Mod 3 - Extension

I have worked at bengalla now for 4 years as a production technition, I moved my family to the area for work purposes and have now call it home, with Bengalla's current approval will see out my working life, this will have major effects on not only myself and my family but also the local community.

I object to this mine going ahead at all. It is 17 years since this mine was approved and massive expansion of the industry in th valley has occurred since then. A totally new approval application is needed. The cumative impact on Muswellbrook and surrounds of dust, noise and visual pollution will be horrendous. The mine is obviously intended to operate for decades. Climate impacts must also be addressed. This issue cannot be ignored if there is any consideration for the well being of future generations.

I have worked at Bengalla Mine as and ........... for the past ......... and have lived in the Muswellbrook region my entire life. Bengalla has provided many financial donations to the local community and has also provided many permenant jobs for the local resisdents. I am concerned that if this submission is granted Bengalla mine will cease operations in the near future prior to mine plan causing myself and approxiamately 600 others to lose their jobs.

I have currently worked at Bengalla Coal Mine for the past 5 years as a mechanical technician , the buisness has provided myself and my family a good foundition of living and given me oportunitys i wouldnt normally get at another buisness , not only has the buisness benifited myself but it has been a significant benifit to the sourounding community and buisnesses its an esssential tool for alot of people, i would like to stay in this position at my work and not see it end prior to its mining lease .

DAMS HEG is opposed to this modification because of the length of time lapsed since approval and the consequent changed environmental conditions and increased understanding of climate change.

We are now familiar with the science identifying the negative relationship between air quality and human health. This mine is immediately upwind of Muswellbrook, a major regional centre and will inevitably add to the dust load of residents and bring health consequences.

This mine will also negativity and permanently impact agricultural, including, equine, dairy and beef cattle industry because of the disruption to groundwater. It will also certainly permanently diminish tourism.
This mine should require a new EIS so that it's true cost to Australia is properly calculated with respect to the loss of health, loss of industries and its contribution to climate change.

I have worked at Bengalla Mine for 10 years and am currently in a supervisor role. I support mining in Muswellbrook and would like to see Mt Pleasant go ahead but I am very concerned the Mt Pleasant modification if approved will allow the railway line to remain in place a cause Bengalla to stop operation. There are 600 other employees in the same position as myself with partners and children living in the local area that will be adversely effected if we were to lose our jobs. Bengalla has been a great partner to the local community over the life of the mine and regularly donates to local charities and events. I believe the best outcome for Bengalla, Mt Pleasant and the local community would be that both mines continue for their full life.

I have worked at Bengalla Mining company for ........ now and would like to continue to work here until the end of the current mine plan which was approved last year. I have been involved in the mining industry in the hunter for .......... now and Bengalla is a great mine to work at both productive and a safe operation that contributes to the local community regularly. Bengalla development consent was approved prior to the Mt Pleasant sale and now the modification, so to cut short the life of mine is not right. While I wish for Mt Pleasant and Bengalla to operate together for the approved life of mine, I object to the modification DA 92/97 MOD 3

I currently work at Bengalla mine site as a contractor operator. I live close by and get to go home to my family after every shift. If this mod is approved in as little as 4 to 5 years Bengalla will possibly have to wind down operations due to Mt Pleasants train line which will leave myself and up to 600 others looking for work. This would be catastrophic for the local community. Ideally both mine sites should be able to work together and work out a resolution for the train line to be placed in a location that suits both sites.

I have worked at Bengalla for 7 years as a electrician for maintenance.
I have lived in the upper hunter my whole life and mining has been in my family as long as I can remember. Growing up in Muswellbrook and my time at Bengalla I have learnt what an important part Bengalla is to our community. Bengalla supports lots of community organisations.

Bengalla has been a stable place of employment for my Husband and myself which has enabled us to support our family.

I am very concerned that the mount pleasant modification if approved will allow the railway line for Mount Pleasant to remain in place and cause Bengalla to curtail its operation causing myself and 600 Bengalla employees to lose their jobs.
I am also very concerned about the large number of local businesses that will be affected by Bengalla curtailing its operation which will have a detrimental impact on the community.

