Airly Coal Mine Expansion

I wish to register my support for the Airly Mine Extension Project.

I have been an employee with Centennial Coal since 1998 in the capacity of Senior Mining Engineer and have overseen the development of the Airly Mine Extension Project EIS. I have worked in the Western Coalfields since 1994 and have experienced a wide variety of operations during that time. During that time I also was able to gain experience in the United States of America in the underground coal industry.

One of the key experiences I have had during my career was the 11 years I spent at Clarence Colliery during which time I was instrumental in the development and implementation of the partial extraction mining that has successfully been used there from 1999 to date.

Having grown up in the in the Blue Mountains and lived in the stunningly beautiful Wolgan Valley for the past 15 years, I have a deep appreciation of this landscape and very much want to see it available for future generations. Equally there needs to be industry to support communities and mining has been vital to the success of this district for over 150 years. I strongly believe there is a balance to be struck between our need to build and maintain strong communities, our need to be rejuvenated by the beauty of the natural world and the need to maintain thriving natural landscapes for the good of the entire world.

So it is with that philosophy that I approached the design of mining at Clarence in 1999 and was able to develop mining methods that prevented fracturing of the overlying rock structures, minimised impacts on surface and ground water systems and yet were safe and productive. Clarence Colliery was and is one of the most, if not the most, successful continuous miner operation in Australia. And all that under the spectacular and fragile landscape of the Bungleboori Creek gorge. Centennial Coal could have insisted on higher extraction ratios and greater levels of impact at Clarence given the high value resources that is there, but instead the company has been fully supportive of the partial extraction techniques used and the minimal impact philosophy.

I came to Airly in mid 2009 and after one inspection around the mountain realised that this was a landscape that bore remarkable similarities to that above Clarence Colliery. It was fragile and much loved by a broad cross section of the community. Added to this was a vibrant community in the Capertee Valley that made use of the natural and water resources of the area.

Clearly a similar approach to that used at Clarence was applicable. Again, Centennial has been fully supportive of moving away from the high levels of impact previously proposed for Airly and moving to a far more sustainable yet productive mining method that minimises impacts to surface features and water systems.

As the person responsible for the development of the Airly EIS I can say that every effort has gone into finding the right balance between safe and productive mining, preserving the local environment and making sure that down stream water users are not unduly impacted.

I don't just work here. I am not just a blow in, here to make a quick buck and move on. These mountains are my home - they have been all my life and I hope they will be for my children and theirs after them. I could not in all conscience be a part of something I knew to be destructive on this community and this place. I am proud to support Airly and what we are trying to achieve. I would encourage others to support this project as an example of the way forward in underground coal mining in Australia.

My name is Karen Norris. I am a permanent resident of Capertee , I currently work for Strike Force, a cleaning company that contracts to Airly mine. I have worked there for over 3y now even when it was on care n maintenance.
I also own a property at the near by town of Cullen Bullen, witch is currantly rented to a Airly mine worker, my son also works at the mine. So as you can see my life would be changed dramaticly if the mine were to close.
Not only would I lose my home and workplace that I love. My son would lose his too.
Please don't close our mine it is part of our community without it our little school and our only shop would close.
Regards Karen Norris

I support the submission as it gives me a annual income, so i can support my Family and also spend our income in our local towns of Kandos/Rylstone. and also into the local schools ,and i wish to do this for many years to come , as Kandos has been my Families home town for 4 generations so far.

I support the submission ,as My husband works at Airly and we have 2 teenage kids to support,our kids enjoy sports and we travel to places all over NSW , it will be a bit hard to do this without an income. our community also benefits from his income ie schools shops , we know a lot of people from the local towns that also work there, and if there are no jobs around there may not be any towns.

i have worked in the mining industry for the past 8 years,with airly for 3 months it would be the most safest ,invro friendly mine i have worked at.I have 4 children we live in clandulla nsw witch is located near kandos in resent years it has been hit hard by the cement works and charbon mine closing there are over 40 people that work at airly witch live in and spend a lot of money in this community i believe with this extension it would help a small town not only survive but thrive in years to come.

The Airly Mine has been an important economical benefit to a large area from Lithgow to Kandos and Bathurst. Granting an extension to this environmentally responsible company would go a long way to helping the people of these areas. The managing company have proved in the past to respect any environmental conditions imposed and are expected to do so in the future. There would be no negative impacts on the surrounding area that could or would not be rectified at the end of the term.

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the proposal for the Airly Mine Extension Project should not be allowed to go ahead. As a resident in the Capertee Valley, along with many others, seeing the degradation that is caused by underground mining with subsidance in several areas of NSW, has promoted a fear that the same will happen along the cliff faces of our valley. No amount of justification at Table 12.1 for the project warrants a blind acceptance to forgo the very act that should be protecting our environment and closing this coal mine not extending it. Where is the Biodiversity of this project? We know that the underground water will be reduced if this project goes ahead and there isn't enough for nature as it is. We know that there would NEVER be a total of 135 people working at the mine at any one time...it is the least convincing statistic presented. We know that the voice of the community is low on the govenmen'ts list of being of value and is nine out of ten times ignored but please not this time!!!

