MOD 3 - Pit 8 Extension

Our comments are attached

Please see attached Submission

See attachment

i strongly object to Wilpinjong Mod 3

Please see attached form

Please see attached submission.

The proposed is obscene. It has complete disregard for
• cultural heritage,
• the health and wellbeing of the local community,
• precious water including groundwater
• the air pollution it will create
• the ecosystems and natural habitats it will destroy
• helping the community transition faster to renewable energy
• financial, social and environmental sustainability.

It is pure rape and pillage of land and water for profit at any cost.
SHAME

Bunzl Safety and Lifting proudly supports the MOD3 – Pit 8 Extension Project.
By supporting this extension, we follow a core principle of our business: Supporting Local Jobs, Local People, and Local Businesses.
This project will create important regional employment opportunities, foster community development, and drive investment into local businesses.
Additionally, this project enables Bunzl Safety and Lifting to continue supporting Peabody and strengthening the valued relationship we share.

Key points of objection:
1. Releasing over 25 MT of additional Greenhouse Gas emissions
2. Mining to the boundary of Wollar Village
3. Disturbing an additional 155 ha:
• loss of Aboriginal cultural heritage and spiritual landscape for Wiradjuri Nation
• destroying more important habitat for the nationally threatened Large-eared
Pied Bat, Eastern Cave Bat, Regent Honeyeater and Koala
4. Permanently altering and degrading alluvial groundwater sources and surface flows in
the Wollar Creek catchment.
5. Increasing pollution through poorly assessed noise, dust, blasting, onsite coal ignition
(spontaneous combustion), lighting and water contamination
6. Slowing the transition to clean energy future – competing with the Central West
Renewable Energy Zone that starts at Wollar
7. This project is not needed to provide regional jobs – there is a huge workforce shortage
for renewable energy projects in the Central West
8. There is no economic justification, the increased climate change impacts will cost more
than public income generated through royalties and taxes

Why is this project even being considered at this time? Hello, hottest October on record, accelerating climate change and biodiversity losses. I strongly oppose this project, as it will exacerbate climate change due to increased GHG emissions, create massive air, sound , light pollution in Wollar and environs. It will destroy important habitat for the nationally threatened Large-eared Pied Bat, Eastern Cave Bat, Regent Honeyeater and Koalas as well as Aboriginal cultural heritage and spiritual landscape for Wiradjuri Nation. Peabody will hoist yet another stranded asset onto taxpayers and claim it has no money to "rehabilitate" the moonscape coal mines leave behind. Climate change impacts and associated costs due to the mine will far outweigh any public economic benefit. Given that water is life, this proposed project will likely contaminate ground water and surface flows in Wollar catchment. The focus of NSW government should be on drastically cutting energy use, which energy providers oppose, and supporting renewable energy projects. No to more coal mines, no to another stranded asset and no to exacerbating climate and biodiversity emergencies.

I wish to object to this project. Our government should no longer be accepting requests for new coal mining projects in these times of accelerating climate emergency. Only today Jamaica has suffered huge damage from the worst hurricane in recorded history! it is time to stop all new fossil fuel projects and thus reject all new requests for approval.

By way of introduction, I am a mother of four grown up children and grandmother of ten growing grandchildren and it is my duty to do all I can to safeguard their future lives and prevent further warming of our planet. I love my family and deeply concerned, especially the younger generations, their children and grandchildren and all future generations who will be suffering the worst effects as our planet continues to warm. The science is very clear. It is simply short sighted, greedy, selfish and lazy of our generation and governments to put making money from these fossil fuel developments ahead of protecting future generations. Instead we should be focusing on spending time, money and effort developing and investing in plans for a cleaner, greener and fairer future and protecting our threatened natural environment. Economic justification for more coal mining no longer exists as the increased climate change impacts including enormous insurance increases and risks will cost more than the income from royalties and taxes. See the recent report by the Climate council about flood risks to properties refer: https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/property-value-report-how-climate-change-could-worsen-australias-42-billion-flood-risk/

It must be noted too that this mine is not needed for regional jobs, there is actually a huge workforce shortage for renewable energy projects in the Central West which will provide a faster transition to a cleaner and more profitable future.

Earlier this year I visited the beautiful farming and wine growing regions around Mudgee. I was horrified to see the enormous mining destruction of the farming community, native vegetation and especially the village of Wollar, now almost completely surrounded by ugly, dirty, noisy coal mining which is gradually swallowing up the local area. It is time to stop and say no to more mine extensions such as this Peabody Wilpinjong coal mine Mod3.

