Angus Place Extension Project.

The Angus Place Mine Extension will lock in coal mining for the next 33 years in the area where the Wolgan River and Carne Creek flow. The project would have a major impact on bushwalking in both the magnificent Gardens of Stone region and the Wollemi National Park. It will also threaten endangered swamps and vegetation communities, risk cracking and undermining the beautiful cliffs and pagodas, potentially damage Aboriginal heritage sites and impacts water flows. PLEASE DO NOT APPROVE THIS PROJECT IN SUCH A WONDERFUL AREA.

Objection attached

Please find my objection submission attached.
Kind regards
Cathy Merchant

I fully support the project, It will help the employment in the area, it will sure up a supply of coal for the Mount Piper Power Station, it will help the struggling community, and will have a huge flow on effect for the area.

It is absolutely beyond credibility that the NSW Government should even consider extension of any coal mine after the worst mass bushfire event last summer in recorded history. All scientifically and politically agreed as a result of man made global warming. This even more repugnant given it is to occur within the Wollemi National park --a world heritage area which was entirely burnt out by these fires.
It is now recognised that the economic costs of not dealing with climate change are massive compared with the small short term gains from such a project.
Please show some proper diligence in accounting both on an environmental and economic analysis of the real cost of such a project.
So NO to this shortsighted project. Unfortunately I have little faith that this will occur given our poor leadership record in Australia and NSW and the government's convenient narrow terms of reference in these Environmental assessments. Please prove me wrong!!!

Objection to the State Significant Project – Angus Place Mine Extension (SSD 5602 - Amendment Exhibition)

I request that the DoPIE recommend refusal of this project in a unique area of the Blue Mountains - a location that Centnnial Coal already have a poor environmental record.

The proposed mine extension will fracture the sandstone in the area and ruin the remaining swamps not already impact by coal mining.

It will also drain and/or pollute pristine waterways including the Wolgan River and Carne Creek. I have walked along these waterways and appreciate the significance of their pristine conditon.

The extension would also damage the unique sandstone pagodas - another unique feature of this area that is likely to be greatly appreciated by future generations.

Already coal mining has polluted creeks and destroyed habitat. The Wolgan Falls will cease to exist and the area will be further degraded (including Birds Rock Reserve).

It is unbelievable that Centennial Coal is seeling a consent to mine coal until 2053 when the community wants sustainable energy as its future power source.

The proposal should be rejected.

I request that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment recommend refusal of consent, for the following reasons:

1. The project will fail to protect swamps and landforms of national significance. The environmental values of the area associated with the swamps and pagoda rock formations, which will be damaged forever, far exceed the value of the short term gains associated with the project. There has been too much damage already.

2. There is significant risk that the project will have unacceptable impact on the natural flows in the Wolgan River, an important watercourse in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and one of the major feeders of the Colo River, a declared Wild River.
• The Assessment Report (Table 4) indicates a total post-mining baseflow loss of 901 kL/day (including the 605 kL/day Carne Creek component). The report claims this loss will have insignificant impact, based on the modelling presented in Section 5 of the Surface Water Impact Assessment (Appendix E). However, the model results do not appear to reflect the real world. While the model predicts minimum flows of around 5 kL/day in the Wolgan below Carne Creek, Section 4.1.1 of Appendix E indicates that the river there actually ceased to flow for 1% of the time in the period 2008-2018; if the periods of the Millenium Drought and the 2019 dry been included in the data, that percentage would presumably have been much larger. The loss of 901 kL/day from the river can only be seen as very significant in terms of the likely impact on the duration and severity of low-flow or zero-flow periods, with consequential damage to aquatic and associated riparian environments beyond what may be expected under natural conditions.
• Section 5.8 of the Groundwater Impact Assessment (Appendix H) states “Following mine closure and cessation of pumping in 2053, potential seepages resulting from mine void water level recovery may not meet the requirement for a neutral or beneficial effect on water quality. A detailed assessment of potential seepage volumes, water quality and mitigation and management measures will be undertaken at the mine closure planning stage.” This is not good enough. Such issues might well be assessed at the closure stage, but whether anything can be done about them then is another matter. It is well established that uncontrollable discharge from an adit at the abandoned Canyon Colliery is causing ongoing pollution of the Grose River downstream, and that there is no practicable solution for ameliorating the problem. There is a high risk that a similar situation would arise in Wolgan River catchment (which includes Carne Creek).

