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State Significant Development

Determination

Dendrobium Mine Extension Project

Wollongong City

Current Status: Determination

Interact with the stages for their names

  1. SEARs
  2. Prepare EIS
  3. Exhibition
  4. Collate Submissions
  5. Response to Submissions
  6. Assessment
  7. Recommendation
  8. Determination

Proposed extension to the Dendrobium Coal Mine.
Link to the Independent Planning Commission's page for the Project
https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/cases/2020/10/dendrobium-extension-project-…

Attachments & Resources

Request for SEARs (1)

SEARs (2)

EIS (47)

Response to Submissions (3)

Agency Advice (14)

Amendments (2)

Additional Information (12)

Recommendation (7)

Determination (3)

Approved Documents

There are no post approval documents available

Note: Only documents approved by the Department after November 2019 will be published above. Any documents approved before this time can be viewed on the Applicant's website.

Complaints

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Enforcements

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Inspections

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Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.

Submissions

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Showing 61 - 80 of 775 submissions
Name Withheld
Support
MAYFIELD , New South Wales
Message
The project avoids critically important areas. The project is vital for the local area and will provide continued employment for all directly or indirectly employed by the project. The coal produced is primarily used in steel making.
Primary industry such as farming and mining is the backbone of our economy. Impacts from the project have been minimised and remediation plans will be put in place.
Name Withheld
Object
FARMBOROUGH HEIGHTS , New South Wales
Message
I am a resident of Farmborough Heights and the fact that the proposed project is hitting so close to the water catchment areas it blows my mind that this is even allowed. Given that the waterboard catchment area is so close to the proposed sites all it would take is one tiny accident to mess up the availability of water supply. No-one is even allowed to do something as simple as bushwalk in this area and yet they are going to mine underground there? This is definitely not right. The fact they think they won't cause any issues to the environment is hard to believe. For example the damage to the historically significant Aboriginal Whale Caves up on the escarpment there was PROVEN to have been caused by the underground mining in that area. this is damage to historically and culturally significant location proven to be caused by underground mining in the area in the past. Therefore I do not think this should go ahead at all. In addition, while they listed that the don't mine under riverbeds they did list that they would be mining within 1km from a beautiful waterfall. 1km is not far enough in the case of a mining accident which could happen and destroy natural habitats, culturally significant locations (like what happened with the Aboriginal Whale Caves) and could in fact effect our drinking water supply. Given that our water catchment is sitting at below 50% this is even more riskier to mine anywhere near it. If this gets approved it is proof the government cares more about commercial dollars than they do about the natural habitats in this location and the people who live nearby.
Kerrie Noakes
Support
FIGTREE , New South Wales
Message
I support the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project, and I believe that it is very important for our local community. Continuation of mining at Dendrobium Mine will support a substantial local workforce, not to mention the flow-on effects to the local economy. It will also provide quality coal for steelmaking, helping BlueScope to continue production into the future. It is reassuring to know that South32 has carried out the necessary assessments to determine any potential environmental impacts of the project, so they can take appropriate action. It is also great that the position of streams, swamps, etc. is considered as very important when planning where to mine.
Michael Goodfellow
Support
OAK FLATS , New South Wales
Message
This project has my approval as S32 have demonstrated that they are responsible miner.
Name Withheld
Support
DAPTO , New South Wales
Message
I am currently employed by a Project Management Firm that has been engaged to do some feasibilty studies around the mine extension.
From all the information that I have seen, South32 really do take their environmental responsibilities very serious. After all, most of their employees
and management teams live and work in the Illawarra and the last thing anyone wants is to disrupt this amazing area as we all want our children
and grandchildren to live and love this area just like we have.
Thomas lauder
Support
BARGO , New South Wales
Message
An asset to the region in which non operation would impact not only the coal workers at the site but the greater Illawarra Coal business case; steel works and port operations effecting 1000's of jobs. Keeping met coal in the illawarra will enhance the region to be not only an industry leader and Australian producer. But a key area for more social and residential development funding on this industry. Not approving this extension will bring the region to its knees and create econonic fractures in the region which cannot readily be replaced by alternatives.
Rada Germanos
Object
WOONONA , New South Wales
Message
I object to the Illawarra Coal’s Proposed Mine Extension for Dendrobium. Project SSD-8194.

The Dendrobium Mine Extension proposes 30 years of longwall mining within the Greater Sydney Water Catchment, which supplies water to over 5 million people. There is increasing evidence of damage to the groundwater systems from mining operations, and this expansion proposal comes at a time when dam levels have dropped below 50%, level 1 water restrictions are in place, and the desalination plant is in use. The Dendrobium Mine Extension will only damage our water catchment further, it is clearly not in the interest of our communities, and it would be reckless for the Department of Planning to support this expansion.