The existing mine already damages and degrades essential alluvial and groundwater sources and surface flow. Further mining will exacerbate all of these in the Wollar Creek catchment as well as increasing noise, dust, blasting, lighting and water contamination.

This so-called modification project should not be regarded as a modification because its purpose is to enable a much larger future expansion which surrounds Wollar village. It should instead only be assessed as a new project. However, as i have stated above there should be no more expansion of coal mining so it should not be approved in any form. It alone will release over 25MT of additional green gas emissions and further threatens Wollar village and local farmland, Aboriginal cultural heritage and destroy important habitat for threatened species.

I therefore call for this project approval to be refused.

Thank you for reading ad considering my submission.

I object to this proposal due to the large scale of this and the subsequent stages of this proposal. This proposal should be assessed as new, not a modification as it differs substantially from the already approved mine.
Destruction of this amount of high value farmland is not acceptable when much has already been destroyed or damaged in this region. This proposal will permanently damage alluvial groundwater and surface flows in the Wollar Creek catchment.
This proposal will release 25 MT of greenhouse gas emissions at the very least, contributing to dangerous climate change at a time when NSW has committed to reducing emissions. Further, it will threaten the viability of the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.
This proposal will destroy First Nations cultural heritage and habitat of several
nationally threatened species.
The proposal will increase pollution and social impacts which will cost the NSW government in long term remediation and treatment of human health impacts.
This proposed project is not needed to provide regional jobs as there is a very high demand for jobs in the renewable energy sector in the Central West of NSW already.

There are many reasons critical to the impact on climate change with higher carbon emissions , the township it surrounds - dust and fallout on the community, the environment and the local native wildlife, contaminants affecting the water of the Willard Creek catchment, and Aboriginal - Wiradjuri cultural heritage and spiritual landscape. . There is no financial benefit to the wider community in extending this mine which is not just a small extension but should be regarded as a new project, when the momentum for renewable energy is increasing across the world. So frequently the taxpayer is left to fund the cleanup as mining companies abandon the mine when no longer profitable to them.
We should not be expanding coal mining in this earth which is suffering from increased heat which is a lethal health hazard.

The Peabody Energy Wilpinjong Coal Mine has approval to mine 16 MT/year to end of 2033. It is a wholly open cut operation disturbing over 30km2 of farmland and high biodiversity values
between Goulburn River National Park and Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The proposed mine expansion should not be assessed as a modification because it differs
substantially from the current approved mine. Its purpose is to facilitate a much larger
expansion in the near future that surrounds Wollar village. This ‘modification’ proposal should be assessed as a new project. Wollar community is preparing to rejuvenate and rebuild including a return of Aboriginal people through successful land claims. The Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWOREZ) starts at Wollar being the first approved REZ in NSW. Wollar is the starting point for the transition to clean energy. There should be no more expansion of coal mining.

I object to the extension of the Wilpinjong project for the following reasons.
The destruction of precious remaining habitat for native animals including koalas,
The creation of an additional 25 MT of greenhouse gas emissions
The increased noise and dust pollution for residents due to close proximity to Wollar Village

Key points of objection:Releasing over 25 MT of additional Greenhouse Gas emissions
First stage of a bigger mine expansion and should be assessed as a new project
Mining to the boundary of Wollar Village
Disturbing an additional 155 ha:
• loss of Aboriginal cultural heritage and spiritual landscape for Wiradjuri Nation
• destroying more important habitat for the nationally threatened Large-eared
Pied Bat, Eastern Cave Bat, Regent Honeyeater and Koala
Permanently altering and degrading alluvial groundwater sources and surface flows in
the Wollar Creek catchment.
Increasing pollution through poorly assessed noise, dust, blasting, onsite coal ignition
(spontaneous combustion), lighting and water contamination
Increasing social impacts, loss of amenity and ongoing disturbance of rural way of life
Slowing the transition to clean energy future – competing with the Central West
Renewable Energy Zone that starts at Wollar
This project is not needed to provide regional jobs – there is a huge workforce shortage
for renewable energy projects in the Central West
There is no economic justification, the increased climate change impacts will cost more
than public income generated through royalties and taxes

See attached submission

I support mining for our community,but have some concerns with noise generated by mining activities as pit is coming closer to our property “Ferndale “334Drip lane Cooyal,we have over the years been able to hear the hum that mining generates,what will be our options if noise becomes unbearable.

Please find attached a submission from Ed McKeiver, Group Executive, Aurizon Coal that Mr McKeiver would like to provide for consideration on behalf of Aurizon.

see attached