Hume Coal Mine

Dear Sir,
I live in Sydney. Last year, I and my husband drove around Berrima after we had lunch at Medway with friends. The "Stop Hume Coal Mine" signage along the street got our eyes. I could see how worry they are after we asked the waitress in the café. That recalled our memory about a conversation with another friend who lived in Mittagong two years ago. I felt the pain from the people.

I think the pain I got took me to this journey....

please continue to the attahments -
- submission - main
- attachment 1
- attachment 2
- attachment 3

Thanks

My family live in Medway. My husband and I are both active in the Southern Highlands community. My husband and I purchased out dream property in Medway and we have worked hard, saved, and loaned money from the bank to build our dream home. We live here happily, but our lives and future are in doubt with the threat from this Hume Coal proposal. I have lived in fear since the plans for this atrocity were revealed. Make no mistake, approval of this mine would ruin our (and many others) lives, as I will outline below.

This mine and coal stockpile would literally be our NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR. Hume Coal has not contacted us and their information sessions have been an insult. I have witnessed the way they treat the community with disrespect and contempt. It is worth noting that these information sessions have increased in number since the EIS was submitted. Surely, if they cared what the community thought they would have disclosed the details of the mine before the plans were finalized, and changes could be made.

Our drinking water:
The drinking water we consume comes from our water tank, which is filled from the water that lands on our roof. The Hume Coal coal stockpile is planned to be located within a few hundred meters from our home, and a few hundred meters from the roof that catches our drinking water. With the absurd and extreme proximity of our roof to the coal stockpile, we will be subject to coal dust landing on our roof, flowing into our tank and contaminating our water. How much coal dust will contaminate our drinking water over the span of 2-3 decades? How much contaminated water will my family consume over those decades? What evidence exists that this will not have a detrimental effect of the health of my family? Can it be guaranteed that the coal dust contamination of our drinking water will not affect our future health and quality of life? Will any compensation be offered? If so, is money fair compensation for damaging the health of my family?

Sydney catchment drinking water and environmental protection:
To build a mine and coal operation inside the Sydney water catchment and so close to the Medway reservoir is incredibly reckless. Whatever superficial and short term benefits Hume Coal says they will offer cannot outweigh this risk to Sydney's drinking water. I also object to a new coal mine that will use 45% of its coal for thermal burning, especially in my own back yard. While the world unites in an effort to transition to renewable energy, will NSW adopt such a backwards attitude and approve the construction of a new coal mine? Before their EIS was submitted, Hume Coal always assured us in their information sessions that the coal would not be used for thermal energy production. This is just one example of their lies and contempt for the Southern Highlands community.

Air quality:
As I described above, the Hume Coal mining operation is planned to be only a few hundred meters from my home. The amount of air pollution on my property has not been disclosed. Given that the coal stock pile will be only a few hundred meters away from my property, surely we deserve more information. There is no safe exposure to airborne coal dust.

I note that Hume coal intends to monitor the health of its employees because of the health risks that are inherent to working near a coal mine. My family will be CLOSER to the coal stockpile than most of the employees. If an employee's health needs to be monitored because of the risk, how will our health be monitored? Living within a few hundred meters of a coal stockpile will expose us to a significant health risk. How much coal dust will enter the lungs of my family and myself over 2-3 decades? Who will pay our medical bills? It may be many years before the full effects are revealed. How will we be compensated for chronic illness or premature death caused by such high exposure to air pollution and coal dust? I still cannot fathom how a coal stockpile could be approved within a few hundred meters of domestic dwellings. I beg the decision makers to ask themselves how they would feel if such a toxic health risk was going to be built a few hundred meters from their home.

Visual pollution:
The enormous Hume Coal stockpile will not only be visible from my property, but in plain view from my bedroom window. I will be forced to look at their eyesore when I open my eyes every morning.

Noise:
My husband and I made the decision to move away from the city to Medway because of the peace and quiet. I can stand on my veranda and listen to the native birds, and the wind rustling between the leaves of the trees. If this mine is approved the quiet peaceful lifestyle we have worked so hard for will be ruined. This is not just or fair. We will not be able to enjoy being outside on our own property because of the noise pollution. How ironic that we moved away from the noise of Sydney for a quiet life only to have a coal mine operation built next door. The noise pollution will result in a profound loss of lifestyle. The Hume Coal EIS made limited mention of noise pollution in Berrima, however the noise impacts on Medway and our property were not disclosed. How much industrial noise will be have to tolerate???