The Independent Expert Panel for Mining in the Catchment (IEPMC) report estimates that a current 3 megalitres/day of groundwater is currently being lost due to mining activities in the Dendrobium Mine – as per Appendix B: Groundwater Assessment, this figure is set to almost triple should the expansion into Areas 5 and 6 go ahead. It also states in this appendix that groundwater losses are expected to peak between 2043 and 2046, and that losses will be higher in times of wet weather. This expansion is clearly going to impact the natural environments and water security of future generations hardest, long after the current royalties and purported economic benefits of this mine have faded from memory.

Furthermore, the enormous greenhouse gas emissions resulting from this project cannot be approved in the face of our current climate crisis. This expansion proposal will see 270 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent produced over the lifetime of the project – equivalent to half of Australia’s total domestic emissions for one year, an enormous amount. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) continues to outline the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change. NSW has targets of net zero emissions by 2050, and we cannot continue to approve fossil fuel projects and aim to meet these targets emissions reduction targets. The recent Gloucester Resources Limited v Minister for Planning judgement in the NSW Land and Environment Court rejected the proposal due to its negative impacts on the community and climate, and is highly relevant and timely for the consideration of the Dendrobium Expansion proposal.
No threat to the water security of the 5 million people in the Greater Sydney Water Catchment area is acceptable. The Dendrobium Mine Expansion will result in further irreversible damage to our water catchment, higher emissions, and will be a significant contributor to climate change in the Illawarra region.

I call on the Department of Planning to reject this application from Illawarra Coal and commence a process to close the mine at Dendrobium permanently.

Thank you for considering this submission.

Regards,

Dr Rada Germanos
B. Med. Sci. (Biochem), MBBS
Merilyn Kelly
Object
WOLLONGONG , New South Wales
Message
I object to Illawarra Metallurgical Coal’s proposed mine extension for Dendrobium (Project SSD-8194)

Sydney is the only city in the world that allows longwall mining in a publicly owned water catchment. The Dendrobium Mine Extension Project proposes 30 years of longwall mining in the water catchment for Wollongong, Macarthur and Sydney even though it is in the protected ‘Special Areas’ of the water catchment upon which 5 million people rely for drinking water. We are in drought, paying for desalinated water and our dam levels are below 50%. Financial returns are not more important than the safety of Sydney’s drinking water.

The owner of the mine, South32, has said that if this proposal is not approved, it will spell the end for the Port Kembla Steelworks and the Port Kembla Coal Terminal. This is misleading. South32 sells only one third of Dendrobium’s coal to BHP for use in the Port Kembla Steelworks. It exports the other two thirds. Even Bluescope Steel’s Port Kembla steelworks declined to confirm that the steelworks would collapse if the proposed Dendrobium expansion does not go ahead.

South32‘s proposal to offset catchment land and ecological communities that have been irreparably damaged by mining means nothing. Truly like-for-like offsets are rare. Furthermore, there is no ‘equivalent’ land that could compensate for the damaged and compromised water catchment.

One of the most visible results of longwall mining is land subsidence. As coal is excavated the weight of the overlying ground causes the mine walls to compress and the overlying rock to crack and tilt into the void. The damage is already obvious in dry creek beds in the area, dry creek beds that were once flowing streams. The fracturing of the rock and the drainage of groundwater has already dried up springs, peat swamps and lakes, thereby severely affecting surrounding ecosystems. This, of course, adversely affects our drinking water systems. Water loss from the catchment area affected by Dendrobium’s mining will increase over the coming years, with surface water loss expected to peak at 27.6 million litres per day in the year 2035 (Surface Water Assessment, HEC, 2019, p ix, accessed at:
https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/9696)

It would be reckless for the Department of Planning to support this expansion. I ask that you reject this application from Illawarra Metallurgical Coal – South32 and commence a process to close the mine at Dendrobium permanently.

Thank you for considering this submission.
Merilyn Kelly
Name Withheld
Object
UNANDERRA , New South Wales
Message
The Dendrobium mine is already causing "grave, severe impacts" on our water catchments (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-13/dendrobium-coal-mine-putting-water-catchments-at-risk/8937612). The impacts are more severe than anticipated. We cannot under any circumstances continue to put our water catchments at further risk by allowing the extension of this mine, especially considering that "large areas of NSW are currently facing severe water shortages, with supply being limited to critical water needs" (https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/water/allocations-availability/droughts-floods/update).