3. The proposal that the project be grandfathered until 2053 is totally unacceptable.
• Grandfathering would be completely inconsistent with the rapidly growing recognition in the community and in government that the world must move rapidly to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any project of this nature must be capable of being reviewed at frequent intervals to take into account evolving government policy in this regard.
• If the project is grandfathered there would be no opportunity to review the project in the light of the results of ongoing monitoring of the environmental impacts on the swamps, the landforms and the rivers. Whether or not the consultants have applied the best available hydrologic modelling methods in their analysis, the great complexity of the system is such that it is quite likely that within a few years a significant divergence from predictions will be experienced.

I strongly support the Angus Place Extension Project because it will provide future employment for Springvale mine’s workforce and continuity of coal supply to Mt Piper Power Station.

Representing another generation of economic stability for the Lithgow community Angus Place will employ up to 450 people, mine up to 4.5 million tonnes annually and have a project life consistent with the life of Mt Piper Power Station.

Changes to the original mine design have been made to minimize surface impacts:
• Reducing the number of longwalls from 19 to 15
• Reducing the lengths of longwalls to provide an offset of at least 1000m from the adjacent Gardens of Stone National Park
• Shortening longwalls to avoid undermining Trail 6 Swamp
• Reduced overall footprint
• Consistent longwall widths of 350m wide

Further to these mine design changes this Project is also proposing:
• the transfer of coal to the Springvale pit top using underground conveyors, once longwall extraction commences, reducing the requirement for haul road use and therefore the impact on local residents.
• No water will be discharged from site by piping it to the Springvale Water Treatment Facility for beneficial reuse by Mt Piper Power Station.

Located near Mt Piper Power Station and connected with existing infrastructure (haul road, underground and overland conveyors), Angus Place is the natural supplier of coal to replace Springvale when it closes.

The proposal will destroy the Gardens of Stone NP and its flora and fauna.

This project if approved will damage World Heritage areas for ever on the Newnes Plateau including Bird Rock, Cathedral Cave and the Carne Creek area. It is vital that it must not proceed.

CONFIDENTIAL
Aboriginal Heritage Sites within Angus Place Project Area
In addition to my previous submission, I would like to object to the proposed project for the following reason.
Having bushwalked extensively in this part of Newnes State Forest, I have become aware of three Aboriginal Heritage Sites within the proposed Angus Place Project Area. These sites must be preserved. They need to be visited, investigated, and the Aboriginal people must be consulted before any decision can be made.
The sites I am aware of are as follows:
1. Upper Carne Creek Shelter
The location is at GR 381 118, Department of Lands Cullen Bullen Topographical Map. Datum – GDA94.
Here is an extract from our track notes, dated 26/11/12, when we first discovered it:
What happened next, at 1300, was almost unbelievable. We ventured under a huge fallen, hollowed out rock that had created a natural shelter. The roof height was such that we could stand up easily and move around. The floor was dead level, cool and dry and it was protected from the elements. Most amazing of all was a flat stone in the near centre of the cave that was a grinding stone, it was fine grained, smooth and showed the effects of years, if not generations of use. We had found an Aboriginal habitation site of some significance. It was close to water, and near to other features that would have been of ritual or cultural significance.
On 14/12/12, we have returned to that site, recording the following:
This cave has perfectly flat floor and could easily accommodate a small group of say a dozen individuals. The natural protection barriers, together with its easterly aspect, and nearby water sources make it a very desirable cave. The principal artefact within the cave is the base block of a grinding stone pair. The top grinding stone is missing; however the smooth ground surface is very distinctive. We noted that the Sword Grass, Gahnia sp., the seeds of which were used for making a type of flour by Aboriginal people, grows in profusion nearby. The remains of Aboriginal campfires from hundreds, if not thousands of years ago on the cave floor are obvious. Disappointingly, no evidence of stone tools or stencil artwork could be found.
I have re-visit the site several times since, most recently on 08/11/19.

2. Upper Wolgan River Shelter
The location is at GR 367 071, Department of Lands Cullen Bullen Topographical Map. Datum – GDA94.
Here is an extract from our track notes, dated 22/06/11, when we first went there. I believe this site merits a proper archaeological excavation.

By the end of the first walk, we all had wet frozen feet and very cold hands. Every so often snow flurries would swirl around us. Despite this we did find an exceptional site for examination. This site more or less fits some of the descriptive material written by P.P. Gorecki in an archaeological survey report dated February 1983 commissioned for the Angus Place Colliery.

