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State Significant Development

Determination

Glendell Continued Operations Project

Singleton Shire

Current Status: Determination

Interact with the stages for their names

  1. SEARs
  2. Prepare EIS
  3. Exhibition
  4. Collate Submissions
  5. Response to Submissions
  6. Assessment
  7. Recommendation
  8. Determination

Extension of mining including extraction of an additional 140 million tonnes of ROM coal until 2044 at an increased rate of 10 million tonnes per annum.

Attachments & Resources

Notice of Exhibition (1)

Request for SEARs (1)

SEARs (6)

EIS (33)

Response to Submissions (3)

IESC (4)

Agency Advice (15)

Additional Information (29)

Recommendation (3)

Determination (3)

Approved Documents

There are no post approval documents available

Note: Only documents approved by the Department after November 2019 will be published above. Any documents approved before this time can be viewed on the Applicant's website.

Complaints

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Enforcements

There are no enforcements for this project.

Inspections

24/11/2021

Note: Only enforcements and inspections undertaken by the Department from March 2020 will be shown above.

Submissions

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Showing 161 - 180 of 356 submissions
Melanie Jackson
Object
BELMONT NORTH , New South Wales
Message
It is time the Planning Office took a global view on coal mining operations in this country. Australia is to coal what Saudi Arabia is to oil. We must lead by example. Expanding coal mining operations is the opposite direction of where we must be heading. We need to wind back, slow down and CLOSE DOWN coal mining operations not expand them! Coal mines are motivated by self interest. We cannot allow their desires alone to guide our decision making. This application is totally out of sync with community expectations, the planet's needs and the needs of future generations. Please send a clear message to all coal mining companies that expanding their coal mining operations is NOT a plan for our future. DENY THIS APPLICATION. Glendell (like all mining companies in Australia) need to start investing in renewable and sustainable industry if it wants a future in Australia. BURNING FOSSIL FUELS IS A DEAD END FOR ALL OF US!!
Geoff Trescott
Support
Tenambit , New South Wales
Message
The project is vital for the ongoing prosperity of the mining industry in the Hunter Valley.
The number of jobs associated with mining in the Valley are legion because of all the peripheral enterprises ( providing employment) . Miners, plus associated industries adds up to a LOT of people who vote.
The Government sticks its hand out for obscene amounts in Royalties, which I’m sure it’s unwilling to forego. Is it going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs??!
The flavour of the times, or should I say hysteria, is “climate change”. Carbon dioxide does NOT control the climate. We have at present, increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, but NO corresponding global temperature increase. Is this not a “ No Brainer”??!
With ‘climate change’/ ’global warming’ having become SO political, the motivations for making this hypothesis stick, have become desperate among the elite who are continually promoting the so-called ‘catastrophes ’ we’ll all face, in the face of flimsy and often fabricated ‘evidence’.
Your duty is not to listen exclusively to alarmists with their nonsensical messages of doom, but to look at REALITIES as they are, and to weigh this against the hysteria as the climate change proponents try desperately to make their misguided agenda get a foothold.
The Glendell Continuation project is just that; a continuation of a mine that has operated for over two decades with little or no detriment to the environment. but with a massive contribution to employment, export. dollars and the above-mentioned Royalties.
Coal is NOT the demon it is painted to be.
A much bigger fear will be the gross inefficiency of ‘wind farms’ and ‘solar farms’ if they were ever to supplant coal as primary sources of energy.
The Ravensworth North project seven years ago and the Bulga Optimisation projects of more recent times went ahead to great advantage to employment, our export dollar, the government’s coffers due to Royalties and to the social cohesion of many mining towns and communities.
