Myuna Coal Mine (MOD 2) - Road transport

I have been a local resident my entire lifetime. I have serious safety concerns if coal trucks were to use the public roads as outlined in this project. Wangi Rd is the main road used for all the suburbs on the Western side of Lake Macquarie. The intersections with Wangi Rd at Summer Hill Drive, Donnelly Rd, Buttaba Hills Rd, Dorrington Rd and Wilton Rd will all be affected by an increase in traffic. These intersections are already busy and most require residents to make a right hand turn to join the main road in a 90km/hr zone. Summer Hill Drv, Donnelly Rd and Buttaba Hills Rd intersections do not have adequate dedicated merging lanes, and so traffic turning right onto Wangi Rd from these intersections must give way to vehicles coming from both directions. There have been many accidents at these intersections over the years and my concern is these will increase with the extra traffic. The area of Wangi Rd adjacent to the Wilton Rd intersection has already been identified as a 'black spot' and has a sign erected to warn motorists.
It is also of great concern that trucks fully laden will be turning right onto Wangi Rd at the intersection of Wangi Point road where there is only one lane in each direction and no merging lane. Cars travelling from the south will be travelling at 90km/hr, downhill and on a left hand bend, only to be confronted with a slow moving truck turning and joining the road right in front of them.
There needs to be major upgrades to Wangi Rd, at the intersections of Wangi Point Rd, Donnelly Rd and Buttaba Hills Rd to allow traffic turning right out of these intersections to join Wangi Rd safely. At a minimum extra lanes for merging. If upgrades are not done to the road, and the equivalent of 1 truck every 3 minutes is added, it will only be a matter of time before we have fatalities on this section of road.

The request by Centenial Coal, to use the public roads, from Wangi Point Road to Wilton Road should not be allowed.
This road is the main access road to the M1 from western Lake Macquarie.
The evident daily high traffic volume, of Tradies vans, utes and smaller public vehicles, mean this Application for major Coal Truck Haulage to join this volume of traffic - will result in accidents and death.
These winding, single lane roads are completely unfit for heavy vehicles at 90KMH!!!

There is no way ,this is a thought through Application, with the Public Interest in mind.
The NSW Government will be directly liable and responsible for all and any accidents that will result.

STOP THIS APPLICATION

Late last century the main road between Morisset and Toronto was used for mass coal transport with fewer truck movements that are proposed in this current project. The road wasn't designed for that many truck movements then and isn't now. Back then the road deteriorated and many people died as a result. The same will happen if this project is approved. People will die as the road is put to a use for which it was not designed.
When the road was previously used for coal transport, the loss of life was so severe that they were forced to build a dedicated private coal road to get those trucks off the road and stop the carnage.
If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
The experiment of using the main road between Morisset and Toronto for coal transport failed before and, if this project is approved, it will fail again, at the cost of a lot of innocent lives.
Anyone seeking to have a project such as this approved should be forced to provide the figures pertaining to road deterioration and road fatalities from the last time it was tried and failed.

My objection is in regards to the use of public roads for the planned transport of coal.
There is existing infrastructure that could be used to completely avoid transport via public roads. Myuna colliery currently uses a conveyor system to move coal to Eraring power station and the Eraring-Newstan Private Coal Road is a direct route to the Awaba colliery. This existing infrastructure may require some modifications to suit the particular transport needs of this project, such modification would make significantly more sense than using public roads. The reason the Eraring-Newstan Private Coal Road exists is to keep coal trucks off these public roads.
Allowing such a significant volume of trucks to use these public roads would lead to considerable increases to the wear and tear on these roads, increasing the burden on Lake Macquarie Council to maintain them and on the state government to provide funding. While Wangi Rd is currently in reasonably good condition Wilton Road is not and has the existing burden of garbage trucks coming in and out of the Awaba Waste Facility. Wilton Road is not currently fit to handle the level of traffic this plan intends and is generally not suitable for B double traffic as it is very windy in parts and generally narrow.
The plan suggests that truck operations on these public roads would occur between 7am and 6pm Monday to Saturday, which includes peak traffic in the mornings and evenings. The entire suburban area from Wangi Wangi to Rathmines relies on Wangi Road, there is no alternative route from these suburbs to anywhere. Accidents on Wangi Road, during the morning peak period, already have the ability to cause traffic jams blocking every exit onto Wangi Road and the proposed increase in traffic is going to increase the number of accidents, just through simple statistics.
The transport of coal along these routes will inevitable increase the coal dust in the air, exposing all users of these roads, in particular the residents of the suburbs from Wangi Wangi to Rathmines and drivers of the garbage trucks going to Awaba Waste Facility, to high levels of airbourne particulate matter and increased risk of the respiratory issues connected with breathing such particulate matter.
The negative impacts of this project, in terms of wear to public infrastructure, traffic disruption to the local population and health risks to the local population are entirely unacceptable, especially when an alternative private transport route already exists.