“Site is located on the right bank of a right tributary of the Wolgan River at the base of an escarpment on the valley floor. It is quite an open shelter, 10m long x 4m wide x 4m high. Its orientation is 210 degrees. The talus is flat and extends well out beyond the dripline. The vegetation in the immediate vicinity is thick and swampy and on the above slopes is a thick, often impenetrable band of tea tree and saltbush…

The deposit of the shelter is a coarse yellow brown sand. In the area where the sand is exposed … there could be on the order of 2,000 artefacts … artefacts include backed blades, scrappers, cores, from which bladelets were extracted, large waste flakes and minute chips. Rock types include chert, indurated mudstone, quartz and fine grained igneous… There is no evidence of fire through numerous burnt bone fragments were seen.”

This site was visited twice. The first time it was a casual passing through as we wished to explore the creek further north where information indicated a further overhang.

…Returned to the overhang through falling snow and being freezing cold. It was only 1048, but morning tea was essential. It was while sheltering and consuming morning tea that many flakes and cores, etc became obvious. Many photographs were taken. Far from the 2,000 flakes documented by Gorecki, we may have seen two dozen. In the intervening years I suspect many others have been to this site and very likely collected items as souvenirs. We took nothing but pictures. Another factor would be the encroachment of the vegetation a great part of the area could now be covered in growth that was non-existent in 1982.

3. Twin Gully Swamp Overhang

The location is GR 359 089, Department of Lands Cullen Bullen Topographical Map. Datum – GDA94.

This is a large sandstone overhang on the north western side of swampy eastern tributary of Wolgan River.

Seen there, were a number of chert flakes, as well as obscure remnants of probable red ochre on wall, mostly flaked off.

Mining Projects
NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Locked Bag 5022
Parramatta NSW 2124
Dear Sir/Madam,
State Significant Project – Angus Place Mine Extension (SSD 5602 - Amendment Exhibition)
This proposed extension is ridiculous in this time of climate change. Why destroy an unique area of incredible environmental beauty and diversity for coal that will be fazed our within the next 20 years. The people whose jobs are lost are better to be retrained in an area of renewable energy and a industry sector that has a future.
I request that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (the DoPIE) recommend refusal of consent, as Centennial Coal has not modified the Angus Place mine extension proposal to adequately protect nationally endangered swamps and has sought to grandfather its consent until 2053, preventing future necessary adaption of the energy sector to address the growing climate emergency. As a result:
- I oppose the mine extension as it will fracture the sandstone strata supporting the nationally endangered swamps.
- I request that if any consent is issued, then it must be reviewed every 5 years with a possibility of cancellation from 2025, and proposing to grandfather the Angus Place mine consent until 2053 ignores the growing climate catastrophe by locking in coal-fired electric power.
- Please require Centennial Coal to revise this amended proposal to prevent damage to spectacular Birds Rock, Wolgan River, Carne Creek, pagodas, cliffs and the nationally endangered swamps in the 2,000 hectare Study Area.
- Centennial Coal must not be allowed to further replicate the damage it has already caused to nationally threatened upland swamps on the Newnes Plateau.
- To ensure this significant central part of the Gardens of Stone reserve proposal, mini- longwall mining methods should be applied instead of the intensive longwall mining proposed.
- The excessive clearing of 50 hectares of public forest for an additional roads, ventilation and pumping facilities must be reduced and all facilities located away from sensitive areas.
- Wolgan Falls must not run dry - the proposed longall mining panels must be shortened by hundreds of metres along the Wolgan River side of the Study Area to prevent river water losses due to far field impacts associated with the extensive Wolgan Lineament Field.
- Pristine Carne Creek, and its waters that flow through the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and past the Wolgan Valley resort must not be contaminated with iron and manganese released or suffer reduced flows due to fracturing of surface rocks.
- In the seven years since Centennial’s consultants identified the need for targeted surveys of nationally endangered plants, the company failed to undertake these searches. Lithgow

Environment Group has in that time identified many sites within the proposal where these Federally listed plants occur, highlighting the weakness of the company’s environmental assessment.
- Due to the extent of mining impacts and duration of approval being sought, the amended Angus Place mine extension proposal must be subject to an Independent Planning Commission hearing, review and determination process.

Yours sincerely,
Kim Lawson
122 Simmons st
Enmore 2042

I object to the project due to the threat to environmentally sensitive and unique water resources.

Expansion of the Angus Place Coal mine would be travesty for the environment. Surely our energy requirements can be met without destroying the environment. This project should not go ahead, the area is sensitive and too close to World Heritage areas. If we do not protect National Park there will be none. It will be a sad legacy.

I am strongly opposed to the mine extension and request that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment recommend refusal of consent to this proposal.