Don’t be the agency that sounded the death knell for mining ( not only in the Hunter) on a concept based-on pseudo science, misinformation, disinformation, hysteria, fabrication, myths and lies.
Stand UP for NSW ( and by association, for mining in our sister States ) for employment, for prosperity, for good econmomic management, and for common sense.
Thank you for this opportunity to contribute.
Regards, Geoff Trescott.
Department of Environment and Energy
Comment
Canberra City , Australian Capital Territory
Message
Hi Lauren
The Department has reviewed EIS documents to ensure protected matters identified through the referral decision are being considered. The Department has not undertaken a merit based assessment and has no comments at this time as the project is being assessed under accredited assessment through NSW.
Thanks again
Andy
Division of Resources & Geoscience
Support
Doctors for the Environment Australia
Object
BRUNSWICK , Victoria
Message
DEA considers that the Glendell expansion proposal is not in the national or local community interest and should be rejected on the grounds of local air quality impacts and on global climate grounds, which have severe adverse health impacts at both a local and global scale.
Attachments
Jody Derrick
Support
BROKE , New South Wales
Message
I am a local Broke resident for the past 40yrs.
I attended the Broke Public School, then completed High School in Singleton.
I moved away, met my husband and returned to start our family of three boys.
My husband & I now have 2 houses in the village of Broke, one is our residents the other is weekend accommodation. My Husband & I run a transport business in Singleton employing around 20 staff supplying the local mining industry.
I have witnessed many changes to the village of Broke, its great to see so many young families returning to Broke, its also great to see the increase in tourism and to see tourism & mining coexisting.
The thing we do lack in the Village is a town centre, a place for locals to meet for a coffee & a chat, a place for our tourist to see what Broke has to offer & a place to give us that little village feel.
Currently we have to go to Singleton or Pokolbin for this.
Ravensworth House would be our ideal Village Centre.
Broke has a wonderful historic story to be told, usually it can be seen in the buildings of the village, we have a few historic buildings however most were lost due to being constructed of timber.
The materials Ravensworth House are made from will fit in with our other historic buildings, 2 x churches, Broke Public School building & the old police station. It will give the feeling that is has always been in Broke.
The project is a definite yes from me & my husband.
Name Withheld
Support
NORTH ROTHBURY , New South Wales
Message
I support the project
Robert Stanley
Support
CHAIN VALLEY BAY , New South Wales
Message
I would like to see the approval of this project as I have worked there for the last 11 years and seen that the performance of the company from an environmental and community works as been excellent. In this time the contribution by the the workers here and the company to the local community has been highly recommended. The continuation of this operation will see more local jobs created which will continue to support the local community into the future.
Lorraine Davies
Object
TOORMINA , New South Wales
Message
The Glendell Continued Operations Project would extend mining operations at the site to 2044. Australia should have ceased coal burning for electricity well before then if it is to meet climate change goals, and if it is to be a responsible global citizen.
Given the current fire crisis, and the unpredicatable weather events, from fire storms, hail storms, dust storms, and the continuing drought, New South Wales has to start taking emission reductions seriously, at start to address climate change. This project is not consistent with the principle of inter-generational equity nor the public interest, as it clearly assumes a failure to meet Paris Agreement goals and a worsening of climate change impacts.
The project will have a negative impact on scarce water resources, and exacerbate air pollution problems .. which have already been increased this summer by fire smoke.
The groundwater assessment shows a cumulative draw down of over 2 metres in the alluvium during the proposed mining operations.