The best outcome for Bengalla, Mount Pleasant, Muswellbrook , NSW and Australia is that both mines continue for their full life.

I have worked at Bengalla Coal Mine for ........... My role at Bengalla is as a .................. I completed my apprenticeship at Bengalla and believe it is a great training program that Bengalla still provide to the youth of our community today. Bengalla is integral to our community through programs such as the apprenticeship program, sponsorship of the local show and PCYC as well as employing locals.
I am very concerned that the mount pleasant modification will allow the rail loop to stay in place which will be detrimental to those working at Bengalla. We live in a community where we need to be working with each other not against. Hence the best outcome would be for both mine's to be able to continue to operate long into the future.

I have worked at Bengalla Coal Mine for ......... Prior to this i worked at .......... where I regularly completed work at Bengalla mine also. I support working at Bengalla as it has provided a stable income for my family and i and allowed me to become a part of a great community environment.
I am very concerned that the Mount Pleasant modification if approved will mean the loss of a lot of jobs at Bengalla and have a devastating impact on the community. I believe it is possible for both mine's to successfully operate by working together to come up with a solution for the rail loop.

The department of Mineral resources should never of allowed a surface lease from an adjoining mine cross an existing mining lease no matter what the circumstances were. It is now time for it to stand up and find a solution that will allow both mines to operate and provide valuable support of the local community.
Bengalla provide over 50 sponsorships every year and provide 4 apprentices & 6 scholarships annually.

I am writing to object to the above proposal regarding the Mt Pleasant mine. Our lack of faith in the planning department must be noted. Myself and my husband have recently moved to Victoria from the Hunter Valley for work and one of the reasons we decided to move was the lack of clarity and support from the government for the Thoroughbred Industry CIC and other agricultural industries in the Hunter Valley. As much as we loved living in the Hunter unfortunately we decided it was better for us to raise our family elsewhere. The number of coal mines in the area was our main cause for concern and I know that this is a major concern for a large number of people.

Firstly, I object that this proposal is being treated as a modification, as the original approval is now almost 20 years old, during which time coalmining in this part of the Hunter has expanded enormously.
Given the new mine of Mangoola and the Mt Arthur and Bengalla expansions since 1999, poor Muswellbrook shire and its residents will be overwhelmed with negative impacts even worse than they already suffer.
Cumulative impacts MUST be taken into account and the proposal assessed anew on current environmental conditions, especially with regard to air and noise pollution.

The long-existing thoroughbred horse industry must not be placed at risk again from more open cut mines; it is a thriving and sustainable industry and employer, whereas coal is not.

The health impacts from this proposal are appalling and absolutely unacceptable, Approval of this proposal, extending mining at Mount Pleasant beyond 2020, will render the approvers culpable of great harm.
We have air monitors, we have the NPI. We know that the 24 hour average PM10 concentration recorded at Muswellbrook North West, Muswellbrook and Wybong, breached the 50µg/m3 criteria every year from 2012-2015.
Annual average PM2.5 concentrations in Muswellbrook are already well over the 8µg/m3 criterion and 24 hour average concentrations of PM2.5 are also in breach of the 25µg/m3 goal.
Above state average levels of respiratory and cardiac illnesses are reported annually; you must not exacerbate these by increasing the PM emission levels, which it would surely do.
This area and its residents and what alternative landuse has survived cannot cope with any more mining.

There is also the issue of disadvantage to landholders by the lack of an update to the Department of Planning's Voluntary Land Acquisition and Mitigation Policy (VLAMP) to reflect the current particulate pollution limits in the EPA's Approved Methods for air quality assessment. The VLAMP must be amended or repealed before this modification is determined.

It is ridiculous that the proponent is seeking approval for this modification without having resolved its conflict with the adjacent Bengalla mine, which has approval to mine the area designated for the Mount Pleasant transport corridor. As the Department of Planning has already granted Bengalla consent to mine this area on the assumption that the Mount Pleasant consent to mine ceased in 2020, this modification will create legal uncertainty and conflict and should be refused.