Under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, the proposal for the Airly Mine Extension Project should not be allowed to go ahead. As a resident in the Capertee Valley, along with many others, seeing the degradation that is caused by underground mining with subsidance in several areas of NSW, has promoted a fear that the same will happen along the cliff faces of our valley. No amount of justification at Table 12.1 for the project warrants a blind acceptance to forgo the very act that should be protecting our environment and closing this coal mine not extending it. Where is the Biodiversity of this project? We know that the underground water will be reduced if this project goes ahead and there isn't enough for nature as it is. We know that there would NEVER be a total of 135 people working at the mine at any one time...it is the least convincing statistic presented. We know that the voice of the community is low on the govenmen'ts list of being of value and is nine out of ten times ignored but please not this time!!!

My family lives in the Capertee valley in Glen Davis .This is a very special unique place .We have a special ecosystem .This is the second biggest enclosed canyon in the world. This a a fragile drought prone valley with 80 threatened species. Capertee valley shoud be fully protected from any kind of mining . I object to any mining activity in the Capertee valley .We are very lucky to have this unique place .We should not allow the mining company to destroy it !! I recommend to put Capertee valley on the world heritage list .!!!

I have lived most of my life in Glen Davis and bought our property here in 1974. I have worked in the valley in numerous capacities - ranging from post mistress and mail carrier to principal of Glen Alice Public School. When Airly Mine first opened -the community as a whole was excited about the prospect, as we felt it meant there would be much needed employment for young families and this would have benefits for our school and community generally.

Now fourteen years later, I can tell you that most of this community does not want Airly Mine here at all, and certainly no expansion of operations The mine has not brought in any employment for the parents of our local school children, no new families into the valley, and, in fact, most of the staff seem to be from outside our area, from mines that have closed down elsewhere.

The socio economic benefits of the mine are nil for this valley.

Most of the economic activity in the valley comes from agriculture and tourism. Nearly every property is involved in some sort of food production. Our water supply is very fragile and this is a drought prone valley. If our surface water is polluted (there have been two instances of sediment dams from the mine over flowing in the past 8 months.) or our ground water depleted or contaminated there is no Plan B. We totally depend on our water and the mines, and a washery (which we were promised would never happen) are a threat to its purity and overall supply. What happens if something does go wrong? Its too late for us.

To this end, at the very least the water needs to be monitored by an independent company, regularly, starting now. And the water that is used by the mine needs to be processed. cleaned and filtered in a sustainable way before being returned to the environment. The results of all water testing should be made public and this should happen in a timely manner.

The benefits of mining to NSW are short term, at best; but what it is doing to our natural resources is irreparable. A trip to Newcastle from Bylong will show some of the best agricultural land in the state completely ruined. Tourism is evolving as one of the most important activities in the valley. There are over 17 operations running here at last count ranging from B&B's to a weddings/events/health retreat venue and a major music festival. We are only 3 hours drive from Sydney and, as population increases, the wilderness and pristine natural environment of the Capertee Valley will be one of its most valuable attributes.
Why threaten this for the sake of a coal mine which closed down in 2012 because it was deemed to be unfinancial? It makes no sense.
At the very least, to protect biodiversity and avoid cliff collapse, the extraction plan of the entire licence area (including Genowlan Mountain) should be limited to 50% extraction with subsidence less than 125mm, max strain 2mm/m; max tilt 2.5 mm/m.
This is an important issue for this valley, and the decision reached by Planning will have an effect on generations to come.

I am the owner of a small holding at Glen Davis and 80% of my food is produced here. I am but one of many small scale food producers who live in the Capertee Valley.

I would like to voice my concerns re this project. My main concern is the possible effect of the expansion of Airly mine on our water supplies - both in terms of qantity and quality. Several of the creeks near the mine flow into the Capertee River and that water table is where I get my water from. Even in areas of first workings where there is small subsidence and there are small surface strains, there will be impacts on ground water systems and base flows to streams.

Who is going to monitor this? What sort of systems will be put into place? Are we supposed to trust Airly mines to do this or will it be an independent company nominated by the Office of Water and paid for by Centennial? The latter is essential if this project is gaining approval.

In order to minimise subsidence and impacts on water and conservation areas, Centennial must be bound to honor its commitment to only take 50% of the coal in the entire licence area.

