Rivers SoS's comments on BHP Billiton’s 30-year mine plan in the Southern Coalfield

Media Release – 20 October 2009

Our comments on today’s release of BHP Billiton’s 30-year mine plan in the Southern Coalfield

Background: Under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, BHP Billiton’s subsidiary Illawarra Coal today released its draft environmental assessment of plans for its “major project” of coal extraction over the next thirty years in the Southern Coalfield (Macarthur region, near Picton, Wilton, Menangle and Appin). The Director General of Planning has now approved the EA for exhibition and comment (see here). After 30 days, a final EA report will be prepared by the DG, for the Minister’s approval.

Comments:

“If this mammoth project is approved by the Minister for Planning, it guarantees subsidence impacts throughout the whole area, including large sections of waterways and wetlands in Sydney’s drinking water catchment and the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment nearby.

The Sydney Catchment Authority seems powerless to protect the ongoing degradation of the catchment’s Special Areas,” says Caroline Graham, Regional Representative of Rivers SOS, Southern Coalfield.

“Hundreds of houses in Wilton, Menangle and Maldon will be cracked and damaged. We saw a hundred houses damaged in Appin after mines went under the town - some had to be demolished. But houses can be re-built, and so it is the collapse of our river systems that is our major concern, because this damage is irreversible.
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Mines are not going directly under the two major rivers in the plan – the Nepean and the Cataract Rivers. However they are going far too close – right up to the Nepean banks near Menangle and less than 100m on both sides of the river near Maldon. Mines will also go less than 100m from the Cataract River.

Rivers SOS calls for a safety zone of 1 k in order to protect rivers from cracking, pollution, diversion of flow and desiccation – as we have witnessed in the past,” said Ms Graham. “But the company is not even meeting our call halfway.

And at least 6 major creeks are to be directly undermined, including tributaries of the Nepean, and of the Upper Cataract River, which supplies around 7% of Sydney’s water. Dozens of minor tributaries will vanish altogether from the impacts.

Many swamps and wetlands, some feeding the Cataract Dam, O’Hares Creek, Dahlia Creek and the headwaters of the Woronora River will likely be desiccated. We have been shocked by the destruction of swamps above BHP Billiton’s mines at Dendrobium Colliery, but the outcome here will be even worse. Wetlands supply rivers and creeks and are an essential component of hydrological regimes.

This insane environmental vandalism must stop. Our river systems and drinking water supply catchments must be protected in an era of water shortages. If this huge project is approved by the Minister and the DG of Planning, we will be joining the calls for their resignation. Far from presiding over Australia’s best family planning regime, as the Minister recently asserted, planning processes are proving to be dodgy (e.g. the “unlawful” Huntlee case ), community consultation is a farce, and her so-called “independent” inquiries into mine plans are weighted in favour of panel members working for or being patronised by the mining industry. No appeal against mining approvals is allowed, thanks to Part 3A, which will cover all mine plans in future, and is worthy of the most rapacious totalitarian regime.”

Caroline Graham – 46309421
Jill Merrin – 0422655711