Hunt’s decision to again delay the project comes after advice from the Independent Expert Scientific Committee, which completed a review of the project with specific emphasis on implications to groundwater.
Hunt had requested the review earlier this year on two occasions.
The committee found that there were “information gaps” that needed to be addressed, while the proposed monitoring program was below the committee’s expectations.
The IESC also called for additional monitoring and finer-scale groundwater modelling as mining progressed, however it found the project’s groundwater modelling was satisfactory to assess any potential hydrological impacts.
Shenhua Watermark project manager Paul Jackson said the project’s water model was vindicated by the IESC.
“Shenhua has always stood by the scientific assessments undertaken and it is pleasing the IESC has confirmed the veracity of the groundwater assessments which supported the NSW approvals process," Jackson said.
Concerns from the farming community over the project have been swirling for years, and while the project was greenlighted by the NSW government in February, it is yet to receive federal approval.
NSW Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson welcomed the IESC review, but said farmers’ concerns remained unanswered.
“Certainly there are too many unknowns to confidently let this project go ahead,” Simson said.
“The advice highlighted that any scientific assessment of the impacts can only be as good as the information and data that is available for analysis.
“This is what the farming community has been saying all along and while it’s good news this concern was confirmed by the committee, it is highly worrying that the approvals process is still rolling on.”
Greens NSW mining spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham called on the government to reject the coal mine, labelling it a “national disgrace” if the mine goes ahead.
“From this report it is clear that the Shenhua Watermark mine application is woefully deficient with inadequate water monitoring programmes, uncertainty surrounding the risks to threatened ecological communities, no plans for what happens if key trigger values are exceeded and the potential for long-term salinity,” Buckingham said.
“The ball is now firmly in Greg Hunt and Barnaby Joyce’s court and they have to decide whether they are prepared to put Australia’s food bowl at risk for the short-term profits of a Chinese government owned mining giant.”
Simson said the risks surrounding the project were simply too great.
“The lack of a full bioregional assessment for the Namoi Valley and a lack of comprehensive data should mean this project doesn’t proceed,” she said.
“Without a comprehensive and thorough understanding of what the impacts of the project are, the risk is just too great. We cannot place this very important agricultural area at risk knowing that we are playing Russian roulette with the aquifers.
“We strongly urge Minister Hunt to take these risks into account when he makes his decision. This is not the last coal resource available in NSW. This mine, in this place, at this time, is too risky and it is not necessary.”