South32's Environmental Impact Statement 5.2.6 Public Consultation states that they have undertaken community consultation during the preparation of the EIS by sending letters to residents in January and March 2017. Our household in Beverley Ave, Unanderra, has never received any letter, newsletter or other communication from South32, and we have lived here since December 2014. We received the first letter from them regarding this proposal in September 2019, which has prompted me to make this submission. By stating this falsehood in the EIS, I question how many other untruths they are also presenting as truths in their EIS. They state that they liaise with the local community in regard to the project through the established Dendrobium Community Consultation Committee. This Committee could hardly be called representative - according to their meeting minutes on the South32 website from July of this year, it has a total of 6 community representatives (https://www.south32.net/docs/default-source/illawarra-coal/dendrobium/dendrobium-community-consultative-committee/20190516_dccc_minutes_july_2019_draft.pdf?sfvrsn=d947c49_4) and most seem to be from the business community or have an interest in mining heritage, which is selective and elitist representation when you look at the demographics of this community. It is not balanced community representation or genuine community consultation.

I'm incredibly concerned that South32 are seeking approval for this extension to go ahead by lying and manipulating "facts".
Cathy Merchant
Object
HUNTERS HILL , New South Wales
Message
as attached
Attachments
Gavin Pollock
Support
KEIRAVILLE , New South Wales
Message
The approval of this project is important, having worked in the illawarra for 25 years the reliance on local coal mining and steelmaking industry is vast. Australia needs to have an operational steelworks with raw materials readily available, and the local expertise needs to stay here to be passed on. Dendrobium mine behaves in a socialy responsible manner and the good it does in the community is not allways what you read in the newspaper. Many families wellbeing depend on this project being approved. Metalurgical coal is esential for the foreseeable future, mining in the Illawarra has adequate infrastucture, is highly regulated and performed responsibly, its the logical place for it to continue.
Name Withheld
Support
CONISTON , New South Wales
Message
This mine extension will continue to support the Illawarra region with sustained employment and economic benefits throughout the value chain of the mine.
Zoe King
Object
ABBOTSFORD , Victoria
Message
I object to the Illawarra Coal’s Proposed Mine Extension for Dendrobium. Project SSD-8194.

The Dendrobium Mine Extension Project proposes 30 years of longwall mining in the water catchment for Wollongong, Macarthur and Sydney. It will result in damage and loss of water to swamps, water courses and the Avon, Cordeaux and Nepean Reservoirs[i]. Sydney is the only city in the world that allows longwall mining in a publicly owned water catchment. The proposed mining is in the protected “Special Areas” of the water catchment upon which 5 million people rely for drinking water. We are in drought, paying for desalinated water and our dam levels are below 50% and yet the Dendrobium proposal has the highest water loss of any mine operating in the Greater Sydney Water Catchment area.
This project is not in the public interest; it is in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be reckless and immoral for the Department of Planning to support this expansion.
The proposal will result in significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions
The proposal is estimated to create up to 23.7 million tonnes of CO2e in the production stage and 237 million tonnes in the transport and consumption of the coal produced. This brings the total emissions to between 256 million and 260.7 million tonnes of CO2e for the life of the project[ii].
The current climate emergency means it is no longer morally acceptable for the NSW government to support projects that will severely negatively impact its capacity to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets. The Rocky Hill case supported climate responsibility in its judgement against the Rocky Hill mine, citing the mining SEPP Clause 14 (2): “... the consent authority must consider an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions (including downstream emissions) of the development.”[iii]
To put the volume of emissions in context, the federal government estimates Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions for the year to December 2018 as 538.2 million tonnes[iv]. Thus approval of this mine would lock in emissions over the life of the project the equivalent of 48% of the 2018 annual emissions for all of Australia.
Annually it would add an average of 8.69 million tonnes per annum (260.7 million tonnes over 30 years) of CO2e to the atmosphere[v]. This is comparable to 1.6% of Australia’s current annual emissions.


South 32’s brinkmanship should not compromise public interest
South 32 has said that if this proposal is not approved, it will spell the end for the Port Kembla Steelworks and the Port Kembla Coal Terminal. This is misleading and unhelpful to understanding the public interest in relation to this coal mine.
There are still 11 years of mining at Dendrobium under current approvals (for area 3A and 3B) and South 32 operates other coal mines in the region. South 32 is only selling one third of Dendrobium’s coal to BHP for use in Port Kembla Steelworks. It is exporting the other two thirds.
Bluescope Steel’s Port Kembla steelworks declined to confirm that the steelworks would collapse if the proposed Dendrobium expansion does not go ahead[vi], so we have to question the truth and motivation for this brinkmanship.

30 year’s of mining is too long
South 32 is seeking approval for 30 years of mining at Dendrobium. This is far too long. Increasing population pressure on water resources and impacts of climate change mean that it would be reckless and irresponsible for the New South Wales Department of Planning to support a 30 year approval.

South 32 has not provided alternatives to this aggressive and destructive mining proposal
The proposal comprises an aggressive plan for twenty one 305 meter wide longwall panels over 30 years. It provides no alternatives to this destructive proposal, a proposal which poses unacceptable risks to the Greater Sydney Water Catchment Special Areas.

