly speculative, foreign owned, coal project.‘’ McBride said that under the previous Labor Government, a ‘’water trigger’’ was written into the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act) 1999 to protect water catchments from the impacts of longwall coal mining. She said Labor had established an Independent Expert Scientific Committee (IESC) on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development to ensure that proposals for new coal mines were examined for their impact on critical water resources and endangered species. In 2013, the IESC raised a long list of potential impacts of the Wallarah 2 coal mine on the water catchment and endangered species. “Rather than listen to the independent expert advice, this government recruited new IESC members to tell it what it wanted to hear,’’ McBride said. “It appears the Minister and the Government’s hand-picked IESC members are prepared to allow Kores to make it up as they go along, allowing monitoring and self-regulation to take the place of proper controls. “The set of conditions Minister Price has applied will be too little too late when the predicted subsidence occurs damaging water supplies in the catchment.
Office: 3 Amy Close, Wyong Phone: 4325 7369 Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net Website: www.centralcoastnews.net
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