Chain Valley Colliery Consolidation Project

NSW Department of Major Projects
Submission on the EIS of Delta Coal re their extension of coal mining under Lake Macquarie to support the extension of time for the operation of VPPS

I am a resident of the Lake Macquarie Shire and already suffer from the ill effects of coal mining in the area. My husband’s health is damaged by the pollution from the Lake Macquarie power stations: he has a cough which is exacerbated by the emissions from these power stations. He is just one citizen of the region damaged by this industry which must be curtailed to prevent further damage to the health of not only people but also the Lake itself.

There is plentiful evidence of this damage to people’s health and the environment. This evidence is ignored or at best minimised by Delta’s EIS as in the past it has been ignored by the NSW government in its greed for royalties from coal mining. The current emissions from Vale’s Point are in fact illegal – it does not currently have a valid air pollution licence yet continues to operate. Certainly fines are imposed for illegal emissions but that does not address the ongoing problems those emissions cause to the residents of the region. The Delta EIS happily points out financial gains from further extension of Delta coal mining yet does almost nothing to consider the far far greater cost of the damage to human health and the environment.

How can any extensions coal mining under Lake Macquarie and further operation of VPPS be contemplated ?

I fully support the consolidation project for Delta Coal. I am a proud employee at Delta Coal over six years. Delta has provided myself a fulfilling roll of employment with in the company.
I am honoured to work at Chain Valley Coal Mine as a team member to assist in production of coal to Vales Point Power Station for our Electricity.

In an energy crisis this project needs to happen to secure local power and keep local jobs that supports local businesses. Without this we will be in big trouble when it comes to electricity prices

As a direct employee of chain valley colliery for the last 15 years I fully support the submission based on its contributions to the local economy through direct and in direct employment, royalties and its importance in relation to the current energy crisis.

I am in Full support of the Chain Valley project to supply coal to the power station at Vale’s point as coal is the only reliable energy source that is proven to work consistently

I support this on the basis of maintaining supply of electricity to the grid, which in turn allows for more cost effective electricity supply to residential areas. In addition to this, employment from the organisation and spend on surrounding businesses is significant. To lose this, would majorly impact central coast residents and businesses related to the organisation.

I feel the project is beneficial for the following reasons:
• The project maintains secure employment opportunities for up to 390 (full time equivalent)
employees
• The project extends the security of coal resources for VPPS up to 2029, which maintains energy
security for domestic electricity consumers.
• The project has significant economic benefits to the local area, including
o $263M in annual direct and indirect regional output or business turnover,
o $140M in annual direct and indirect regional value-added,
o $50M in annual direct and indirect household income, and
o 627 direct and indirect jobs.

The Project will ensure employment for the workforce of CVC and Delta power station as well as suppliers to both operations. CVC has been operation in this area for 70 years and continues to work with the community.
Its a great Mine, has a great workforce and strives to be a leader in its industry and community.

see ATTACHED

OBJECTION to:
Chain Valley Colliery Consolidation Project
(Central Coast and Lake Macquarie) SSD-17017460
My husband is an asthmatic and due to the bushfire smoke now has chronic lung disease. Air pollution causes asthma and worse. It is a contributor to climate change and its associated health impacts. It knows no boundaries. It neither stops at human designed borders or political ones.

Like smoke pollution from bushfires, coal fired power station pollution travels from Vales Point on the Central Coast to Sydney and further.

BACKGROUND
For over two years I have been involved with Future Sooner, a community group on the Central Coast working to stop Vales Point continuously obtaining exemption licences to pollute over Group 5 emission levels which is where the power station should sit.

The impacts on the environment from coal fired power stations like Vales Point have been well documented:
• the Hunter Community Environment Centre’s Out of the Ashes Report 1&2
• the 16 Recommendations from the NSW Government’s Coal Ash Enquiry
• the documented in excess of 650 children on the Central Coast suffering from asthma directly attributable to what come from coal-fired power stations like Vales Point.

