Glendell Continued Operations Project

I object to the Glendell projects on the grounds that it'll contribute to air pollution and our carbon emissions. This summer was smoky enough, we don't need anymore particulates in the air. We must protect the health of the Hunter Valley population. Further, shouldn't we be investing in more sustainable fuel sources?

With some coal mines closing in the next 5 years, including Ravensworth open cut, it is critical that pre-existing coal mining be extended in the long term. The regional community, from households to local small business, are heavily reliant on coal mining in the Hunter Valley. Without approval for coal mining in the long term the region will struggle financially and it will impact everyone. This is a sustainable plan and Glendell has a proven track record of delivering a high quality project as promised to the community and government, with NSW holding the most heavily regulated environmental and statutory mining policies in the country. The financial impact of a significant reduction in long term coal projects needs to be realised and fully understood otherwise the region and everyone involved in the community is going to suffer.

Heritage Council of NSW letter on EIS. Refer to attachment.

APPLICATION NO. SSD9349 - GLENDELL CONTINUATION

I herewith make a submission with comments relating to environmental and economic issues.
I strongly object to any relocation of Ravensworth Homestead.
Executive Summary - EIS
The summary indicates that:
a) Net benefits of project to state are $1.15billion
b) Benefits to Lower Hunter Valley are $449million
c) State Royalties are 296million
The sale of 135mt of coal at current rate of $100/tonne will reap the mining company a gross return of $13.5billion over life of mine.
The above benefits are calculated at 8.5% of $13.5billion for project to state; 3.3% to Lower Hunter and 2.2% State Royalties – this percentage is consistent with royalties to other mine approvals.
From the 2.2% return deduct the loss of State Revenue from rebate on diesel fuel, once reserved for primary producers, generous rail transport subsidies and huge discounts for electricity usage
and the actual return to State Government is insignificant and hopefully not our greatest export earner as claimed by the Government.
The ill-informed Singleton Shire Council continue to believe that land development and destruction of the landscape by open-cut mining, leading to the demise of the farming industry, would be
salvation of the town of Singleton. This has not been realized as the population of the Shire is in decline and mining company reports indicate that more than 60% of local mine workers live outside
of the Singleton LGA; and contribute very little to the economy of the town.
Singleton Shire Council has a deplorable record of sacrificing historic sites and villages. The Rural Villages of Warkworth, Ravensworth and Camberwell have all-but disappeared and since sale
of Wallaby Scrub Road the township of Bulga is under threat. Every effort must be made to preserve the Shire’s remaining heritage before it is too late.
Some years ago an attempt was made to have Wambo Homestead relocated with a number of locations debated. The sad reality was that the bricks, manufactured on site, were of poor quality
and as witnessed on a site visit, disintegrated to a pile of clay dust when exposed to the atmosphere after removal of the protective cement rendering. Thankfully the Government made the
sensible decision to leave the buildings in-situ and have the mining company carry out necessary restoration and preservation work.
It is also deplorable that Glencore would capitalize on the wanton destruction of historic Ravensworth School to justify destruction of another historic building’s heritage.

I request that you give serious consideration to rejection of the building complex removal and the obvious loss of its heritage status.
If this constant approval policy is allowed to continue Singleton Shire will in time, after mining, be sadly left without heritage attractions to support the only remaining industry available, being tourism.
I submit this objection, not from a scientific or technical perspective but as an observer of bad decisions made over the last 60 years.

Stewart Mitchell
Local Historian
29 The Inlet Road, Bulga 2330

Our concern in our environmental study of our own property is we are being impacted by dust. It is hard because you cannot point the finger at just one mine in the Hunter Valley as it is a combination of the mines in the area.
Due to the following conditions;
- Direction of wind W/NW/N winds are a large percentage of the yearly weather events which bring dust and coal particles sometimes the size of grains of sand from afar.
Key points from this that affect our family are; Harvestable water off roof of the house and shed.
We cannot let the water run straight into our tank for drinking water as it is not suitable to drink, so we have to disconnect stormwater pipes from the house and wash roof and guttering with dam water or let it run onto the ground at the start of a storm which is a great loss. Due to this circumstance we are now buying 2x 24 packs of bottled drinking water per week.
Now for our home in general, we cannot leave doors or windows open anymore due to dust, in return we need to run air cons in the house more frequently which is extremely costly.
- Has been certain days when you walk out the front door and need glasses on to protect your eyes from the particle size dust.
We have lived here for the past 10 years, these types of events have only impacted us for the last 2 years and we do acknowledge and respect that we are in one of the worst droughts the area has ever seen in a long time. But watching black and grey water run out of our stormwater pipes is unacceptable along with not being able to open our house up due to the dusty conditions. We would like you to consider this in your environmental studies as we are not in the buffer zone.

I support this project as it provides a lot of opportunity for employment across the Hunter Valley and supports the economy of towns surrounding the mine

We don’t need any more air pollution than we already have right now.

As a employee at a neighboring mine I believe that it is important to support mining projects in the Hunter.
The Upper Hunter communities rely on the economic boost to the region that mining provides. 72% of the 620 employees at Glendell live in the region and creating jobs for these 450 families will help grow the local towns and support numerous people living in the area. The creation of 350 new jobs during the construction phase will also be of a benefit by creating jobs for the people in the region and bringing more people to the area.

Mining will continue to play an important role in the future of building Australia. The benefits of the Glendell extension far outweigh any possible detriment, for the Hunter region and for Australia as a whole.

There are enormous economic benefits to the Hunter Valley Region, with ongoing employment etc

This mine is not beneficial to the Hunter New England community in the long-term in many aspects.From a health perspective, the air pollution caused by this project will be of negative impact towards pre-existing conditions in people and may also lead to the development of ailments in others. This project will only result in short-term gain for a select group of people, not the wider community.

I strongly support the Glendell Continued Operations Project.
I work at the Mt Owen mine and Glendell is part of the Mt Owen Complex. I have a family and live at Jerrys Plains. My 2 children attend the Jerrys Plains Public School. We have a great life that is supported by coal mining and the Glendell Continuation Project will provide the same great opportunity and quality life for more than 690 people!
All Australian's benefit due to royalties and other taxes that pay for education, infrastructure, defense, health and other government services.
It is also worth noting the quality thermal coals mined in the Hunter Valley provide a better alternative to lower quality thermal coals that are available from many other countries.

I support the Glendell Continued Operations Project. This brown field operation will continue to use Mt Owen CHPP, minimizing extra infrastructure that would be required for other green field operations. This project secures the jobs for those within the Hunter Valley, while 72% of the current workforce resides in the local area, the Project gives employment opportunities to others in the community. The Glendell Continued Operations Project moves further away from local villages and surrounding neighbors, suggesting a reduction in those affected by light, air and noise pollution.

I have a lot of family and friends so dependent on this project to go head it will also benefit rural families rural towns the state of New South Wales and the country to go forward into the future.

The expansion of this mine will contribute to the worsening air quality in the Hunter Region. I object to this project based on environmental reasons and for public safety.

I am against this project due to the potential health risks such as exacerbation of asthma, emphysema and long term effects of increasing risk of lung cancer in the area.