It would appear that this modification aims to reach peak mining one year before the proposed 2026 end. Does this mean the proponent does not intend to wind down and rehabilitate, or intends to extend the operation beyond then by seeking further modification? The surrounding community ought not be subjected to such uncertainty. The full impact of the actual proposed mining operations at Mount Pleasant must be assessed now.

It is clear that a new environmental impact statement assessing the project and the cumulative impact it will create with the approved existing surrounding mines is necessary.

I have been an employee at Bengalla Mining Company for the last 19 years and hope to stay there till my retirement. I have children in school and my daughter will soon be heading off to university.
The construction of the Mt Pleasant Railway line in it's current location could mean that i would be unemployed by 2022 even though Bengalla Mine has approval to continue mining until 2039.
Bengalla has been a strong supporter of local charities and sporting events in the local shire during it's time operating. It would be disappointing to everyone if Bengalla was to close down after 2022.
As an employee and resident of the area, i hope that the two companys(with the assistance of the Government) could come to a compromise and continue to work together for the benefit of the 600 employees at Bengalla and the community as well.

I am employed by Bengalla Mining Co. and if the mine has to cut employment in 2022 I may loose my job!
I have a young family and have a mortgage and depend on the continuation of employment until at least 2032.

I am making a submission against the Mount Pleasant Coal Mine Modification 3. I have worked at Bengalla mine for over 5 years as an electrical technician. My concern is that if approved it will allow the rail way for Mount Pleasant to remain in place stopping Bengalla's mine progression and cause myself and work mates to lose their jobs and lively hood.
My colleagues and I have major concerns that this will have a large impact on the local community with a lot of families relying on only the one income drawn for Bengalla mine. This will have carry on effect causing the closure of business and a further declining economic outlook for the Upper Hunter after the Drayton Coal closure.
Bengalla mine has had a positive relationship with Muswellbrook and the surrounding area providing donations to sporting clubs charities and injecting funds into the local council giving the council the means to improve local infrastructure. The mine also has trained and will continue to train young people not only in trades but giving opportunities to gain scholarships and the employment of graduate engineers.
Bengalla has been an integral part of the upper hunter for over 19 years with another 19 years of mine life remaining I believe that the community and I myself would see the approval of this modification to be a step back in the betterment of the currently struggling area.
I strongly believe that the best outcome for myself, my colleagues and the wider community is for both Bengalla and Mt Pleasant to continue for their full approved mine life.

I am making a submission against the Mount Pleasant Coal Mine Modification 3. I have worked at Bengalla mine for over 7 years as an Mechanical technician. My concern is that if approved it will allow the rail way for Mount Pleasant to remain in place stopping Bengalla's mine progression and cause myself and work mates to lose their jobs and lively hood.
My colleagues and I have major concerns that this will have a large impact on the local community with a lot of families relying on only the one income drawn for Bengalla mine. This will have carry on effect causing the closure of business and a further declining economic outlook for the Upper Hunter after the Drayton Coal closure.
Bengalla mine has had a positive relationship with Muswellbrook and the surrounding area providing donations to sporting clubs charities and injecting funds into the local council giving the council the means to improve local infrastructure. The mine also has trained and will continue to train young people not only in trades but giving opportunities to gain scholarships and the employment of graduate engineers.
Bengalla has been an integral part of the upper hunter for over 19 years with another 19 years of mine life remaining I believe that the community and I myself would see the approval of this modification to be a step back in the betterment of the currently struggling area.
I strongly believe that the best outcome for myself, my colleagues and the wider community is for both Bengalla and Mt Pleasant to continue for their full approved mine life.