I am employed by Centennial Coal and have been for 6yrs. They gave me an opportunity as a mature aged person to start a apprenticeship and support me through that time.
My income that I earn supports my local community. I donate to local charities, support local growers at our local markets and participate in local envents like relay for life. These traits I learnt from seeing what companies like centennial do, supporting the local community

My dad is employed at Airly Coal. His wage each week pays for my daycare, sports and play groups. He works hard so I can enjoy the parks, fishing, bushwalking in the capertee valley and all other fun things to do locally. If this submission was to fail, we would have to move and I would miss my friends

Airly Mine Extension Project .
Application No SSD 5581

We are Christine and Andrew Truszczynski from Noola Rd Bogee..We own 100 acres of the most breathtaking land and we are at present getting ready to move onto our land permanently.
We are not against mining,we are against mining being done in the wrong areas. Capertee Valley is not only the widest canyon in the southern hemisphere but it is also very beautiful and is surrounded by fantastic escarpments, many threatened species of birds and one of the top birdwatching areas in the world.
Unfortunately many years ago our Government granted approval for mining to go ahead and now we are stuck with the backlash.
We are very concerned about the transparency by Mining Companies to the people in the area .We want them to behave in the right manner and not only to their water usage as we should share it but also the pollution to surrounding areas.We all should live in harmony.
We would like the Mining Companies to contribute more to the local road works, Children playgrounds, construct picnic areas for our many visitors to enjoy, tree planting and lastly our Fire Brigades..
After they finish the mining in an area they should restore the waste land to the original landscape that was there before they started..

Thank you

Christine and Andrew Truszczynski

I am a regular visitor to the beautiful Capertee Valley and mining has been going on in the area for many years.

In my opinion there has been no impact on the environment as a result of mining.

Families depend on the mine for jobs and the local businesses do also.

I believe if the extreme Greens had their way we all be living back in the stone age instead of being the young vibrant progressive country we are.

I support the existence of Airly Mine 100 percent.

I am a current employee at airly underground colliery. I have worked in the underground coal industry for 29 years at various mines and have seen many changes in this time. airly colliery mining methods have the lowest impact on surface, water, flora and fauna that I have worked with. centennial coal, (airly) , are also a great community minded company, helping with local schools, volunteer and sporting organizations .without airly the Rylstone Kandos area would lose more families to the bigger regional tows and cities, causing the loss of teachers, nurses and hairdressers in our already struggling towns.so with this submission I urge the airly mine extension be granted.

I've lived in the district for about 40 years and I have owned my farm in the Capertee Valley for 30 years. We have had sheep, cattle, pigs, horses and poultry, and sometimes put in pasture and oats. We have three dams on the property. I also grow vegies, fruit and herbs.

I feel a strong connection with the landscape and the cliffs. My grandmother is Aboriginal. It is my view that the minerals are meant to be in the ground to help the plants and the trees grow. They shouldn't be disturbed. When the minerals are exposed to air they can be toxic and a health hazard

Mining disturbs the underground water tables which can threaten our water supply.

A lot of the profit from the coal mine is going overseas. We don't benefit in Australia,

I own a small farm in Glen Davis, have lived in the district for 40 years and am a commercial bee keeper. We grow most of our own food and use the surplus to supply family and friends. We rely on a healthy environment for our well being.
This valley is like no other place and it is an important place for tourism. We must do our utmost to keep it protected and unpolluted.
There are very real threats that our water supply could be diminished and contaminated from coal mining.
Other impacts include increased traffic on the road. There are already so many animals killed on the side of the road from the traffic.
Coal will be finished in another twenty years. Why destroy what is of value here in the valley to make a quick buck from coal mining for the next 10-20 years? The surrounding area should be listed as a world heritage area. We need to look ahead for our grandchildren. If we destroy this from mining it is destroyed forever.

I am currently employed as the Commercial Manager at Airly Coal. I express my support for the Airly Mine Extension Project.
I have resided within the district (Rylstone) for the past 30 years and have been employed within the mining industry for the past 8 years.
In March 2014 I was transferred from Charbon to Airly when mining recommenced.
Although the my exposure to Airly Mine has been relative short (8 Months), it has been rewarding to be part of team that has acheived a safe, productive and low cost operation in very difficult times within the industry.
If approved, the project will give continuity of employment for many families within the district when employment prospects are scarce due to the recent closure of the Charbon Underground Mine and the Kandos Cement Works.

Tim Gleeson
38 Dangar St Kandos
Airy Mine Extension Project
Application Number: SSD 12-5581

I fully support the Airly mine extension project and EIS, I have lived in the local area all my life and have witness the strong support that the mining industry has injected to our local communities and economy. I have also seen first hand how both industrial and farming can effectively work together in our local area in excess of 80 years.

The extension of Airly mine is extremely important to the true local community that has been hit very hard by the closures of the Cement works, Kandos Mine, and the huge reduction of workforce at Charbon Mine that is also set to close completely in late 2015. The community and local businesses strongly rely on the Airly Mine extension approval to provide employment and suability in the local surrounding areas.

Having worked in the Mining industry for almost 20 years I have seen massive improvements in the mining process in regards to environmentally impact, Centennial Coal and their employees are extremely well educated in the proposed mining methods to minimise any potential environmental impact.
At the end of the day we are not just miners, we are a very important part of the community that are strong supporters of local services and associations and truly do care about any environmental harm.