Wilpinjong Coal Mine Extension

Who would want this 1.5km from their doorstep?! Shame on the NSW Government if they allow this expansion.

the mine gives good opportunity to the local area and should have the opportunity to carry on with mining

As an employee of Peabody Energy at Wilpinjong Coal Mine, a resident, home owner and rate payer of the Mid-Western Regional Council, approval of the Wilpinjong Extension Project is important to me. The mine is already a major contributor to employment within the region, and provides substantial sums of money to assist community organisations, health services, and the upgrading and maintenance of important infrastructure such as Ulan Road.

The Mid-Western Regional Council area is a thriving community, boosted by the contribution the mine makes by way of its employment etc. Further, there are employees who originate from various other parts of the country and world, (including myself) that then bring their families and friends to the region. This is a significant contribution to the tourism industry. Many of my family and friends, who have visited the region, probably would not have if it was not for me residing here. Many of them had not heard of Mudgee prior to me relocating here.

Approval of the Wilpinjong Extension Project will allow continued economic growth, and be beneficial to the entire region.

I have been employed at this site for 8 years, in this time I have been able to support my family by earning wages from this site. It has a flow on effect that helps the surrounding communities by way of shopping, fuel, local products and more. Peabody also supports local community events such as the recent of the Mudgee 9's. The Leukemia Foundation had a major boast from fundraising last year and the up and coming Relay for Life with be one of the next beneficiaries.

With most of the wages being earned at the mine site being spent within the community in local shops, rent, mortgages, rates and so on and so forth. Without these wages being paid the community would not be thriving as much as it is now.

Why in the world would the NSW Government allow the extension of the Wilpinjong mine?
This mine has already decimated the community of Wollar. If it is allowed to expand to 1.5 k from the village, this would be the end of Wollar as we know it. The noise would increase exponentially, so would the dust. He few remaining residents would have to go. Enough is enough!

Extensions of mines should never get the go ahead. It's a trick used by big companies to further their greed. Start small, wreck the environment and then why not let them continue since most people have left and few remain to object.

Wilpinjong, a marginal mine, is asking for an expansion NOW when it hasn't even mined half of their present reserve. We know the company is in financial trouble, so it's easy to imagine that the extension is sought to help Wilpinjong sell on the mine at a much more advantageous price to cover some of their deficits. Does the government really want this when the price of coal has so dramatically dropped and would mean more competition with existing mines?
It should also send alarm bells to the government considering Peabody might not be able to fulfill its obligation to rehabilitate the environment destroyed by mining. At the Planning Department meeting in Wollar a few days ago, no one seemed convinced that a rehabilitation bond would work!

This extension should definitively not happen for the survival of an already compromised environment which comprises 2 adjacent National Parks! A further 800 ha of land would be destroyed and would impact the land and water for 100 years to come! The flora and fauna would be further threatened. Already obvious, when listening to the complaints of the residents, is the level of the water table which has already substantially dropped in the last 10 years. Does any one care?

Peabody says it will, through this expansion, increase their workforce. How so then, when they have recently further reduced their employee number on their various pits?

Now is not the time to be pushing ahead with Wilpinjong's expansion. The mining and burning of coal is a leading contributor to global warming. Coal mines all over the world are closing down forced by the developed countries' push to move away from damaging fossil fuels. Think the bleaching of the Barrier Reef, more heat waves, devastating floods, etc.
It's time the NSW Government starts subsidising renewable energies instead and give up for good the opening of new mines or their extension.

The impending disaster can be averted simply by not going ahead with proposed destruction of the environment and community of Wollar and it's neighbours this proposed extension of WILPINJONG will destroy lives and lifestyles of innocent people who are already feeling the affects of greedy coal mining ARSEHOLES who are in no way deserving of any profit from coal as it's all a simple matter of the Wollar community not wanting to suffer simply so that the few may get a sorely won profit of a few dollars now and destroy Wollar forever!!!!!

