State Significant Development
Dendrobium Mine Extension Project
Wollongong City
Current Status: Determination
Interact with the stages for their names
- SEARs
- Prepare EIS
- Exhibition
- Collate Submissions
- Response to Submissions
- Assessment
- Recommendation
- 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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Inspections
There are no inspections for this project.
Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.
Submissions
Name Withheld
Support
Name Withheld
Message
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
Name Withheld
Message
Kerrie Noakes
Support
Kerrie Noakes
Message
Michael Goodfellow
Support
Michael Goodfellow
Message
Name Withheld
Support
Name Withheld
Message
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
Thomas lauder
Message
Rada Germanos
Object
Rada Germanos
Message
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
Merilyn Kelly
Message
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
Name Withheld
Message
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
Cathy Merchant
Message
Attachments
Gavin Pollock
Support
Gavin Pollock
Message
Name Withheld
Support
Name Withheld
Message
Zoe King
Object
Zoe King
Message
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
Liam Oakwood
Message
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
john pala
Message
Attachments
Name Withheld
Support
Name Withheld
Message
Adam Sheppard
Support
Adam Sheppard
Message
Project Portfolio Management
Support
Project Portfolio Management
Message
Attachments
Ben Dormer
Support
Ben Dormer
Message
Darren Hessenberger
Support
Darren Hessenberger
Message
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.