I object to Centennial Coal's plans to put 62,000 Coal truck movements onto the public roads in Western lake Macquarie. To even contemplate adding this many heavy vehicle movements to the roads on the proposed route is ridiculous and unacceptable. The roads are already heavily used and there is no way that they can cope with the proposed additional traffic. It will make the roads and the community unsafe. Another means of transporting the coal to Awaba must be found, such as conveyor belts as already in use.

The project as it stands massively increases the risk of accidents on Wangi Road and nearby intersections as well as disrupting traffic flow. Such large numbers of truck movements will also damage public roads, create excessive noise and deposit coal dust on the roads. The State Government, Lake Macquarie City Council, Centennial Coal and Origin Energy should collaborate to find a much more satisfactory solution to the need to mix Myuna coal with that from other sources. Why not a modification to the existing conveyor system, between Myuna colliery and Eraring power station, or construction of a haul road on the old railway corridor from Wangi to Awaba?

TfNSW Response Letter

I object to the proposal that will put 62,400 truck movements a year, or one every three minutes on our public local roads, endangering road-users by deploying 200 fully-loaded coal-trucks per day onto 90km/h public roads.
This will impact not only the safety of road users but on the integrity of the road surface which was not designed for this heavy usage, therefore shifting the infrastructure burden back to the State to repair the inevitable damage.

I object to Centennial Coal’s application to move a million tonnes of coal a year over public roads in Lake Macquarie allowing coal haulage on public roads in Lake Macquarie. This is a backwards step.
Public roads are not private property to be used and abused at the expense of those whom they were designed to service. If the business can't fund its own critical infrastructure maybe it needs to review its viability.
The proposed road is the major vehicle route for west Lake Macquarie residents, it is unacceptable that it be used for coal haulage.

Centennial Myuna holds an enviable reputation within the community as a good corporate citizen, a provider of well renumerated stable employment, and as a source of energy coal to the nearby Eraring Power Station. Clearly aimed at increasing the quality of energy coal for consumption at Eraring and supporting the ongoing and efficient operation of Eraring Power Station and continued supply of electricity to NSW, this modification has many additional positive impacts including the maintenance of a stable Colliery workforce and continued taxation and royalty contributions supporting the wider NSW community.

I fully support this modification, and the flow on benefits it will continue to provide to the Regional and wider NSW community.

Kenny Barry

I am appalled at the proposal. The cavalier way in which the well-being of the local population, the users of the Wangi Road, the flora and fauna are ignored,
is quite staggering. The life-span of the Eraring Power Station is now only a few years and as someone committed to a sustainable planet I support all initiatives that develop alternatives for when coal-fired power stations are phased out. In the meanwhile the proposal has nothing whatever to commend itself. The safety to other road users, the pollution to human lives, plants and birds - all creatures - will be horrendous. The proposal refers to problems that will arise that cannot be planned for. -" that will be unavoidable".
I say - Abandon the Plan and use the time and energy and resources to develop Solar alternatives for the time, in a few years, when Eraring will close.

My objection to this project is based on the significant increase in heavy vehicle movements along a section of the Wangi Road and, most importantly, the unacceptable dangers which would arise at the intersection of Wangi Point Road and the Wangi Road. There are at present few if any vehicle movements of any type through this intersection as Wangi Point Road is normally barred to preclude access to the coal mine. This most appropriately diverts traffic travelling to and from the mine to an alternative access point thus avoiding the dangers which would arise from the passage of vehicles through a poorly located intersection with the Wangi Road. The intersection is located at the base of a hill , at a point where the Wangi Road is only a single lane in either direction, there is no traffic control or turning lane and the speed limit of 90kph is often exceeded by vehicles traveling downhill in both directions. The proposal to direct a regular high volume of heavy vehicle movements through such a location must carry risks simply unacceptable to any community. I am aware that other submissions will have detailed the dangers arising from this situation in more detail and it seems quite clear to me that comments attributed to State MP Greg Piper in the Newcastle Herald on August 13 are totally valid. Greg expressed the view that this was 'a ridiculous proposition that is going to put a lot of people at risk' and that 'the increased risk of a disaster is clearly there'. I most wholeheartedly concur!