Evidence of the health impacts facing people on the Central Coast, particularly children, from coal-fired power stations like Vales Point, collected by Future Sooner and presented to the Central Coast and Hunter Public Health Units, the NSW Ministry of Health, NSW Planning, Industry and Environment, Clarence Brown EPA Sydney and several other agencies has never been challenged.

We are seeing greater levels of asthma, cancers and lower NAPLAN scores on the Central Coast than anywhere in the state. These are particularly prevalent the closer children and their families live to a coal-fired power station.

Yet, the impact and cost to human health on the Central Coast appears to have been consistently ignored by all agencies including the EPA that’s ‘duty of care’ is supposedly paramount in directing its actions.
ENVIRONMENT
Fish kills, gases bubbling from the depth of Lake Macquarie, warnings of no fishing or consuming fish and crustaceans from the lake because of contamination, feathers from birds testing positive for contaminants have been on going and is only now beginning to be acknowledged and perhaps some action being considered.

The fact that we need to restore a self-sustaining ecosystem investing in native plant species is evidence to the ongoing damage these mines have created.

MINE SUBSIDENCE
Delta has admitted to a potential 780 mm of subsidence under the lake – no guarantees there that it won’t be exceeded – with a 20mm subsidence at landfall. 780mm is basically close to equivalent to an earthquake.

When the Newcastle earthquake hit, the effects were not contained at the epicentre. Similarly, when an earthquake happens in the middle of an ocean the tsunami effect extends well beyond its core.

If you think that a 780mm possible subsidence will be contained within the watery depths of the lake and not affect structures and the people living on the shoreline, you are seriously being led astray.

What is worse, I understand that subsidence certificates have been removed from suburbs in the region that will be most affected by any subsidence. I’m sure the developers must be pleased as under the Central Coast Regional Plan 2041 there is provision for another 52,000 new residential blocks.

Any subsidence minimal or otherwise, will have an impact on people’s homes with the duty of compensation becoming not only wide-ranging but will be put squarely at the feet of the government.

The threat of cost to government is even more conceivable given that it has been reported Vales Point power station and its Chain Valley and Mannering Park mines are now the property of Sev.En, an offshore Czech Republic Investment company owned solely by a billionaire with a reputation as putrid as the pollution that spews from Vales Point.

CHAIN VALLEY MINE PROPOSAL
Vales Point power station, at the very worse will be able to remain open and pollute at higher levels until 2027 with no exemptions to follow. Yet Chain Valley mine wants to extend its life for another 2 years until 2029. Why?

There is nothing in the Chain Valley mine proposal that offers the Central Coast a better future. There are no benefits or safeguards included for the health of the community, no consideration for the cost that will be a result of subsidence and environmental impacts from extended coalmining under the lake, no protection from the added pollution of increased truck movements and traffic congestion or indeed, how an overseas entity will be held responsible and forced to comply with state laws including responsibility for remediation of the site.

The proposal to extend the life of Delta’s Chain Valley mine for two years until 2029 should not be accepted. Even more so as it will now be owned by an offshore billionaire whose proven record is for the total disregard of community concerns and state laws.

I believe that the EIS for this proposal is not only inadequate, but laughable. It fails to recognise the potential environmental impacts and ignores the concerns of the health and welfare of the residents of Central Coast. It also does not take into account the repercussions of ownership by an overseas entity.

As a resident and citizen of NSW, I OBJECT completely to this proposal. NSW Planning and Environment must REJECT the Chain Valley mine proposal.

Thank you for taking submissions.

I'm writing as I have family living on the southern shores of Lake Macquarie / Awaba that has been a significant place for my family. I am concerned that the proposed extension of the mining area will, literally, undermine the lake. It is unclear if mining under the extension under the lake will cause issues with subsidence and tapping into the waterways.

I am also concerned that the extension wil result in more coal being extracted. While a lot of our economic wealth has been built on coal mining, we for the love of the planet and for future generations cannot continue with creating carbon emissions, if we want to stand any chance to keep the planet from overheating in the coming decades.

