Mangoola Coal Continued Operations Project

Attached are BCD's comments on the Mangoola Coal Continued Operations Project.

Details of objection will be provided separately by email.

Council has insufficient resources to respond to this EIS (and the other SSD related workload currently before Council) in the time frame provided. Council intends to provide a detailed response, including suggested conditions of consent in the next month.

Updated 16/9/2019 - See detailed comments attached

I fully support this project. Mangoola is a world class operation, it prides itself on being an industry leader through its mining practices as well as it’s continued rehabilitation of the site.
Mangoola, along with it’s employees, are great contributors to local businesses and charities.
To not approve this project would be a detriment to the Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter communities.

(1) The devaluation of our property, as nobody wants to be a neighbour of an open cut coal mine.
(2) Mangoola Coal, realises there is a dust problem.
2a Mangoola Coal, have installed first flushes on our infrastructure.
2b Mangoola Coal, Clean our water tanks.
2c Mangoola Coal, supply water tank filter, Pre Mangoola Coal filters changed once a year, now 4 times a year. post Mangoola Coal.
(3) Our Swimming pool acts as a dust filter by absorbing dust out of air. Pre Mangoola Coal, The pool filter ran 4 hours per day, Post Mangoola Coal 7 Hours per day. this will only increase with the proposed Mangoola Coal development.

(4) With the proposed expansion of Mangoola Coal coming closer to us, the dust will increase.
(5) Pre Mangoola coal our sola panels. were cleaned once every 2 year, Post Mangoola Coal, twice a year ( we are now loosing 10% per day of our power out put) With Mangoola Coal moving closer dust will increase. this already is a significant costing for us.
(6) With the proposed Mangoola coal development. Concerns for our health with the amount of dust that will be generated.
(7) Noise is an issue, only to increase with the proposed development

Mangoola Coal Continued Operations Project
I strongly object to this proposal.
There is absolutely no longer any time or place for approving operations to continue to do business as usual. There is already too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for a likelihood of a sustainable safe climate.
The environmental impact from the burning of the coal to be dug from the mining operations currently approved is significant. No further approvals should be given. The impact from the burning of a proposed further 52 Mt cannot be mitigated in any appropriate time frame. There is a Climate Emergency now. The global carbon budget has to be the primary reference point.
Dispassionate objective assessment of the proposal with due consideration to the public interest could not possibly determine that the short term private economic interests of a foreign coal company outweigh the social and environmental costs for generations to come.

It is not critical that the Rocky Hill appeal court decision does not create a legal precedent. There may be no simple legal obligation to refuse to approve proposed operations that increase greenhouse gas emissions, however, that greatest moral obligation to provide for our children’s children’s children has been made very clear.

We need to make deep cuts to GHG emissions. The trajectory we are on requires us to keep the remaining fossil fuel reserve in the ground, for any chance of a safe climate in to the future. This application for continuation should be rejected.