The EIS uses a low pollution year, 2014, as its base year, setting background air pollution levels at less than half of the pollution concentrations experienced recently in the vicinity. Nevertheless, the assessment shows intensification of PM2.5 and PM10 air pollution in Camberwell and surrounding areas. The project will result in 230.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over the life of the project, in addition to the greenhouse gas pollution from the rest of the Mount Owen complex. The assessment admits that the project is consistent with the IPCC’s “high emissions A2 emission trajectory scenario", projected to result in warming by approximately 3.4C by 2100. As the greenhouse assessment outlines, this scenario is associated with more hot days and severe fire danger.
On the basis of these factors alone, I look forward to the project proposal being rejected.
stewart ewen
Comment
FORDWICH , New South Wales
Message
I support the proposal to relocate the Ravensworth Homestead to Broke .
Simon Morgan
Object
HAMILTON EAST , New South Wales
Message
I am writing to object to the proposed increase of mining operations at Glendell mine in the Hunter Valley in the strongest possible terms.
Like everyone else in Australia, and increasingly around the world, I have spent the past couple of months in horrified disbelief at the scale of the bushfire emergency. The loss of life, devastation of ecosystems, decimation of wildlife and destruction of property are genuinely beyond comprehension. I am deeply saddened and increasingly frightened about the future.
I am informed that, if approved, this project would result in an extra 135 mt of coal being removed. There is a clear and evidence-based connection between burning of coal, global heating and worsening of bush fire frequency and intensity. For this reason alone, it is unconscionable to even consider expanding coal mining. We must urgently stop burning fossil fuels and move to a renewable energy economy.
There are many other reasons for which this project must not proceed, including human health. The Hunter Valley has some of the worst air quality in NSW, largely attributable to coal mining. Air pollution from coal dust causes respiratory disease, including lung cancer, and will directly impact on the communities of Camberwell and SIngleton Heights. Previous dust control programs have been shown to be ineffective.
Furthermore, the mine’s groundwater assessment shows that there will be a negative impact on surface water.
I urge you not to allow the project to proceed.
Yours sincerely
Dr Simon Morgan, Newcastle
Name Withheld
Support
MACKSVILLE , New South Wales
Message
I support this project as they are a major employer for the hunter valley that support local business and other industries , it is a major tax income for government .
I think the hunter valley would die without the mining industry.
Richard Owens
Comment
NEWCASTLE , New South Wales
Message
I have been a resident of Broke for over 20 years until recently. The proposal to move the Ravensworth Homestead to Broke and create a community icon for the Hunter Valley is strongly supported by me.
The Broke proposal is ideally located centrally between Wollombi and Bulga with a rich Indigenous history between the Awabakal, Worimi, Grfinghi and Kamilaroi tribes.
Historically it has treasures such as Biame rock paintings at Milbrodale (5 kms from the site), Yellow Rock (right above the proposed site for the centre), Corroboree grounds and nearby Mt. Yengo with its fabulous rock paintings. The aborigines who lived in and around the flats and mountains of Broke and Bulga must have had a great love for artistic as well as ceremonial activity.
Historically, the first explorers reached the Broke area in 1818. John Blaxland received a land grant for discovering the route from Sydney to the Hunter which in the late 1800's became the main highway to Sydney via Windsor. The proposed site for the relocated homestead lies along the road at Broke township.
The strong community of Broke have proven time and again their united spirit for being progressive yet defending their rights, in a balanced way, against outright commercial undertakings such as coal seam methane gas. They have provided leadership in the wine and tourism industries in several undertakings through people such as Stewart Ewen OAM and Andrew Margan.
As a community we funded the erection of a fire shed for the RFS at Broke and provided CB radios for the fire fighters to communicate when mobile phones did not operate.
I could not speak highly enough in recommending this project. It is funded and 'shovel ready' to go, as one would expect by the proposers.
Name Withheld
Support
BONNY HILLS , New South Wales
Message
This will be great asset to the Community, the State and the country.
Alexa Stuart
Object
LAMBTON , New South Wales
Message
If the proposed mine were to go ahead it would cause detrimental damage to the surrounding environment, exacerbating air pollution and water loss. The mine’s groundwater assessment shows that dramatic drawdown of the coal seam under the Bowman’s Creek alluvium propagates upward into the alluvium and causes drawdown and loss of surface water. Furthermore, the mine assessment admits that most air quality monitoring sites in the vicinity of Glendell Mine have experienced at least one day above the national standards for PM10 particulate pollution in the past seven years and some exceeded annual average thresholds in the last two years. Camberwell and Singleton also exceeded the PM2.5 criterion last year.
The Glendell Continuation Project will result in 230.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases over the life of the project, which is in addition to the greenhouse pollution from the rest of the Mount Owen complex, these emissions will exacerbate climate change. The assessment admits that the project is consistent with the IPCC’s “high emissions A2 emission trajectory scenario.” This is a shocking admission and all the more shocking that it did not prompt the company to withdraw the proposal. The A2 scenario is projected to result in warming by approximately 3.4C by 2100. As the greenhouse assessment outlines, this scenario is associated with increased maximum temperatures, hot days and severe fire danger days.
This project is not consistent with NSW’s climate change policy, the principle of inter-generational equity nor the public interest, as it clearly assumes failure to meet the Paris Agreement temperature goals and worsening climate change impacts for New South Wales.
Allan Davies
Support
COOLUM BEACH , Queensland
Message
i am a 5th generation Hunter Valley coal miner. I also believe that Australia needs to continue to mine coal for the foreseeable future to provide base load power for the residents and industries in NSW and also for export purposes. My family and i own agricultural properties in the Upper Hunter Valley and we understand the very positive part coal mining plays in the region and local economy. Without coal mining, the Upper Hunter would be a very different and less productive and beneficial par of the NSW economy.
in relation to the Glendell Project i would like to make the following comments:
• Mining is important to my family, my community and the State
• This project will not require any new infrastructure and will occur on land owned by Glencore
• The project will continue providing employment to 690 mining families in the Hunter
• The local community needs the benefits this project will bring, with more than 70% of employees living nearby
• Small businesses will benefit from spending
• Without the $296.1m in royalties essential services and infrastructure like nurses, teachers, police and roads will not be available and the whole state of NSW and Australia will be worse off
Regards