Wilpinjong coal mine extension Project SSD 6764
As much as the local coal mines have been the building blocks for this region so in turn it will take this region down in a short pace of time. The days for fossil fuel are coming faster to an end then was foreseen when the application for this extension was lodged. With the world turning globally to a cleaner and more efficient ways of producing power coupled with the financial markets always looking for new investments in short and long term. The investors of too day want a safety aspect to their hard earned dollar and the fossil fuel market cannot supply that any more in the short or long term future.
The same as in the early days there was always money to be made in new inventive ways of doing things that involved general living and there is no bigger change then producing new power systems for the populace. Fossil powered generators have been used for over a hundred years and here we are every aspect has seen a change to the way we live, rest and play apart from how we produce power.
This is was change not over the next twenty five years but will roll out and change completely within the next ten years. Five power generators have already been shut down with more to follow as we can take the off the grid with renewable filling the gaps in many different ways. The main key to this will be the individual house holder who has taken to the changes like ducks to water. This change is well on the way with new high raisers and factories coming onboard.
This change will happen with or without government help, the government has always looked after the big boys in town first then profit margins and maybe then the people. This time the people are helping them self and the financial markets are responding to this straying away from fossil to new earnings in new ideas.
So we can behave like ostriches and put our head under the sand or we can embrace a new beginning that is cleaner and makes profits at the same time. Trillions will be infested by the population and governments around the world and coal won't be part of that new future.
Rather than discussing extension we should be talking where the money is going to come from to repair the legacy this mine is going to leave without going to create a bigger problem.
For starters a requirement for this extension approval should be a legacy fund lodged with the state government for the complete rehabilitation cost before approval is given otherwise we will end up like in the hunter with 80kilometers of open cut, land degradation, loss of water ways and usable farming land and forest that play a big part in keeping the balances of nature in check.
A further 800 hectares of open cut without having rehabilitated previous diggings will further drive the local temperatures up as we are left with a rock dessert when coal companies go belly up and declare them self-bankrupt. This country has already a legacy of over 4 thousand abandoned mines of different operations, where companies have walked away from their commitments to rehabilitate what they have unearthed. Most of them will be left as relics of an age where there was enough room but not so for tomorrow. The globe is getting smaller and fuller, what was possible in the past will not be able to be done in the future, the cost of the rehabilitation works of this extension will out way the ever falling profits this extension proposal will make . The demand for lower grade coal is falling on a daily basis which creates ever more glut and lesser profits. It doesn't make any sense to think that this mine will still be operating past 2020 it's not visible in a financial way or global way. This extension application only shows a short sighted future just as well the financial markets have other plans. I disapprove of this extension for more reasons then can be described in words.
Paul Kreuzen - Gulgong - NSW 2852

1) The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will destroy the community of Wollar. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.

2) The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate.

3) Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015.

4) The cumulative impact on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry has not been rigorously assessed.

5) The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, which will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, and is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.

6) The area has significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.

7) The extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.

8) The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.

9) The extension will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future. This is a completely unacceptable legacy.

10) The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.

11) The predicted job numbers are overstated compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.

12) Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations.

13) The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.

14) The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

This is a stranded asset. The taxpayers of NSW will be payin g for all the mine rehabiltation,becasue Peabody cannot afford to pay.
I object to this proposal as it is contrary to the interests of the NSW taxpayers and the wider community.

Bathurst Community Climate Action Network, as a volunteer based community group working in this region for improved climate change policies and to lower our contribution to atmospheric pollution, opposes the proposed Wilpinjong Coal Mine expansion based on the immediate impacts on the community of Wollar and long-term costs of global warming on all communities from the continuation of the mining of coal. The continued expansion of coal mining in our region will make a significant contribution to Australia's already dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, which will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, and is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
BCCAN believes the scientific evidence is sufficient for planning decisions in NSW to rule out new coalmining approvals. We cite two authorities for this view. First, the Climate Change Authority has reported that to have a 67% chance of keeping under 2°C warming, the world's carbon budget 2000¬2050 is 1700 GtCO2e. (Based on this, the CCA puts Australia's share of this carbon budget for 2013-2050 at 10.1GtCO2e. If all of Australia's coal resources were burned, the carbon released would consume two¬-thirds of the global carbon budget. It is likely that over 90% of Australian coal reserves are unburnable under even the most generous carbon budget. Australia has 77Gt known coal reserves, enough to produce 150GtCO2e, 15 times our budget to 2050. Further,