The mine extension will fracture sandstone strata supporting nationally endangered swamps and destroy incredibly beautiful natural areas. Giving consent until 2053 would also lock us in coal-fired electric power at a time when it is imperative to move towards renewable energy sources, which the Australian community is taking on at an ever increasing rate.

Please reject Centennial Coal and prevent damage to spectacular Birds Rock, Wolgan River, Carne Creek, pagodas, cliffs and the nationally endangered swamps. Centennial Coal must not be allowed to continue to damage nationally threatened upland swamps on the Newnes Plateau, the pristine Carne Creek, and its waters that flow through the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.

In the seven years since Centennial’s consultants identified the need for targeted surveys of nationally endangered plants, the company failed to undertake these searches. Lithgow Environment Group has in that time identified many sites within the proposal where these Federally listed plants occur, highlighting the weakness of the company’s environmental assessment.

Please stop the destruction of this incredible and important natural area.

My main objections are that the overall need for this project have not been addressed.
The benefits of the project are understood to be supply of thermal coal to Mt Piper power station which is what Springvale Colliery extension was supposed to do. Massive draining and subsequent salination of Sydney water supply catchment was the result of this adventure with the workforce stood down on occasion at the Korean owner's whim and interruption to the Chinese owners of Energy Australia Mt Piper power station.
While this project affects both Coxs River and Colo catchments, the outcome as far as draining and salination of groundwater are likely to be similar.
Alternative coal supplies are available in a competitive market, possibly using rail link to near the current massive open cut devastation at Ulan. Tension between international interests could well see a change of coal sourcing and more coal exporting from this project.
Of the four main base load power stations in NSW, Liddell is on its last legs and along with the relatively small Vales Point has a massive licence for emissions pollution from the EPA compared with overseas standards. Eraring has an ash dam problem. Hence there appears to be an urgent need to bring Bayswater and Mt Piper up to international emissions standards to reduce public health impacts but this has been hampered by sale of power stations to separate companies who are running them into the ground for short term profit.
There is no strategic approach to transition away from current power station supply and thermal coal sources. This piecemeal use of the planning process means continual frustration of long term environmental considerations.

It is noted that the application is based on a 2014 EIS, but supported by a 2019 Amendment Report.
The Amendment Report incorporates a number of changes, including increased impacts in some areas. Consideration should have been given to a whole new EIS rather than relying on conflicting documents which could mislead readers.

The proposal will help sustain the continued generation of electricity by coal fired power plants. This is inconsistent with the need to limit carbon emissions to minimise adverse anthropogenic climate change impacts.

The Newnes Plateau above the proposed longwall mining areas contains a number of important ecological and geological features. The Amendment Report acknowledges that these could be adversely impacted by the proposal. Some of these impacts, such as on swamps, are greater than predicted in the EIS. In the case of the swamps, the Amendment Report proposes offsets. It would be far preferable to avoid the impacts in the first place.

Cliffs and pagodas are an important feature of this rare landscape, many of which have been damaged by previous underground mining activities. The Amendment Report predicts there could be some damage to three cliffs (rockfalls) and isolated pagodas. This damage should be avoided to avoid degrading this landscape. The Amendment Report claims that pagoda complexes outside the 26.5 degree angle draw are unlikely to be affected. Perhaps this is correct, but a risk remains to these rare, unusual and spectacular features.

Further consideration should be given to re design of the project, including narrowing longwall widths etc in potentially sensitive areas. It is noted the Amendment Report has rejected this option, although it appears to have been considered in the EIS.

If the project were to be approved, conditions should be imposed requiring independent monitoring of hydraulic and geological impacts, and the preparation of an Adaptive Management Plan. This Plan should include clear obligations on stopping work where adverse impacts have occurred or are likely to occur.

To whom it may concern, im writing this in full support of the Angus Place project. As a direct employer of coal mining in the local area, i can see first hand the continued effort Centennial puts in to its environmental practices and standards, while continuing to be a safe and productive company and great supporter of local charitable organizations, school groups and the wider Lithgow and surrounds. For this approval to not go ahead would almost turn this local economy for the worst. With a lack of alternative work and the flow on affect felt by other employers in the district, it would be catastrophic for the town and a major mental health risk for the familys employed by the company who have no job to attend and the prospect of moving out of town for work. Thankyou for your time in reading my letter of full support for the Angus Place project.

I am in support of this project. With the near by Mt Piper Power Station. This state needs coal to supply the station for its continual power production. NSW struggles to supply with demand for electricity and with this project we can secure coal to the station for years to come .

I think it’s crucial that this goes ahead to support local jobs and businesses