Allan Davies
Janet Murray
Object
BUTTAI , New South Wales
Message
Please see attached submission.
Attachments
Louise Ihlein
Object
CESSNOCK , New South Wales
Message
The IPCC report states that the use of fossil fuels is the major contributor to global warming. Australia contributes greatly to this and after the last few weeks I cannot see how you as a company can put profits over us and our beautiful wildlife. NO MORE NEW COAL.
The science is in and you know it. Please for the good of humanity ditch this project and transition your workers to a new job . It can be done. People before profit.
Michael Fenech
Object
MULBRING , New South Wales
Message
HI
I object to this project to extend coal mining. Instead of reducing emmisions this will add to the total emmisions worldwide. Just because the coal might not be burned in Australia it does not mean we are not responsible for these emmisions morally if not legaly. Even worse we and future generations will suffer from these emmisions. No amount of planning by this mining company to mitigate the enviromental disadvantages of this project will negate the emmisions released by the burning of this coal. Leave it in the ground, the only safe place for coal.
Kind Regards
Michael Fenech
Claire Cupitt
Object
PADDYS RIVER , New South Wales
Message
As a GP and concerned citizen, I believe that Australia needs to take urgent action to prevent further mining of coal. We have already contributed more than our share of green house gases to the atmosphere, with the resultant contribution to Global Warming. Large parts of our country are already suffering increased temperatures, with extreme drought conditions, devastating bush fires, and increasing major climate events including floods, dust storms and cyclones. The effect on the health of individuals is already significant but destined to be severe. It is clearly irresponsible to allow a coal mining project to expand at this time.
We need to focus our attention on creating jobs in recycling and renewable energy businesses.
And specifically in relation to Glendell:
Hunter Valley has the worst PM10 air pollution in NSW, and the National Pollutant
Inventory shows that 95.4% of the PM10 in the Hunter comes from coal mining.
● The dust control programs currently implemented by the mines do not work, and Glendell
would be no better.
● PM10 air pollution causes respiratory disease, including lung cancer, so is a public health
burden for communities of Camberwell and Singleton Heights. The scheduled closure of
Glendell in 2024 when the current approval expires will bring a welcome reduction in air
pollution exposure.
● What was in the public interest in 2008 when the current mining started is different to what
is in the public interest now that we are feeling the effects of unmitigated climate change.
This mine is no longer beneficial to the Australian community.
● Coal mining has lost its social license and must be phased out.
● This project further extends mining in a heavily-mined area, exacerbating air pollution and
water loss.
● The mine’s groundwater assessment shows that dramatic drawdown of the coal seam under
the Bowman’s Creek alluvium propagates upward into the alluvium and causes drawdown
and loss of surface water.
● This adds to stress already being experienced in the area from other mines, and the
groundwater assessment also shows cumulative draw down of over 2 metres in the alluvium
during the proposed mining operations.
● The mine assessment admits that most air quality monitoring sites in the vicinity of Glendell
Mine have experienced at least one day above the national standards for PM10 particulate
pollution in the past seven years and some exceeded annual average thresholds in the last
two years. Camberwell and Singleton also exceeded the PM2.5 criterion last year.
● But the EIS uses a low pollution year, 2014, as its base year, setting background air pollution
levels at less than half of the pollution concentrations experienced in the vicinity more
recently. Nevertheless, the assessment shows intensification of PM2.5 and PM10 air
pollution in Camberwell and surrounding areas.
● The Glendell Continuation Project will result in 230.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases
over the life of the project. This is in addition to the greenhouse pollution from the rest of
the Mount Owen complex.
This further expansion would extract an additional an additional 135 million tonnes (Mt) of run-of-mine (ROM) coal and more than double the rate of extraction at the Glendell pit from 4.5mtpa to 10mtpa. The reasons not to do this are vastly more compelling than possible short term gains to the workers and investors. It is certainly likely to be damaging to the community, the country and the world.
Thank you for considering this objection.
Yours sincerely, Claire Cupitt

Pagination

Project Details

Application Number
SSD-9349
EPBC ID Number
2019/8409
Assessment Type
State Significant Development
Development Type
Coal Mining
Local Government Areas
Singleton Shire
Decision
Refused
Determination Date
Decider
IPC-N

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