The Myuna mine is already linked to the Eraring Power Station by an overland conveyer system which avoids any need for such dangerous heavy vehicle traffic on the road system. While it may well be the preference of the operators to avoid costs or inconvenience which may be associated with a change in use and any consequential modification and/or duplication of that system which may be required it seems to me that this would be the very much more desireable alternative to what is currently proposed.

This proposal to truck via public roads of Wangi Rd and Wilton Rd is unwarranted. The proposer, Centennial Coal has identified 3 options: two of which are less onerous on the local community and offer Centennial Coal the ability to meet their contracts
Option 1 - Conditioning the coal to bring up to standard required on site at Myunna Colliery - rejected by Centennial Coal because of cost to company
Option 2 - use existing overland coal conveyor system and blend coal at Eraring Power Station - rejected by Origin as it did not suit them.
Option 3 - truck the required coal by public road . Not acceptable as the current DA allows no truck of coal on public roads.
Centennial Coal has chosen option 3 no doubt it will be the least cost to the company to implement. However I note this DA has been in place for a long time and has already been varied once in the companies favour in 2004 when they were allowed to increase production by 50%. I note at that time the restriction on using public roads to move coal was retained.
The area around Wangi Wangi, Acadia Vale etc has grown substantially over the ensuing years and there are now even more people living here, many of these people would have chosen the area based on the fact there were no substantial trucking of coal as proposed now by Centennial Coal.
Centennial Coal say not granting this could impact on Origin ability to deliver power, if that is the case why don't Centennial Coal and Origin work together for a solution, that requires not trucking on public roads. The infrastructure of the overground conveyor is already there and this would be a win, win for the Companies and the Community

As a temporary measure until conveyors can be installed.

It is a huge safety risk to residents, commuters,cyclists and visitors that use Wangi and Wilton Roads to have coal trucks on these public roads. There is no Social Impact Assessment, which is very surprising as there are over 8500 people living in the suburbs of Rathmines, Fishing Point, Balmoral, Buttaba, Arcadia Vale and Wangi Wangi, who directly use Wangi Road.
The Newstan/ Awaba CCC were not notified of the lodgement this modification.
There is a risk to wildlife.

Please see attached submission.

Please refer to attached letter.

It is ludicrous to consider such a proposal which will see over 62,000 heavily laden coal trucks, using public roads on a yearly basis. What is even more absurd is the fact that these trucks will enter from the bottom of the hill onto an already deemed dangerous strip of road and merge with traffic travelling at 90kms an hour. There will be numerous accidents! Furthermore, these heavily laden trucks will commence their climb from a stationery position causing much grief to users of Wangi road. This will create a pile up of traffic behind them until they reach the overtaking lane where the traffic will then overtake them causing problems for those entering from Donnelly road who merge the overtaking lane. They do have other options. Centennial Coal show no consideration at all to Wangi residents or users of this road. Their proposal is none other than corporate greed at the expense of the local community.