Wildlife:
My property is home to native and endangered birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. How much of their habitat will be destroyed? How will they be affected by the air, light, and noise pollution? The Wingecarribee Shire council has categorized and zoned the land in Medway according to the needs of the local wildlife. We pay our council rates and abide by the rules imposed by the council to ensure that the land we live in is protected. An industrial coal operation in this suburb is not appropriate and an insult to the Council and community who have worked together to protect and live in harmony with the unique and beautiful land we live in.

Land water:
Our land is home to more than three spring fed dams. Hume Coal admits that springs such as ours will be destroyed, perhaps permanently but certainly for the span of my working life. The clean, reliable, and permanent water provided by these springs is vital for the prosperity and running of our property. In times of drought, how will we water our plants and provide drinking water for our animals without our springs? Even if compensation is offered, how can money compensate for the loss of our springs for the duration of our working lives? Our property and farm will not be viable without these springs.

Community:
The clean image of the Southern Highlands drew us to live here. Once this community is stamped as a `coal town' there will be no going back. Unlike suburbs closer to Sydney, our community does not suffer from high unemployment. Hundreds of jobs in tourism and agriculture stand to be lost if the coal mine is approved. Tourism and agriculture are the lifeblood of our community and this is all at risk with the Hume Coal proposal. After Hume Coal does their damage and leaves, the long term economy of our region will be ruined. The local community has been surveyed and our voices are clear, we do not want this coal mine. If we truly live in a democracy, our voices will be listed to. Pru Goward has listed to us, and I hope Gladys Berejiklian will listen when the Member for Goulburn speaks on our behalf.

Financial ruin:
As thousands of other Australians, my husband and I have built our dream home on our dream block of land. To do this we have borrowed money and have a new mortgage. The value of our home and land is reliant on the clean, peaceful, pristine reputation of the place we live. The value of our land will without doubt be significantly lowered with a coal operation next door. With a coal mining stockpile within HUNDREDS of meters of our property, how could it not be? How long will it take the bank to foreclose on our property when our debt sinks below the reduced value of our property?

What if the air, noise and visual pollution reduces the quality of our lives to a point where we are forced to leave? Apart from the pain of losing our dream, our home, our memories, our land, our thousands of hours of hard work we have made to make our property beautiful, we will be forced to sell for a significant loss and continue to pay a mortgage for the property that has been ruined by this mine. Is this fair? Is this justice? Is this `low impact'? How can amends ever be made to us for taking away our hard earned dream and causing financial ruin? No money can buy what we have here.

My husband and I have commenced building a cottage on our property, which we intended to be used in the future to provide income. If this mine is approved, this plan will be ruined. Who on earth would consider paying to visit a cottage with a mammoth coal stockpile in plain view? No one. If this mine is approved, we will have no choice but to continue paying the debt for this building, which will be useless. We will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars if this mine is approved.

I cannot begin to explain how much anxiety and depression the concern of the matters raised above has already caused my family and myself. I cannot fathom what hardships we will go through if this mine is approved. I have dedicated my life to cancer research so Australians can hope to live better and longer lives, and the fear that our elected government will approve this proposal that will risk the health of my family and community is ruining my life. Who will look out for our welfare and make sure we are not exploited and abused by this foreign owned Hume Coal. Who is the arbitrator for compensation? Who can we appeal to if Hume Coal shortchanges us? Who will help us stand up to such a huge company? What will stop this foreign owned company bullying us?

In conclusion, I implore the decision maker to stand up for the people of Med...

I would like to submit the following as an addendum to my families submission attached below.

My key concern is how the coal stock pile will affect the air quality on my land, and my home. This extends to inevitable contamination of my drinking water. The noise, visual, and light pollution will also cause enormous damage to my health and lifestyle.

I am very concerned about subsidence, of both my home and the Hume Hwy. Any disruption to the Hume Hwy. would be disastrous to myself and the Medway community. The Hume Coal EIS does not satisfactorily establish that my home, dams and landscapes (on my land) will not be damaged. This is an enormous risk and surely local homes and the national highway should not be risked. This in addition to the risk to the ground and reservoir water.

As a scientist, I have reviewed the trends in resource use and energy production and there is a high likelihood that the mine will not be viable int the years to come. If this company finds itself in likely financial stress, who will foot the bill to clean up their mess, and settle the inevitable lawsuits for damage to property and lawsuits for causing injury and illness to the people of the Southern Highlands. Who will the mine be sold to? What will stop them causing further damage with cost cutting?

