HVO South Open Cut Coal Continuation Project

A Plus Contracting and Poly Welding is a small locally based organisation with 50 employees working across the mining and power industries in the Hunter Valley. We have enjoyed a strong relationship providing maintenance and support services to Hunter Valley Operations for over 15 years, specialising in poly welding and civil maintenance contracts and major projects. Currently we have twelve employees working across various contracts, projects and also providing maintenance support for the CHPP, mining operations and expansion projects. We are also currently in negotiations to expand these support services and contracts with the potential of having over 40 full time workers at HVO alone within the next six months.
The future of A Plus Contracting and our workers relies heavily on the coal industry and particularly with the future of HVO. In the last 12 months we have invested $1.8M on new machinery for HVO alone and the prospect of future contracts will see another large investment in recruiting local labour and machinery. The services we provide to HVO are complemented by partnerships from many upstream subcontractors and suppliers involved with sustainable work practices and continuity for our ongoing relationship with HVO. A Plus Contracting, our employees and suppliers are therefore strongly in support of the approvals for the continuity of HVO.

The only way to keep the valley and the state operating is to approve this Project and Mine continuation into the future.
1000's of families and businesses rely on this mine approval.

I support the project

I support the project

HVO provides significant employment and opportunity for thousands of Hunter Valley employees. It provides high paying work, and delivers training in skills that are transferable to a broad group of industries. They are a great supporter of local businesses, community groups and charities. I had the privilege of being part of HVO for the last 2-years. In that period, I was able to recognize employees that have worked at the site for well over 40 -years. Many of the employees are generational employees, which means that jobs and families have been able to remain in the area , supporting local schools, businesses and sporting groups. I support the project, the people and the local community.

Provides steady employment for the Hunter Valley and local communities

This project is an extension to the current HVO South mine searching for deeper seams of coal, however the environmental impact report has completely overlooked the impact created from burning this coal. Scope 1 and 2 have addressed the impact from expansion, however Scope 3 carbon emissions in this projects equate to 1.16 billion tonnes of CO2 - approximately 99.7% of the carbon emissions directly correlated to this project.

Overlooking such a tremendous environmental impact is completely unacceptable. The path to combating global warming is extremely difficult and this proposed expansion would only further prevent meaningful change. This project should not be allowed to continue for the breadth of short and long term environmental damage that it will cause.

I have attached a report written by Jayden Pan, an environmental specialist in construction, rail, waste and mining industries; which outlines the specific environmental concerns in greater detail. I am completely supportive of the findings and recommendations presented within his report and agree that this project is not in the public’s interest.

Please go ahead with project, good for economy and local growth

HVO is a significant employer in the Hunter Valley. There are a significant number of related industries that depend on the income stream that HVO generates. I am employed on a contractor basis and would need to find other employment or else bring forward retirement. I am a supporter of the project and the continuation of the mine until 2050. The economy is entering a delicate phase, further disruption and upheaval due to uncertain futures will exacerbate Australia's economic decline.
Please give this application positive support.

I had worked on a small part of the HVO project in the late ‘70’s and have always believed that a mine should extract every ounce of coal that is available on the mining lease. I certainly believe Yancoal should be granted permission to mine the South lease extension on their lease. This coal should be mined. It’s good for the federal and state economies and certainly good for the local employment in the hunter region . It is good for the local economy and this natural should not in any circumstances be wasted !

INSUFFICIENT ENVIRONMENTAL MITIGATION, DISHONEST
The project's expected Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions total to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2-e. However, Scope 3 (the burning of the coal) is not included within the enviornmental mitigation measures, even though the project's main environmental impact is the Scope 3 carbon emissions (CO2 generated from the burning of coal).

This is dishonest in its protrayal of the environmental impact of the project as a whole, and is a shameful obfuscation of the mitigation requirements of this project. Unbelievably sneaky and slippery.

I have attached a response to the project penned by my colleague Jayden Pan, which cites a range of sources and goes into more detail about the failings of this project. I am formally co-signing Jayden's response as a frequent traveller to the Central Coast (my parents have a holiday house in Hardys Bay), and a resident of the Greater Sydney area.

This is a great project for the future of the Hunter valley

This is an ongoing operation and has been for several decades and many generations.
I myself work in this Industry and believe we will need coal for the foreseeable future until the government and all industries can work out a way to make sustainable energy systems for all of society to use.
Also this industry at the moment is a major contributor to the economy not only in the hunter valley’s towns and cities but all over the world with exports essential for people to live and prosper.

Valued and respected operation

I am supporting this Project. I believe the on going project is beneficial, I believe it provides the local communities with Jobs, supports local charities, money spent in the local communities by the business and the workers.

I am not against renewable energy but I don’t believe we are in a position to change to renewables energy at the moment. Until it is proven to support the grid and there won’t be rolling power outages. I don’t think we should be transitioning away from the current system.

I object to this proposal because the proponent has not adequately assessed the likely and significant greenhouse gas (GHG) risks and impacts to NSW. They have not adequately described the scale and impact of recent emissions from the existing HVO facility. Their projected emissions for the proposal make a mockery of any statement or commitment they may make pertaining to mitigating or reducing GHG emissions. They have not attempted to credibly mitigate likely and significant economic, social or environmental costs and impacts of emissions. They have not demonstrated that they can effectively manage and minimise emissions either now or in the future. The projected emissions demonstrate that the proponent will breach the reformed federal Safeguard Mechanism and fail to support NSW Net Zero Plan or legislated emissions reduction targets.

The proposal represents continuing activities that are a leading cause of physical impacts and economic costs already observed and experienced in Australia and documented in recent State of the Environment, State of the Climate, and UN reports. The observed impacts have led the International Energy Agency to declare that there should be no new coal proposals. The Department should reject this proposal because the proponent has not offered any credible mitigation of likely and significant impacts, and has not adequately observed the principles of ecologically sustainable development. The likely impacts of the proposal are unacceptable and it is not in the public interest. The proposal directly conflicts with state and federal policy objectives, the federal Climate Change Act, and international commitments such as the Global Methane Pledge.

I attach my observations of the proponent's assessment to further explain why I am objecting to this Project.

I support this project as it’s important to soo many that live in this area and provides income to way more than just the employees that work there.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I writing to you today to voice my strong opposition to the Application SSD-11826681 the HVO North Open Cut Coal Continuation Project.
I am a grandparent who is most as to why this project is even consid-ered when for every degree in rising temperatures, the cost of adapta-tion will rise exponentially. GHG emission must peak now yet the gap between ambition and action is growing.
The science is clear. The world is in a state of climate emergency, and we need to shift into emergency gear. Humanity’s burning of fossil fuels has emitted enough greenhouse gases to significantly alter the compo-sition of the atmosphere and average world temperature has risen be-tween 1.1 and 1.2°C.
The time is fast running out to reverse the climate damage that has been and continues to be inflicted on our precious planet.
We have the solutions we need and many will reduce emissions, con-tribute to climate adaptation, create jobs, restore the natural environ-ment and encourage good investments.

The Hunter Valley would not survive without mining, yes there are other industries in the area; but they can not provide the same employment rates or financial benefits to the local area or for the Government. i myself would have difficulties in finding work where i can use the skills i've learnt in the industry. Hence becoming a burden to the tax payer.

Great opportunities for local workers and valuable for the future of energy.