On these grounds, I'm afraid, I have to object to this extension project.
I hope you can understand why I have to object to this project, not out of personal animosities, but simply for our future.

I oppose the continuation of mining under and near homes, lake and bushland in and around Lake Macquarie. If the project is approved, Delta will be allowed to continue to mine under a huge area of land and water, extracting more coal than currently approved, and for a longer time.

My concerns include:

1. Subsidence:

Delta claims that subsidence on land will be limited, but given what happened to our homes in 1986 when the land under Chain Valley Bay South collapsed, we have very little confidence that this claim is supported by evidence, and that the cumulative effect of years of underground damage will not lead to further collapse. The proposal also allows for further subsidence under the lake, which has the potential to have a devastating impact on sea life and the foreshore.

2. Environmental damage

Lake Macquarie and surrounds are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including seagrasses, trees, ferns, frogs, birds, fish and at least one pair of endangered white breasted sea eagles. How is this flora and fauna is to be protected from the impact of expanded mining? The prospect of a significant impact on biodiversity is very real. We are also very concerned about the risk of pollution impacts on groundwater, lake water, bushland and forest.

3. Loss of amenity

Residents face the risk of continued noise, pollution, vibration, dust and traffic from this proposal. We live in a small, peaceful community. Any mining impact has a significant impact on our lives. There is also the risk to property values both while the mining continues, and beyond if subsidence and environmental degradation causes long term damage.

4. Reduction in land values

Continuing to mine may lead to a reduction in the value of property in the community and make homes more difficult to sell. Community attitudes to mining have changed, and purchasers do not want to live near mines.

5. Climate change

Coal mining will soon become financially unviable. There is no place for continuing to mine coal beyond the minimum period required to enable a smooth and swift transition to 100% sustainable energy. I appreciate that existing mining must continue during this transition period while sustainable energy delivery increases and new jobs are created, however granting fresh coal mining approvals in 2022 is short-sighted and irresponsible. Other projects are already converting from coal-fired power: for example, the newly approved Origin Eraring Battery Project.

Courts are already recognising that new and expanded coal mines are incompatible with Australia’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments in the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2019 the NSW Land and Environment Court rejected an application for a new mine at Gloucester, in part because, as the judge said in his judgment “the GHG emissions of the coal mine and its coal product will increase global total concentrations of GHGs at a time when what is now urgently needed, in order to meet generally agreed climate targets, is a rapid and deep decrease in GHG emissions. These dire consequences should be avoided. The project should be refused.”

This project should be rejected for the same reasons.

The Chain Valley Colliery is one of a very few large industries on the Central Coast. It contributes to the energy security of the NEM at a time particularly now during a global energy security crisis. The mine only supplies coal for domestic energy use and is not gouging the Australian consumer as a result of extreme spot coal prices.

The mine employs in excess of 250 people and can provide a sustainable operation until at least 2029. This potential longevity greatly enhances the Mannering Park and adjoining local communities. Chain Valley contributes to the Central Coast local community via several means - community grants, employee wages and local suppliers. The mine also provides is perfectly positioned to assist Australia's energy transition.
Chain Valley has been and remains a good corporate citizen and its contribution to the local community is well
respected.

The project employees 390 local people

The project improves domestic energy security

I object to this extension of the coal mine on the basis of environmental grounds. The current mine is planned to operate for the life of the power station, but the extension is purely for the purposes of exporting coal off-site. he EIS therefore "discounts" the emissions as being 3rd party and thus not considered. The climate, does not differentiate, but changes yet further with the increased emissions. As the extra life of the mine is solely to export coal off-site, the entire transport chain will be by road to further increase environmental degradation.
The majority of the discussion in the EIS and proposal itself is obfuscated with discussion about conveyor links and the power station in an attempt to disguise the fundamentally bad nature of the project designed to enhance profits of the new overseas owners. The proposal should be rejected outright and the current environmental control laws applied in full.