I would like to make clear that in our Australian democracy, the voice of the people has been loud and clear. This has been demonstrated in an independent poll showing a clear majority concerned about and opposing the mine, the submission and opposition of the elected Wingecarribee Shire Council and the clear statements made by our local Member Pru Goward. It would be criminal if this mine is approved and the voices of the people are ignored.

Please, do not ruin my life and take away all I have worked for. Please do not let the Southern Highlands community down. Please do not let Hume Coal/POSCO ruin the Southern Highlands, one of the jewels of NSW.

Please see attached letter.

Support document attached.

My objections the this mine are:-
1) Threat to the survival of my children and grandchildren
As indicated in the attached graphic prepared by Prof. Will Steffan and Prof. Lesley Hughes of the Climate Council we are on a trajectory whereby the world's carbon budget will be exceeded within the lifetime of the proposed mine.
The graphic projects the rise if temperatures which shows that in my lifetime and possibly my children's lifetime we will live in relative comfort and not be threatened; however, if temperatures rise by 4 degrees it is likely that this will not be survivable or at the very least will inflict so many issues on society that their quality of life will be compromised to an unacceptable level.
I object to the approval of this mine placing both my grandchildren and your grandchildren in harms way from as detailed in attachment 5.

2) Concern for the Southern Highlands, NSW and Australian environment.
Hume Coal is the Australian subsidary of POSCO and according to the report found at the link below, there are serious questions about POSCO and their environmental and moral credentials.
https://sabrangindia.in/article/human-suffering-environmental-degradation-thats-what-posco-produced-odisha

3) Impost on the State of NSW to clean up after the mine is closed.
Coal mining will cause damage to the local area through negatively impacting air quality, noise levels, water quality and increase rail traffic.
It will cause damage to infrastructure owned by the State of NSW including damage to the Hume Highway as seen on the F3 approaching Newcastle, damage to the Railway infrastructure between Berrima and Port Kembla. As is often the case with such mines, the overseas principal withdraws its capital from Australia back to Korea and the people of NSW and Australia are left either with the clean up bill or unsightly damage to our environment and infrastructure.

Such damage combined with Australia's non compliance with world wide efforts to tackle the negative impact of climate change will leave all Australians worse off both financially and to its reputation on the global stage. Refer attachments 2 - 4.

Please see attached

Please see attached

I support the Hume Coal Project.
Please find attached the uploaded letter of support.
Thank you.

I support the approval of this project. I have attached a copy of my submission.

Ref document uploaded below

My family have been saving and planning to move from Sydney to the Southern Highlands for 10 years. We have 5 kids and we desperately wanted to move them to a cleaner, quieter country lifestyle. 10 years of planning and hard work is now under threat by the news of this Coal mine. We have put a deposit on our land and were due to start building in January 2018. We are very seriously considering cancelling our purchase , and ruining our future dreams to avoid living in a toxic environment. We will lose everything.
The Highlands is an oasis of rich, unique, historical and beautiful landscape unlike any other area in NSW. There is so much of this country that is unused desert , yet you keep choosing our fertile farmland to rape and destroy in the name of the almighty dollar. It is so dissapointing, that yet again our land and our health are sold out to greed. This is NO place for a coal mine.
Coal is a dying energy, everyone knows it. A 5 year old could look at the facts and figure it out. The world en mass are moving away from coal to renewable , sustainable CLEAN Energy, and this not only makes you look uneducated and backward but makes your greed even more transparent. You are meant to be our protectors not our pimps.
I am not going to bother attaching any documetation to support the widely proven scientific conclusions condemning coal mining, as I'm sure your quite aware of the facts , even though you choose to cover them up . Just as Im not going to bother reading the EIS , as I am quite aware its full of lies and propaganda. . I will however attach the findings relating to the Hunter Valley coal mine tragedy. Have you not learned anything ? Coal mines and farm land do not mix. "Annual costs for health impacts in the region are $600 million annually" " 300 deaths a year " . Just the dust travels 30 kms and kills off everything , also filling rainwater tanks with yellow sludge , as reported in the Hunter. You made this mistake once, but I will ve damned if we will let you do it again
My family and I are vehemently AGAINST the proposal and object. This will ruin our future and change the destiny of our family and many others for generations to come. It will kill one of the most beautiful rural areas in our country . Take your "experimental mining project" back to Korea . Hang your heads in shame for even considering this descimation.
We beg you to be our Protectors and refuse this proposal.

