The Total Environment Centre “applauded” the recent decision, although it noted the Planning Assessment Commission did not specifically reject the proposal.
“TEC welcomes the fact that both major parties have taken a precautionary approach to this unsustainable mine,” TEC natural areas campaigner David Burgess said.
“It is vital that the next NSW government turns its attention to the ongoing impacts of longwall mining south of Sydney where numerous mines operate side by side, with mining planned across a quarter of Sydney’s water supply area.”
The environmental group added that its inspection of the Waratah Rivulet last week revealed a “critical watercourse” where surface flow had not returned to a riverbed cracked by longwall mining nearly six years ago.
“The Waratah Rivulet was a pristine river until it was undermined. It still looks appalling years afterwards,” Burgess said.
He said it was important that the Wallarah decision leads policy away from the “lasting damage longwall mining is doing to our water”
The Australian Coal Alliance campaigned against the Wallarah 2 project with the slogan “water not coal”, but it did not place much merit on the various uncertainties state Planning Minister Tony Kelly cited as reasons for refusing the project.
“There is no doubt in the mind of the community that the uncertainty of most concern to the minister is the election result for Wyong,” the ACA said.
The ACA seeks to lobby for legislation to ban any possible mining in the Wyong Valley water catchment area.
In its recent decision, the Department of Planning concurred with the PAC’s assessment that there were not likely to be any significant impacts on the streams that flow into the region’s water supply from subsidence in the western part of the project.
But the department said the Wyong Areas Coal Joint Venture did not adequately demonstrate proposed water treatment systems at the mine would be capable of treating wastewaters to an acceptable standard.
The department added that the impacts of treated water, if discharged into the environment ,were not considered.
Last week Wallarah 2 environment and community manager Peter Smith said the decision would be closely examined and the JV would consider its options.
“This has been the most rigorous approval process ever undertaken in Australia and has included a strategic inquiry into mining in the Wyong area as well as a Planning Assessment Commission process for this project, whose report recommended approval,” he said.
“Both inquiries and two independent water reviews all found that there was sufficient information for the mine to be approved.”
Kores Australia owns 82.25% of the JV and patiently advanced the project for many years. It was an original shareholder at the outset when the venture was awarded the exploration tender for the area by the NSW government in 1995.
The Wallarah 2 project application was first submitted back in late 2006.
Since 2003, there has been vocal environmental opposition to gas extraction of the area proposed by other groups. Subsequent community concerns then focused on the Wallarah 2 coal mining proposal, leading to the uncommonly protracted and detailed scrutiny of the project application.
