Dendrobium Mine Extension Project

Every aspect to be respectful to communities and the environment in this submission has been considered

This extension of Dendrobium Mine will benefit the community and state in many ways.
It will keep the current workforce employed and create new employment when in project mode.
It provide support to the many local businesses that provide services to the mine.
It provides the local community and the state value with the royalties and community donations.
The new foot print of the mine will reduce the impact on the environment and the water off set initiatives will reduce usage of other industries in the area for a net gain.
I fully support this proposal.

The resource is metallurgical coal to make steel . This mine supports steel making at Blue Scope steel works ,which is a basic manufacturing requirement to enhance Australia's future.

Dendrobium Objection

I object to the proposed Dendrobium mine extension project for the following reasons.

Unacceptable risks to the water supply of Sydney and the Illawarra.
When the original expansion proposal was rejected by the IPC last year the main reason for the rejection of the project was the threat to the drinking water catchment. The Special Areas of Greater Sydney Water Catchment should be undisturbed by mining but sadly are not. Subsidence from underground mining has damaged watercourses and upland swamps that feed our drinking water reservoirs. Any further expansions will only cause more damage, despite the reduction in the total size of the project the long walls proposed for area 5 are still 305m wide. By South 32s own prediction this size longwall may result in subsidence of 2m to 2.45m. Comparisons to other similar width longwall subsidence suggests this is a conservative figure. In the current climate, on the driest continent we cannot afford to waste millions of litres of water per day into perpetuity. Once the damage is done it cannot be fixed.

Impacts on Koalas
There has been no current survey of Koala populations or locations, however the environmental Impact Statement notes that there are Koalas living in the area that will be undermined. There is no management plan for Koalas that may be living in areas that would be cleared for infrastructure other than an offset scheme that hasn’t been negotiated yet. Koalas are real, living in the water catchment and have recently been declared Endangered in NSW. Water loss and the subsequent dewatering of ecosystems caused by mining will make it increasingly difficult for Koalas and many other plants and animals to survive.

I find it hard to believe that an Independent body such as the IPC has been ignored by Government and a private mining company has been given State Significant Infrastructure status. A mining company who’s practices will add more CO2 to the atmosphere, crack river beds, drain millions of litres of water from our catchment in perpetuity and threaten the water supply of our largest city. This expansion should not go ahead, mining has caused enough damage we cannot afford to make it worse.

I object to the project on the grounds of climate change and impact on environment and Sydney's water supply.

Additionally, please note that going against the Independent Planning Commission's decision would decrease trust in government processes and accountability - especially when considering the context for this decision (climate change; environmental risk).

I support the extension of the Dendrobium Mine. The continuation of mining in the local area is important to our economy - local jobs in mining, stability of the local steelworks and flow on jobs for local families. While we do need to manage environmental impacts, there is a balance and I believe South32 has listened to previous feedback and made meaningful change. I trust South32 will monitor and manage any impacts.

South32 is the largest mining company in the area, providing 60% of BlueScope's coking coal requirements. It also provides substantial support to the Port Kembla Coal Terminal as the main user; without South32 the continuation of the Port Kembla Coal Terminal and therefore the viability of other local mines would be difficult. Without the local mines, the cost to BlueScope to import coal would be substantial.

I support the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project.

I am an employee of South32 and the approval of the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project will directly impact my employment. The Dendrobium Mine has been responsibility operating in the Illawarra for over 20 years and has provided a substantial number of jobs for the region.

I support this project as it provides a chance for economic growth.

I support this movement as if provides economic growth to the Illawarra as well as local jobs.

I support the mine extension for economic purposes in the Illawarra region

I fully support the extension of the mine.
I believe all impacts can be safely managed and mitigated, greatly offset by the benefits and opportunities the extension of the mine will deliver for Wollongong and Australia. The extension should be approved with out further delay or impediment.