By agreeing to this proposal the government is reversing rules that were put in place 35+ years ago to protect the health and safety of both the community and environment. I am a resident of Buttaba for the last 38 years and have had family & friends working at both the power station & coal mines including Myuna. In the early 1980's when Eraring Power station was under construction, a law was passed so as NO COAL was to arrive at the power station by road for safety and environmental reasons. Because of this Myuna Colliery built a conveyor belt to transport all its coal to the power station which it still uses today quite successfully. Unfortunately the mines circumvented this rule by trucking coal to Myuna Collery via Wangi Rd to be finally taken to the power station by conveyor belt. Sometimes those trucks even passed the entrance to Eraring Power Station but most came from the north by the sections of road in this proposal. The traffic was horrendous and the roads fell into disrepair. A couple of years later the trucks were outlawed from using these local roads and that is when the private haul roads were built. This was a fantastic outcome for both the public and the truck drivers.
This is what is proposing to be reversed. My primary concern is road safety as the roads were not ever built to withstand a constant use of heavy vehicles and the terrain did not seem to be taken into account. The intersection of Wangi Pt Rd & Wangi Rd where the trucks will enter the public road is at the bottom of a hill with laden coal trucks crossing 2 lanes. Then they have to climb a long steep hill to the intersections of Donnelly St and Buttaba Hills Rd. Both of those intersections have poor vision and can often difficult to exit. I use Buttaba Hills Rd intersection daily. It has NO run in lane, less visibility than required as stated Myuna's proposal and the dual lanes on Wangi RD merge at that intersection. I have found over the years whenever a slow vehicle is coming up the hill, often a normal vehicle will speed up considerably to overtake before the lanes merge causing a very dangerous situation. The trucks will then go down the hill on Wangi Rd where they merge with traffic entering Wangi Rd at Dorrington Rd which also does NOT have good visibility. Soon after they turn left into Wilton Rd where they meet up with many garbage trucks going to and from Awaba Waster Management Facility. This is the only waste facility for the whole of Lake Macquarie Council area. About 1km along Wilton Rd is the entrance into Waste Facility which I consider dangerous with lots of coal trucks, garbage trucks and other vehicles. Following that entrance Wilton Rd becomes much narrower and very windy making it more dangerous for many heavy vehicles. On their return journey from Awaba Colliery they cover the same roads but at the Dorrington Rd intersection the trucks will have to navigate a very tight roundabout deliberately designed to slow the southbound through traffic as many serious traffic accidents have occurred there. Following that roundabout they then have to climb a long steep hill again to Buttaba Hills Rd intersection. Then they travel down a steep hill where at the bottom they need to do a sharp left hand turn into Wangi Pt Rd and the mine. As you can see there are several dangerous intersections on their route.
The suburbs of Rathmines through to Wangi are very unique in that you cannot exit from them to the wider community by a variety of routes like most suburbs. We MUST use Wangi Rd as we have Lake Macquarie to our east, bushland to our north and south and Wangi Rd to our west. We have 4 roads that exit to Wangi Rd. Three of these (Donnelly St, Buttaba Hills Rd & Dorrington Rd) will be significantly impacted by these truck movements and the fourth (Summer Hill Dr) will be partially impacted (vehicles turning Right toward Toronto and Newcastle). Also if there is a traffic incident on Wangi Rd there is NO alternate route without adding at least 20-30 kms to your trip. Wangi Rd also carries many buses full of school children to and from school each day.
Rathmines to Wangi has 3 public primary schools but NO high school. These primary school subsequently feed 2 high schools at Morisset and Toronto with the children being transported by bus on Wangi Rd. There are also many children who attend the Catholic school on Wangi Rd closer to Toronto and other indepenent schools in the area.
My next concern is environmental. I believe there will end up with a considerable amount of fine coal dust in the air from all those trucks on the road and also pollutant emissions from the trucks. I am sure that this will impact on the health of the residents and other people passing through.
My final concern is the condition of Wangi and Wilton roads as they were not built to withstand the constant heavy traffic and back in the 1980's when the trucks were transiting these roads they caused a considerable amount of damage (potholes etc). Wangi Rd is a state maintained road and Wilton Rd a council maintained road. From my reading of the proposal I cannot find any reference to Centennial Coal offering to pay for any upgrades or road maintenance. It seems unfair that taxpayers and rate payers have to foot the bill.
Finally I would hate to see workers from Myuna Colliery lose their jobs but I am sure that with a little cooperation between Myuna Colliery and Eraring Power Station a suitable solution could be arranged by modifying current infrastructure eg extend the existing conveyor belt, change haul roads, disused rail system etc that would satisfy both the Management at Myuna Colliery and the safety concerns of the public.
I thought the state government had concerns for the public when they legislated in the 1980's to stop coal trucks using the local public roads and more recently by closing Myuna Bay Sport & Recreation Centre due to a 1 in a million safety concern. I see this proposal as endangering the lives of hundreds of people daily who use Wilton & Wangi Rds.
In the event that another solution cannot be found or your committee regrettably approves this proposal, I would suggest that the hours of operation be changed to 7 PM to 6 AM when there is far less traffic on the road and vehicles would be far more visible due to headlights. Could I also suggest that one or more of your committee members travel to the area to review these concerns in person as the proposal written by Centennial Coal does not highlight any of the negatives for them. For any further information I am happy to assist with your decision making either by phone (0487819607) or by email ([email protected]).
Thanking You Janet McNamara 139 Buttaba Hills Rd Buttaba NSW

I vehemently object to this project because:
The danger to other users of Wangi Road
The arrogance of Centennial that tney wont pay any other infrastructure to improve road to cart their coal albeit, the guaranteed damage these trucks will cause (to be paid by tax payers non the less)
There is a conveyor which could be modified and Origin told by government this is the safest method to obtain the coal
mix they require.
Fair go please for locals and others who use this busy road.