All Tailing ponds are going underground under the Hawkesbury sandstone membrane which sits under the pristine Sydney water aquifer .
3.5 million tons of washed coal per year produces 2.0 million tons of sulphuric acid tailings over 19 years as 3% is waste Tailings. These tailings will destroy the surface water catchment around the coal site and the pristine water Aquifer underground ,its a designated development with industrial capacity to destroy the national park , flora and fauna and our pristine water as it is within 100 metes of these natural ecosystems .The Public interest of our Nation and surrounding people of the southern highlands must be held privileged above coal and industrial development .

Our submission has been provided as a letter of support for the Hume Coal Project.

To whom it may concern,

After reviewing the EIS summary thoroughly and also following the application process, I am extremely supportive of the Hume Coal mine proposal. I have based my support on a number of facts that have been made clear to me. These include:
 Creation of hundreds of jobs that will allow younger local residents access to well paid, skilled careers that are currently lacking in the region.
 Flow on economic benefits to local businesses, to both suppliers of goods and services as well as local retailers that will see increased spending by employees.
 Minimal visual impacts due to the underground nature of the project as well as the planning of tree screens where appropriate. I note that these visual impacts are far less imposing than some of the anti-coal signage that has been polluting the area since project inception.
 Minimal water impacts to bores which were likely not used prior to the development application anyway. The underground water storage capacity after mine life will also be an advantage for the community with possible future use as town water supply storage or as agricultural storage.

There are also a number of other factors that have weighed in on my supportive opinion for the project. These include:
 The positive benefits that coal mining has brought to my home town of Mudgee in NSW. For example, Mudgee has seen strong growth in the past ten years when mining has been prevalent in the town. This growth can be seen in the business success of the local suppliers of goods and services, the strong employment and skill development of the younger generations, increased housing development, and increased support and sponsorship of local sporting clubs/communities. I believe this proves that mining can co-exist in a small regional community and that the Berrima community deserves to reap the same positive benefits that Mudgee has.
 The scare campaign that has been funded and ran by wealthy members of the community is a selfish campaign that aims to thwart local members of the community the opportunity to build their own wealth locally, rather than earning their fortune in Sydney before retiring to the Southern Highlands like many of the campaigners have done themselves.
 Many Australians take for granted the fact that they can turn on the lights at night or buy an affordable car made out of steel without fully realising that both of these luxuries have been born through the ability to mine coal economically and turn it into productive goods and services. Whilst Australia may see no need for increased generation of coal fired power going forward, we still use a large amount of steel which is dependent on coking coal for its production. The thermal coal component of the mine is also likely to be exported to developing countries where it can be used to generate electricity, this electricity will enable the developing countries to advance their economies and lift their population into the developed world that we currently enjoy. To deny these countries the opportunity to do so would be selfish, as our economic success today is a function of our historic reliance on cheap coal powered electricity.

I hope I have provided some important context to which the approval decision for Hume Coal is made. Do not hesitate to call me with any questions.

Kind Regards,
Tim Mort

Please see attached response.