While there are important objections to be made to the development of any new fossil-fuel infrastructure in an age where over 2100 jurisdictions in 39 countries have declared a climate emergency, and the United Nations has called a “Code Red” for Humanity, I will limit my objections to this project for the following reasons:

This project will result in losses to the Sydney and Illawarra drinking water catchment. Simply put, the catchments for these cities cannot be located elsewhere, but coal can be mined in other places. Given that the populations of these cities are projected to expand, and Australia is prone to drought, risking damage to drinking water catchments is foolhardy and cannot be justified for a single mine, particularly given that:
- metallurgical coal is currently sourced from other mines in NSW
- the intended consumer, BlueScope Steel at Port Kembla steelworks is actively pursuing technological solutions that seek to replace metallurgical coal as a reducing agent in steelmaking with other materials as biochar, coke oven gas, and hydrogen.

Water losses at ground level due to cracking from the proposed mine will also endanger unique swamp ecosystems in the catchment area. These, like the water catchments, are irreplaceable, and destroying them for a short term extraction project places an entirely unacceptable cost to the community not only now but into the indefinite future, for a project that seems fated to have a relatively short life.

I also note that this mine, after being previously rejected, has been re-proposed as State Significant Infrastructure. According to the NSW online planning and development portal: “A proposal for any of the identified infrastructure types is SSI if it […] is located in a sensitive environmental area”.

While this condition is certainly true, it is also true that in this respect the present application is in no way different to the previous application. Given that the previous application was rejected on the grounds that “the proposed mine design risks long-term and irreversible damage to Greater Sydney and the Illawarra’s drinking water catchment.”, and the project is not now substantially different in these respects, this application should also be rejected.

The Dendrobium mine expansion is pivotal to the Illawarra region. It provides not only employment to the direct employees of South 32 but the whole community, including Blue scope, train networks, health care works and the list is ongoing. If not approved the Illawarra region will see a catalyst in the downturn of the region. People will leave in droves, businesses fold and economic turmoil.
I believe South 32 with sound advice by other professional bodies while work to keep the mine expansion one that won’t affect water ways and the environment and stay within their approved boundaries while still allowing the community to survive

I object to this proposal because I think it is short-sighted and ridiculous to believe that mining in our water catchment in a drought and bushfire prone land is a good idea.
My understanding is that the steelworks does not need the coal and has secured funding for making green steel. Also the Aboriginal cultural sites. koalas and ecosystems will be degraded and disrupted by this proposal.
We need our water to be protected and conserved not polluted and degraded.

This mine produces very high levels of methan.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and its global warming potential is more than 25 times that of carbon dioxide.

The report found that in 2019, Australian coal mine methane emissions made up 68 per cent of overall energy industry emissions, making it a bigger contributor than oil and gas.
They will also cause land subsidence that is impossible to repair. Sydney is the only city on the world to allow long haul mining beneath its previous water supply.
This needs to stop!

Totally unsuitable and the payoff of cash for water loss inappropriate. This project has too many issues and the potential for damage to our local environment and water catchment.

South32 is a proven responsible mining operation in the Illawarra. The continued operation of the Dendrobium mine is critical for local jobs and important injection of continued income for many businesses, community and government agencies across Australia

See attached document.

Provides jobs for the local community

To whom it may concern,

I'd like to submit my rejection of the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project.

DAMAGE TO DRINKING WATER
Sydney is the only city in the world where mining is allowed in its water catchment and there's a reason other cities don't do this. Water is precious and we rely on it for survival. In this case, 5 million people rely on the water catchment in the protected Special Areas of the water catchment where the proposed mining site is to take place. The Special Area is protected under legislation which states that no mining is to take place within it. Water has the potential to be contaminated and lost if the mine goes ahead.

I can't believe I have to spell this out, it should be a well known fact. This mine should not be hesitated to be rejected for this reason alone let alone the serious climate, ecological and historical impacts which would also occur should it go ahead.