I am making a submission against the Mount Pleasant Coal Mine Modification 3. I have worked at Bengalla mine for over 10 years as an Mechanical technician. My concern is that if approved it will allow the rail way for Mount Pleasant to remain in place stopping Bengalla's mine progression and cause myself and work mates to lose their jobs and lively hood.
My colleagues and I have major concerns that this will have a large impact on the local community with a lot of families relying on only the one income drawn for Bengalla mine. This will have carry on effect causing the closure of business and a further declining economic outlook for the Upper Hunter after the Drayton Coal closure.
Bengalla mine has had a positive relationship with Muswellbrook and the surrounding area providing donations to sporting clubs charities and injecting funds into the local council giving the council the means to improve local infrastructure. The mine also has trained and will continue to train young people not only in trades but giving opportunities to gain scholarships and the employment of graduate engineers.
Bengalla has been an integral part of the upper hunter for over 19 years with another 19 years of mine life remaining I believe that the community and I myself would see the approval of this modification to be a step back in the betterment of the currently struggling area.
I strongly believe that the best outcome for myself, my colleagues and the wider community is for both Bengalla and Mt Pleasant to continue for their full approved mine life.

Re: DA 92/97 MOD 3, Muswellbrook. Mount Pleasant


(Conversion of farming land in Mount Pleasant to an everlasting vast hole, for the sake of a handful of years of revenue for foreign interests, with a bit for the government).

OBJECTION.

Existing approval conditions need reviewing and strengthening.
This requires a new EIS, and new assessments. Why?

When this DA was approved, applied conditions were lax compared to the current ones. Since, the context has been changed by the addition of Bengalla, and extensions to Mount Arthur mines. In the process, cumulative health impacts have become obvious, air and noise pollution, and they intensify with the life of these mines. Cumulative impacts of the existing are bad enough and growing, so they are strongly relevant to added projects.

Growing health problems from the existing situation are still emerging; and not only in Muswellbrook.
It would be ruthless and unethical to impose further impacts on the people nearby, from an extended adjacent mine, using outdated and less protective standards.

It would be even worse to knowingly add more years of impact without correcting the outdated conditions.

Looking longer term than a handful of years the benefits of this extension of land-misuse are seen to be negative for:

* the established family farms in the area and their need for clean air, quietness and clean, stable and unaffected water;
*the thousands of us breathing air downwind, and listening day and night to noise in surrounding countryside for miles,
*those needing mental peace, who hate huge lights at night
*the local people who lament the destruction of the landform and the ecology they have always known,
*the tourists who are already fleeing the Hunter and its mines, whereas they used to visit the Hunter for its fresh ambience and natural sustainable industries,
*the people in the Valley whose last hope is a tourism transfer from mining, and whose livelihoods depend on it
*the trades; commonly lose their local best people to mines
*the government, left with abandoned holes and promises of rehabilitation.

Nobody believes miners' promises any more. Look at the grand work done to green-up Bengalla... but see it on Google Earth. The greenness so expensive and necessary for Muswellbrook's sanity, is a mere speck compared with the vast devastations which will outlast humanity here.

A new, credible EIS with complete honesty is required, after the EPA particulate pollution limits are built in to the Voluntary Land Acquisition and Mitigation Policy, as is clearly needed.

Rehabilitation should be simultaneous with mining from the outset. For least shock to the neighbourhood and the biodiversity it should include interplanting and protection of existing vegetation. ( There are amazing stands of ironbark around there, some trees extraordinarily old and high.)

Rehabilitation should be completed within the years approved already. It looks very unlikely that any would be completed by 2026. I hope the Government is as suspicious as I am about the time frame.

We need the time to establish clean energy up here, and use our TAFEs to train people in healthy work.

Breadwinners raise happier families than we see in poor old Muswellbrook, not by shiftwork, transience, breathing coal, losing homes to subsidence.... but by working healthy jobs in social hours so they see their kids and spend time with them.
The 'money' for driving a house-size truck cannot buy them that, or their lost health and marriages.

In any case, for it to be legitimate, the existing application has to be adjusted to make it compatible with working consents held now by Bengalla.

The cover of mining is blown in this valley. We need better.

I urge you, Planning of NSW:

Leave Mount Pleasant mine contained strictly within its existing time frame please, after upgrading its conditions to a tolerable modern level.

Thankyou.