41 Spenser St
Iluka 2466
14th December2022
NSW Planning Department

Re Chain Valley Coal project
I object in the strongest possible terms to this project which will create 25.35 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Having been a resident of Lismore for 16 years I am intimately aware of the extraordinary suffering of our community because of the floods in February of this year. It is incontrovertible that this flood, 2.4 metres higher than any previously recorded was in large part due to extreme weather as a result of greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. This is not to forget for a moment the terrible impacts of record floods on the people of Central and Western NSW.
In addition to enormous human cost of these floods, including lives lost there is the enormous economic cost of the floods, currently conservatively estimated at $5 billion. Then of course there is the staggering environmental cost in terms of fish kills, habitat destruction and loss of species.
It is inconceivable that a government with the interests of its citizens and the environment at heart would even consider allowing a coal project of this nature to proceed.
There of course will be other negative impacts of the proposed development including the depletion of the groundwater in the area, the destruction of koala habitat, and reduced future opportunities for agriculture.
Yours sincerely,
Simon Clough

The main reason for my support of this proposal is that they will assist in providing continued employment prospects for my collegues and I

I object to the extension of coal mining at Vales Point.
I live at Summerland Point just across the lake from the power station and have been affected by the pollution coming from it for years.
The grime from the burning coal coats everything and the gases and micro particles have a deleterious effect on the lungs of many in close-by communities.
Looking at the bigger picture we all know the increasingly serious effects of CO2 on our weather and the climate. To continue down this track, excavating more coal and burning it here, will create further problems and makes no sense at all.
I ask that you listen to the concerns of the local community and reject extensions of the mine and power station.

I oppose the continuation of mining under and near homes, lake and bushland in and around Lake Macquarie. If the project is approved, Delta will be allowed to continue to mine under a huge area of land and water, extracting more coal than currently approved, and for a longer time.

My concerns include:

1. Subsidence:
Delta claims that subsidence on land will be limited, but given what happened to our homes in 1986 when the land under Chain Valley Bay South collapsed, we have very little confidence that this claim is supported by evidence, and that the cumulative effect of years of underground damage will not lead to further collapse. The proposal also allows for further subsidence under the lake, which has the potential to have a devastating impact on sea life and the foreshore.

2. Environmental damage
Lake Macquarie and surrounds are home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including seagrasses, trees, ferns, frogs, birds, fish and at least one pair of endangered white breasted sea eagles. How is this flora and fauna is to be protected from the impact of expanded mining? The prospect of a significant impact on biodiversity is very real. We are also very concerned about the risk of pollution impacts on groundwater, lake water, bushland and forest.

3. Loss of amenity
Residents face the risk of continued noise, pollution, vibration, dust and traffic from this proposal. We live in a small, peaceful community. Any mining impact has a significant impact on our lives. There is also the risk to property values both while the mining continues, and beyond if subsidence and environmental degradation causes long term damage.

4. Reduction in land values
Continuing to mine may lead to a reduction in the value of property in the community and make homes more difficult to sell. Community attitudes to mining have changed, and purchasers do not want to live near mines.

5. Climate change
Coal mining will soon become financially unviable. There is no place for continuing to mine coal beyond the minimum period required to enable a smooth and swift transition to 100% sustainable energy. We appreciate that existing mining must continue during this transition period while sustainable energy delivery increases and new jobs are created, however granting fresh coal mining approvals in 2022 is short-sighted and irresponsible. Other projects are already converting from coal-fired power: for example, the newly approved Origin Eraring Battery Project.

Courts are already recognising that new and expanded coal mines are incompatible with Australia’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments in the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2019 the NSW Land and Environment Court rejected an application for a new mine at Gloucester, in part because, as the judge said in his judgment “the GHG emissions of the coal mine and its coal product will increase global total concentrations of GHGs at a time when what is now urgently needed, in order to meet generally agreed climate targets, is a rapid and deep decrease in GHG emissions. These dire consequences should be avoided. The project should be refused.”

This project should be rejected for the same reasons.