Offsets do not compensate for mining-induced destruction of catchment land and ecosystems
South 32‘s proposal to offset catchment land and ecological communities that have been irreparably damaged by mining is not in the public interest; truly like-for-like offsets are rare. Furthermore, there is no “equivalent” land that could compensate for damaged and compromised water catchment.

Mining induced subsidence will damage the watercourses and swamps that feed our drinking water reservoirs
South 32 predicts that it’s 305 meter wide long wall panels may result in subsidence of 2m to 2.45m[vii]. Previous mines of similar width have caused 2.5m to 3 m of subsidence, so South 32’s prediction may be conservative[viii].
The mining and associated subsidence will also cause cracking of the land on the surface – including rivers, creeks, smaller watercourses and swamps that feed our drinking water reservoirs – and subsequent water loss to the catchment.
No level of damage is acceptable to the Special Areas. It would be immoral for the NSW Department of planning to support this level of destruction in Greater Sydney’s water catchment.

Billions of litres of water will be lost from Greater Sydney’s Water Catchment
The proposed mining is just 300m from Avon Reservoir and 630m from Cordeaux Reservoir[ix]. The mining will cause loss of water from water courses and swamps that feed the reservoirs.
Water loss from the catchment due to Dendrobium’s mining will increase over the coming years, with surface water loss expected to peak at 27.6 ML per day in the year 2035[x].
Consultants estimate that up to 9,500 Megalitres[xi] (ML – million litres) of surface and ground water will flow into the mines each year, which is the equivalent to the annual water usage of 123,940 residents of Greater Sydney[xii].

I ask that you reject this application from Illawarra Coal and commence a process to close the mine at Dendrobium permanently.

Thank you for considering this submission.

Regards
Zoe
Liam Oakwood
Object
PANTON HILL , Victoria
Message
I am writing to state my opposition to the extension of the Dendrobium coal mine.

It has come to my attention that the current works of the mine are underlying areas of greater Sydney's water supply catchment, and have led to significant cracking of rock substrate, and the cessation of flow of several streams.
It is apparent that the proposed extension will involve longwall mining beneath the Cordeaux dam, which presents an unacceptable risk of cracking and loss of water from this important dam. The security of water supply is of utmost importance in the context of possible increased drought severity into the future under a changing climate.
If this cracking and water loss occurs, it will be impossible to remedy, and the dam's capacity will be compromised.
Under the precautionary principle, it is therefore best to disregard any assurances from the company regarding this. This is especially so given the history of cracking from their operaitons, and the irreversible nature of any damages that may occur.
The risk is simply too great to allow them to proceed. Any risk assessment matrix will place an unlikely occurence but catastrophic result into the category of unacceptable risk. Hence the best approach is to have a zero percent chance of substrate cracking beneath the dam, by not allowing the extension to proceed.
john pala
Support
BAR BEACH , New South Wales
Message
Palaris supports the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project
Attachments
Name Withheld
Support
SUTTON FOREST , New South Wales
Message
Coal mining is important to the Illawarra and New South Wales. It is also important that the Illawarra maintains a diverse economy. Illawarra Coal has a good track record and it is reasonable to assume this will continue for the next 20 years as they continue mining coal for steel making.
Adam Sheppard
Support
FIGTREE , New South Wales
Message
I support the extenstion at Dendrobium Mine.
Project Portfolio Management
Support
Wollongong , New South Wales
Message
Please find attached submission in support of the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project
Attachments
Ben Dormer
Support
SHELL COVE , New South Wales
Message
I work at dendrobium mine and my families future depends on the extension
Darren Hessenberger
Support
BURRADOO , New South Wales
Message
I support the Dendrobium Mine Extension Project. BHP and South32 has been a socially-conscious and an environmentally responsible company and the success of the mine is crucial to our region's economy. I am employed by South32 at Appin Mine and have been in the mining industry at 3 different mines in the region since I left school and took up an electrical apprenticeship with BHP. In my role I interact with local businesses that provide products and services and I see how much their success depends upon our mine's success.
I am aware of how much Dendrobium's operation is modified to minimise community interference and this shows how willing the company is to be a good corporate citizen. Local schools and community organisations benefit from regular generous financial contributions from the mine.
I am also aware that the Port Kembla steelworks, the coal terminal and logistics providers will adversely suffer if the mine is not allowed to continue.
I also understand that Dendrobium's coal is metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and is not the subject of thermal coal's staunch political opposition by parts of society.
I support the sustaining and expansion of Dendrobium Mine and other environmentally responsible industries as vital to the success of our region's economic future.

Pagination

Project Details

Application Number
SSD-8194
EPBC ID Number
2017/7855
Assessment Type
State Significant Development
Development Type
Coal Mining
Local Government Areas
Wollongong City
Decision
Refused
Determination Date
Decider
IPC-N

Contact Planner

Name
Elle Clémentine