MOD 1 - Waste Tyres, Road Haulage and Concrete Batch Plant

See attachments
1. Wando_Vickery Extension Mod 1_Objection
2. 289692_Wando CCC Vickery Extension Submission
3. Whitehaven Coal_transport_Tarra_Rocglen_Vickery

Please see attached PDF

Regards
David and Janet Watt

see attached

On behalf of Cotton Australia please find attach our submission

19 September 2024
To Whom It May Concern
Vickery Mine Extension Modification 1 – SSD-7480-Mod-1
I am very much against the above modification on the basis that it will affect our water table in our area, being Zone 4.
In particular, point 4, the “Construction and use of water supply pipelines and transfer points between the project and private properties Mirrabinda and Ovenden”
Vickery Coal advised the 3 commissioners from the IPC on multiple occasions that they had ample water for the Vickery coal mine to be approved 4 years ago, even though multiple local community members submitted a submission and spoke at length at the IPC hearing days that Vickery would not have enough water once the water from Split Rock and Keepit Dam were exhausted and still Vickery Coal Mine insisted and advised the IPC that they had ample water even in the ‘worst case scenario’.
But here I am now writing this submission because Vickery Coal Mine have worked out that they won’t have enough water in ‘worst case scenario’, which we already knew they wouldn’t have enough water.
So does this mean that the IPC granted the extension to the Vickery coal mine based on lies?
Vickery Coal mine asked the IPC for what they wanted and got it, so Vickery Coal should be made to work with what they have been given from the IPC.
I am very much against this proposal - in the last 12 months, I have been trying to sell a small amount of Zone 4 Groundwater to a nearby neighbour, but because his bore is approximately 4 kilometres away from the Gulligal Lagoon, his bore was deemed too close to the Gulligal Lagoon and would also affect the top water aquifer, with NSW Water then stopping the sale from progressing along with multiple other Zone 4 Water trades (Temporary and Permanent), based on Environmental Grounds in the last 18 months.
So how can this Modification 1 be allowed, when Mirrabinda’s bores are 400-500 metres with 1 bore and just over 1kilometre with another bore from Gulligal Lagoon, I know that the Mirrabinda bores are existing and have the right to irrigate under their existing entitlements, but my concerns are that if this modification is approved, and I have no doubts it will be, that Vickery Coal will be, and are, still looking for more Zone 4 Water to add to the Mirrabinda and Ovenden’s bores allocation, both properties have a very generous bore allocation limits, putting more pressure on our water tables within this area.
As Vickery Coal mine have stated within the “Vickery Extension Project – Modification 1 Report” – page 17, the following:
“Under the agreements established between Whitehaven and the landholders, the landholders would extract water from the bores authorised by the Works Approvals described above, and in accordance with WALs assigned to the Works Approvals at the time. Water extracted from the bores would be transferred by the landholders to existing dams located on the properties before being transferred by the landholder to a connection point at the end of the pipelines proposed to be constructed as part of this Modification. Transfer infrastructure will include tanks, pumps and other associated infrastructure.”
“Given the groundwater would continue to be extracted by the landholders using existing infrastructure and in accordance with the already authorised extraction limits under the Works Approvals, it is considered that the impacts associated with the water extraction are already authorised.”
This being the case the landholders of these two properties would be breaking the laws with the NSW Government, the waters users licence are very clear on what the water is to be used for and where the water is to be extracted from and used. I am sure that these licences would not say for the use in a coal mine.
It appears that the farming and irrigation industry are being treated so differently to the mining industry.
Looking forward to hearing from you, but I have no doubts that this modification will go ahead just like the Vickery Coal mine extension, with little or no regards to the local farming community. We were told some years ago in a meeting with the planning department at the local Boggabri Golf Club to ‘trust the process’, I am sorry there is nothing I trust about the process anymore. Kind Regards.

As I have stated before, I have serious concerns re the concrete batching plant and its proximity to the State Heritage listed precinct, around the Kurrumbede homestead. Run off water, noise and dust are the obvious concerns. I also believe increased road traffic with its safety issues and the re-routing of the Blue Vale Rd are big mistakes. The drawing of water from dams on private properties raises concerns for me. I believe one dam slated for use on the property MIrrabinda is bore fed, which brings into question its viability once groundwater reserves dry up with the open cut mining so close to the Namoi River.

The Sydney Knitting Nannas & Friends are an environmental group based in Sydney. We have links to other Knitting Nanna loops across NSW and into other states who share our concern and commitment. Our mission is to democratically participate in ensuring good custodianship of our planet for future generations.

We welcome the opportunity to make a submission for the Vickery Mine Extension Modification 1.

We strongly object to the following:

Water Pipelines
The proposed network of water pipelines is of great concern. The Boggabri community showed the IPC that this mine did not have enough water to operate during a drought. Whitehaven coal said they had sufficient water licences for all their operations and on this basis, the extension was approved.

Vickery Mine proposes to use water from other properties which until now has been used for irrigation. Water allocations for irrigation properties should be used to produce food not coal, especially during dry times

If these water pipelines are essential to the extraction of this coal, they should have been included in the original EIS so the whole project could have been assessed properly.

The Court of Appeal decision of Bingman Catchment Landcare Group Incorporated v Bowdens Silver Pty Ltd has set a precedent for how State Significant Developments must be assessed. All components of a development must be included in the Environmental Impact Statement.

Modifications should only be minor and anything to do with water in this country is not that. In a drought Vickery should reduce production to use less water.

Vickery wants to pump water from the bore on the property “Mirrabinda”. This bore has no Bore Extraction Limit (BEL).

The on-farm storages proposed to be utilised can contain a mix of bore, river and overland flow from floodplain harvesting. Additional water use will lower the water table, deplete aquifers and the flow of the Namoi. The company has already been fined for constructing an illegal pipeline.

The Vickery Mine is within the Namoi River catchment. Downstream, recent water testing at Walgett found metals and pesticides in the Namoi River. The Dharriwaa Elders Group were concerned about the Namoi River's health after catching several fish with sores on their bodies. This is not in a drought.

During a drought the flow of the Namoi River is further polluted and depleted through over-extraction. Pollution from existing upstream industries is concentrated impacting the quality of the water.

Dumping of Tyres
The only reason for a proposal to dump tyres in the pit, is to reduce costs. If a coal company cannot afford to facilitate the safe disposal of their waste tyres, then they cannot afford to start the project.

The mines proximity to the already polluted Namoi River should rule out dumping waste tyres nearby.

Please refer to attached submission which supports the proposed modification.

I have attached my objection in a PDF file