We oppose further expansion of the coal industry as analysis released by the international climate research consortium Climate Action Tracker (CAT) which shows that Australia cannot meet its unambitious 2030 reduction target through its Direct Action policies. Even more alarmingly it shows Australia will in fact increase its emissions by as much as 27% under its current policies and continued heavy reliance on a fossil fuel based economy. The international community have committed to meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at the climate talks in Paris in 2015 and it is clear we no longer have the luxury of pleading for our exclusive short term profits and jobs over the impacts of climate change upon future generations and other nations. With member states of the Pacific Island Forum calling on Australia to limit its coal sector because of its contribution to climate change and sea level rise it is time for our country to limit our emissions at the coalface. The time has come for planning authorities to say to mining companies: this coal mine cannot go ahead because of its contribution to climate change because of its threat to this generation and to all future generations.
We note the observations by the Climate Council that Investment in renewable energy has increased six fold since 2004 and businesses around the world are investing more in renewables than coal, oil, and gas combined. In many parts of Australia solar and wind energy have reached `grid parity' and are more cost effective than fossil fuels. If mines which have reached the extent of their approvals are granted continual extensions Australia will be trapped in the energy economy of the twentieth century and transition will be made even harder.
On top of the threat posed by the continuation of the coal industry in Australia this particular mine extension poses an unacceptable risk to the environment and residents of the region between Ulan and the Bylong Valley and the village of Wollar which will come within 1.5 kilometres of its open cut extension. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects in this region have not been considered. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate. Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in November 2015.
The mine has been operating since 2006 and has already had severe impacts on the local community of Wollar and surrounds. The mine has current approval to produce 12.5 million tonnes per annum of saleable coal until 2027. This extension proposes to destroy a further 800 ha of land and extend the mine's life until 2033. The company's own Social Impact Assessment identifies that this will accelerate the decline of the community, which has been suffering the impacts from the mine over the past ten years.
The extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The extension will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future. This is a completely unacceptable legacy. The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted. The area has significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.
The original justification for the mine was to supply low quality coal to Bayswater Power Station. Six subsequent modifications have resulted in increased export capacity while increasing the cumulative impacts on the environment and community.
From an economic perspective the predicted job numbers are overstated compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal. In addition mine owners US based Peabody Energy are in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations. We note that Peabody Energy are in the process of divesting its entire portfolio of Australian coal assets, as one of the world's largest coal miner exits from the local market. The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval and does not demand further extension.

The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified. The cumulative impact on greenhouse gas emissions, the health and viability of a community at Wollar, biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources and rural industry have not been adequately assessed. BCCAN opposes any further extension of Wilpinjong mine and encourages the Planning Assessment Commission to reject this application accordingly.

I request that you protect the people of Wollar. They have a right to live in a clean environment. Unfortunately they have already been subjected to unacceptable leveles of pollution from mining.

So many aspects of this mining application have not been assessed properly or are grossly inadequate.

The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will destroy the community of Wollar. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.
The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate.
Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015
The cumulative impact on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry has not been rigorously assessed.
The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, which will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, and is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
The area has significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.
The extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.
The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The extension will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future. This is a completely unacceptable legacy.
The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.
The predicted job numbers are overstated compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.
Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations.
The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.
The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

I support the approval of the Wilpinjong Extension Project.
I am a sixth generation resident of the Wollar area and have witnessed the slow demise of the village which commenced before Wilpinjong mine was even in the planning process.
I have witnessed first hand the support that Wilpinjong has provided for the village and the wider regional towns and community organisations.
Wilpinjong are committed to maintaining and improving the agricultural value of their land. I comment on this with first hand knowledge as we lease our original property and additional land from the mining company and have done for the past several years. Therefore provide a good example of mining and agriculture working side by side.
My family have benefited from employment opportunities provided by Wilpinjong and other local mines and in my opinion employment can only increase with the any expansion.
I have also seen benefits flow through to Mid Western Regional Council with additional provision of facilities and services via contributions and flow on effects.
I consider that for the foreseeable future coal is an important part of our energy supply and believe Wilpinjong is a suitable location for mining activities.

Our Company fully supports the Wilpinjong Extension Project. The combined associated employment and economic benefits to Mudgee and surrounding region are greatly enhanced by an additional 7 years of mine life at Wilpinjong.

Our local area has been strengthened by the positive impacts of increased mining development in the past. It co-exists well with trade, retail, construction & services; providing a healthy economy and infrastructure to our towns in this region.

To place constraints would jeopardise our employment opportunities, especially for the young. Housing growth would decline without the mining expansion, with a de-valuation of our homes and less localised spending which supports our local businesses and retail outlets.

All health and safety parameters have already been established from the Mine successfully, thus an additional 7 years life span can only be beneficial.

By extending the life of the mine this will provide job security to existing employees and contractors as well as indirect employment opportunities by increasing job availability and longevity which in turn will promote a more stable economic base in the region.

We need to support the WEP to create a positive stimulus to education and training as well as towards the region's social infrastructure, such as healthcare, childcare and education.

We wish to lodge this submission in support of the Wilpinjong Expansion Project.

HIC Services first opened a branch in Mudgee in 2009 with two(2) employees and through our servicing of the mining industry in the Mudgee area we have grown to a workforce of twenty-eight(28) employees, of which twenty-six(26) were employed locally.

Wilpinjong Coal has been a major contributor to our growth and any expansion of the mine and it's life will help in providing security to our company and our workforce into the future.

Besides the direct benefit the Wilpinjong Mine Expansion will provide to us directly, it also filter through to other areas of the community and local economy, with a majority of our suppliers sourced out of Mudgee itself.

Due to the business Wilpinjong Coal generates for HIC Services, we have been able to supply support for local charities and supporting groups and Wilpinjong Coal itself is a big contributor to local community events and charities without whose backing, they would not be able to operate on the same scope or if at all.