Supporting submission for the Hume Coal project
The Southern Highlands is an established coal mining area.
The first coal mine in the Southern Highlands, the Cataract Mine, was opened in 1867 to supply the Fitzroy Iron Works at Mittagong. That colliery closed in 1877, the same year in which the ironworks blast furnace was shut down.
There have been numerous coal mines operating in the shire. There were at least 8 in the Medway area, another 4 in the Bundanoon area and 7 in the Mittagong area. However, most people living in the Southern Highlands are not aware that of all of these collieries operated in the Wingecarribbee Shire.
Berrima Colliery opened in 1924 at Medway and served the Berrima Cement Works until the colliery reached the end of its economic life and closed in November 2013. It had operated for 89 years making it the longest operating colliery in the Southern Highlands.
Very few people even realised that the coal mine was there, so residents in the Southern Highlands should not be in fear of another colliery being opened and in particular the Hume Coal project.
The reason why I know these facts is that I was the Mine Manager at Berrima Colliery in the Southern Highlands in the 2008 to 2009 period and I am co-author of a recently published book titled Â"A History of the Prospecting and Development of Coal Mining in the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and Burragorang ValleyÂ" (Book 2). This book is available for purchase on-line from the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) website. Also, this book is stocked in libraries such as Wollongong Library and UOW Library.
The mine design of the Hume Coal project minimises the impact of surface subsidence by not having coal extraction systems such as longwall mining.
It is a standard operating condition of the NSW government that the mine must provide an alternative water supply if any landholder, farm or other industry should lose its water supply. The practical method of achieving that is to provide one or more boreholes to an aquifer below the Wongawilli coal seam for each landholder, farm or other industry. This is exactly what was done at Berrima Colliery when I was the Mine Manager there. Farmers should not be fearful of losing their water which is what the Â"scaremongersÂ" are telling them.
The Hume Coal project has installed a Â"sight screenÂ" of trees so the nearby landholders and other members of the public will not see the mine.
The environmental reports show that the nearby landholders will not hear the project being constructed and the impact on air quality will be minimal for the life of the project. The Hawkesbury Sandstone groundwater resource will not be impacted long term by the Hume Coal project.
Coal is one of AustraliaÂ's most important and valuable exports. Our national, state and local economy relies heavily on coal mining so the Hume Coal project benefits all Australians. The net benefit of the Hume Coal project to the local Southern Highlands economy will be more than 120 million dollars and the net benefit to NSW will be more than 360 million dollars.
Coal mining provides coal for steel making, cement manufacture and generates over 80 per cent of the electricity for the three eastern states of Australia. The coal from the Wongawilli seam in the Hume Coal project area is excellent for blending with other coking coals and it is perfect for cement manufacturing at locations such as the Berrima Cement Works which is presently trucking its coal supply into the area from Lithgow.
More than 300 direct employees living locally would be employed at the coal mine and their employment will benefit many others. The federal governmentÂ's tables of multiplier effects show that more than three times as many indirect jobs are created for every person employed in a coal mine.
The coal mined by the Hume Coal project will be transported by rail, utilising the Berrima Branch Line. The state government benefits by its charges for the rail transport of coal which enables passenger rail fares to be cheaper in this state. Road safety is enhanced by rail transport of bulk products such as coal instead of having more coal trucks on our roads.
For all of these reasons I fully support the Hume Coal project.

I strongly object to the granting of a mining lease, and the conjunctive rail and electrical power projects, on the grounds that it cause irreparable damage to the local aquifers. My full submission is attached. Thank you.

Please find submissions attached

Opposition to the Hume Coal Project EIS SSD 7172

Having been a visitor to the southern highlands for over 35 years and now a resident of Exeter (22 months), I wholly reject the notion that approval of the Hume Coal mine will not have significant negative impacts on choices made by tourists, employers and investors.

I believe the risks of the mine far outweigh any claimed benefits: (1) It jeopardises the success of the region as a mecca for tourists; (2) it puts at risk many more jobs in agriculture, tourism and retail than it offers; (3) it is at odds with the Southern Highlands Development Framework which has plans for jobs in their `000s (without the mine); and (4) Hume Coal has no plans and no funds for an adequate deposit for remediation.

Please see the pdf file below for a full explanation of each of these points.

As a mining engineer who has worked in the metalliferous mining industry for nearly 50 years, I am deeply concerned about the proposal by Hume Coal to place 100% of the reject material underground as some sort of paste or hydraulic fill. This process seems to be critical to the success of the project as it ostensibly avoids having any sort of pond or dam on the surface to store rejects, and also forms a key part of the water management and water balance. However, I can see no evidence that any significant testing or engineering design has been done on a system that has not been used anywhere in the coal mining industry that I can see for handling 100% of the rejects stream.
Underground filling of voids is a very complex subject as has been demonstrated by the issues that many metalliferous mines have had to face over the years in getting such fill systems to work properly. Therefore it cannot be easily dealt with in a few lines of this submission, nor in any line item summary of the overall submissions made. As a result, I request that my submission be afforded due process and that all of my key questions and comments (as outlined in Attachment 1) and the accompanying professional papers (Attachments 2, 3 & 4) be presented in full to those assessing the EIS of the Hume Coal project.

Given the importance of groundwater impacts for this project and the high variability of transmission rates noted in Hume Coal's test work, I am amazed at the paucity of long-term pump test information provided. By their own admission, long-term pump tests are the most reliable measure of horizontal and vertical K factors in virgin rock masses. However, I can only find one 7-day test done over the whole project area and one 1-day test done just outside the project area (with no reason given for the short duration.
In my 20+ plus years in evaluating mining projects and conducting EIS programs, I can't remember any that would have been approved without many more of such tests as groundwater movement is usually a key parameter in assessing the impacts and/or the viability of the project. Therefore I urge the Department not to approve this project unless and until the effect on groundwater can be established with much more certainty.