We have always found Wilpinjong Coal to be a responsible corporate business that takes it's responsibilities in the area's of Health, Safety, Environment and Community Relations very seriously.

Again we would like to re-iterate our support for the Wilpinjong Expansion Project, as we believe it to be very beneficial to the community and businesses of the Mudgee area.

Should you require any further comment please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards
Stephen Howard
Area Manager

The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.
The original justification for the mine was to supply low quality coal to Bayswater Power Station which can be met by present approvals . Six subsequent modifications have resulted in increased export capacity while increasing the cumulative impacts on the environment and community. Why ruin our environment and community for the export sale of low quality coal??? Surely these are unjustifiable priorities. Plus Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations so the damage cpuld all be for no benefit or is it a way for this company to save itself at our expense?
So many effects of this development are against the best interests of so many people and environments and so few are of any benefit to our community and planet.
will destroy the community of Wollar
noise
air quality
impact on biodiversity,
Aboriginal cultural heritage,
water sources,
greenhouse gas emissions,
community
rural industry
remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species
will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future.
All of these detrimental effects...for what benefit? Overstated jobs numbers... some profit for Peabody... is that really a fair exchange for society?

I wish to show my support to the Wilpinjong extension Project .
I have been living in the community and supporting the local business for over 3 years , and from the support provided by Wilpinjong Coal I have great pride in the company I work for , we support the community in various fundraising events , and the most recent being the Mudgee9's competition, knowing that the on going support will bring competitors to the town and their families willing to spend time and money within the town of Mudgee, is financially rewarding for all that live here , the extension project will guarantee the lively hood of so many , and have the continuing support from Wilpinjong coal to the town we live in . With the Extension approval I can look forward to bringing my family to the area and continuing my community support and have the work/ life balance.

thank you
Shaun

I would like to see this project go ahead.
I believe Peabody is a responsible miner, and is dedicated to looking after the land on which the mine sits, as can be evidenced by the quality, and quantity, of the rehab. Not many other coal mines can say their rehab will support cattle grazing, but Wilpinjong recently had 80 head of cattle living off the rehab, which is an accolade.
I also believe that Wilpinjong benefits the local community. We have seen grants and donations by the mine to local events and charities, and they are a major rate payer, funds which go towards funding community improvements such as roading, health care etc.
The mining operation is not intrusive to the town, partly due to the distance from Mudgee, but also due Peabody ensuring that employees aren't in town in high-vis clothing, and vehicles are 'undressed' before leaving site. This is in stark contrast to a town like Singleton where high-vis clothing, and mining flags on cars are commonplace.
I think that if Wilpinjong were to be declined this extension, we would see an early decline in the population of Mudgee, and Mudgee definitely doesn't need that.

I am writing to support the Wilpinjong Coal Extension Application.

My reasons for supporting the application are:

1. As a Mudgee resident and rate payer I have seen the community thrive since Wilpinjong Coal Mine opened, it has created jobs, both at the mine and in town, it has combined to bring additional services and retail outlets to our town and seen additional specialty shops open that have aided with our tourism too.

2. 10-15 years ago and before Wilpinjong opened Mudgee was a virtual ghost town on weekends, in a complete turn around, if you go into town on the weekends now you quite often struggle to find a parking spot. Whilst I know this will annoy some, I see it as a symbol of the towns new found prosperity since Wilpinjong opened it's gates.

3. Employment opportunities have grown dramatically in Mudgee, both in town and at the mine. When my wife left High School in Mudgee 18 years ago there were no employment prospects in Mudgee and she was forced to leave to gain meaningful employment.

4. Not approving the Wilpinjong Extension will lead to a dramatic drop in business in town over the next decade if it is not approved.

5. I believe that the negative impacts are far outweighed by the positive affect the approval will have on Mudgee and the wider community.

Sincerely yours,

Shane C.

The mid-western coal industry provides many benefits for the Mudgee region and for the state of NSW overall. These benefits exist for the local community in the area of infrastructure funding, direct local employment, and local industry support and growth. The coal industry provides a base income that supports our community and improves the conditions in which we live.
It also gives my children employment opportunities they would not otherwise receive.
Wilpinjong also provides coal to the NSW electricity suppliers that provide low cost energy to NSW industry and domestic consumers. Extending the life of Wilpinjong will continue the supply of low cost coal for electricity generation and distribution.

My grandparents were born and bread in Wollar. They had a farm called The Retreat. I spent a lot of holidays at The Retreat with my Nan ad Pop. The land was good farming land. I loved to ride m horse named Sugar. I have a lot of fond memories of my childhood visits. There is a memorial plaque at the local park commemorating the opening of the bridge. It has my Nan's name on it. I have many relatives buried in the cemetary there. A big piece of my past will be lost if the mine expands.