Port Waratah Coal Services - Terminal 4

I support the construction of T4

I object to this project and believe that the community health, environmental and socioeconomic impacts will have far outweigh any short term benefits it is claimed it will deliver. These include:

Global warming: The burning of an additional 70Mt of coal a year will add 174.2Mt of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This is equal to 30% of Australia's total annual GHG emissions. The International Energy Agency predicts that to limit global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius, global coal demand must peak in 2016, at least a year before PWCS indicates T4's will begin operation.
The Hunter Estuary supports 112 species of waterbirds and nationally and internationally listed threatened species, including the Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), listed as endangered under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Deep and Swan Ponds: The Project will wipe out 80% of Deep Pond, which supports at least 11 species of migratory recorded and above the threshold of 0.1 per cent of the Australian flyway population for three migratory shorebird species, and will develop part of Swan Pond which supports three species in numbers that exceed the threshold of 0.1 per cent of the Australian flyway population.
Misuse of public conservation lands: Swan Pond is public land, owned and managed by the National Parks Service under Part 11 of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act. It is part of a highly successful long-term restoration project, the Kooragang Wetland Rehabilitation Project (KWRP) and has been the site of significant hours of volunteer labour by the local bird watching club.
Air quality: Newcastle and the Hunter Valley communities are impacted by dust from the mining, transport and stockpiling of coal. An additional 70Mt of coal exported will mean about an additional 7000 trips of 80 wagon trains between the Hunter mines and the port and back again per year, the capacity to export coal from an additional 8 to 10 mega mines and four new 1.5km coal stockpiles will substantially add to PM10 emissions in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.
Air quality modelling flaws: PWCS's air quality modelling continues to use 2010 as a base year. NSW Health has suggested that PWCS should have included "a justification for assuming the PM10 levels in 2010 would be a realistic baseline for modelling future particulate levels or alternatively use, as a baseline, average levels over a longer period of time". This recommendation is ignored in the PPR.
Particle pollution from rail transport: The PPR does not address air quality issues from rail transport returning to the Upper Hunter Valley. PWCS continues to focus on air quality impacts within 20m of the rail corridor, but there are almost 30,000 people living within 500m of the rail corridor and 23,000 students attend 16 schools in that vicinity. The submission to the EA by NSW Health noted that the contribution of coal dust from coal trains beyond 20m from the rail corridor needs to be carefully considered, but this recommendation is ignored.
Justification for the project: There is no justification for the project. PWCS does not commit to building T4 and only suggests an indicative build date of 2015 with operation maybe in 2017. During a major downturn in global coal demand, Newcastle's approved coal export port capacity of 211Mt seems optimistic. Last year only 141Mt of coal was exported meaning 60Mt or 42 per cent of capacity was uninstalled.
Employment: The 120 Mt facility proposed in the EA identified no additional employment would result from its operation. The revised T4 project of 70Mt million of the RT/PPR is identified as employing 80 additional people. How is this possible? This dubious additional employment is not explained.

I support the development of T4.
Based on experiences i have had with PWCS i know that they are ever mindful of the environment and go to great lenghts to protect it.
T4 will provide many jobs and will be a great Asset for Newcastle.

The coal industry is NSW's largest individual export earner. Citizens of this state benefit from the royalties and taxes that are generated by this industry and we all have a quality of life that is due in a significant way to the income generated from export coal.
The world continues to demand our coal exports to produce electricity, particularly in developing nations that are seeking to improve the standard of living of their citizens to one that begins to approach our own.
A vital part of this chain is the development of the T4 expansion, it is adjacent to existing infrastructure on a site zoned for heavy industry and with ready access to an established deep water port. The project should be allowed to proceed.

The proposal will impact negatively on the Lower Hunter estuary; it will remove vitally important habitat, particularly for vulnerable migratory bird species which are protected under international treaties.
Many migratory waders are already under pressure through development in countries on their flight path. We need to give an example to the governments of such countries, by showing that we value these endangered bird species and are committed to fulfil our environmental obligations.
The proposal will also have a negative impact on the fishing industry, by reducing fish nursery habitat.
Another consideration is the health of the people living nearby, who may be affected by dust pollution.

Supportive of T4.

I offer my support for the Terminal 4 project. Based on information available on the Planing & Infrastructure website, the T4 terminal will be a state of art ship loader which will consolidate coal export from Kooragang under very strict environmental conditions. Once the T4 completed, I believe in a medium term, the Carrington Coal Terminal will cease its operation.

This project will provide an economic benefit to the Commonwealth and the State. The T4 project will also provide a financial benefit to the Hunter region, a financial and social benefit to many local communities and provide employment opportunities to local citizens.

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).
NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.
The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.
Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our sate's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).
NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.
The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.
Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our sate's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.

This must be balanced with the environmental concerns to ensure that we are not sacrificing the future for immediate gains. This balancing adjust must be done with unbiased scientific study, rather than on emotional basis.

NSW industry, especially the coal export industry requires sufficient infrastructure to be competitive and efficient on a world stage. I wish to support the extension of coal loading facilities for PWCS. The T4 project is a key piece of infrastructure for the region. Ships queue along the coast discharging waste and polluting the environment as they wait to be loaded in Newcastle. An additional loading facility would increase jobs, improve efficiency, move the ships more quickly and make Australia more competitive on the world stage. We need to be future focussed to maintain our prosperity. Please approve this submission.

I wish to support the jobs and investment which will be provided by the Port Waratah Coal Services Terminal 4 Project.
Even though there is a downturn in the coal industry at present, this will not last and we must look towards the future.
I know there is a big push from a relatively uninformed section of the community, to reduce the coal output and concentrate on clean energy, but as a practising electrical and mechanical engineert I feel that we would be far better off both economically and environmentally. if the Government utilised the full capacity of the energy source that it has in coal by investing and encouraging Clean Coal Technology.
The coal is a valuable resource to the State and should be fully utilised.

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).
NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.
The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.
Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our sate's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.
Thanks,
Marc

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).
NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.
The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.
Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our sate's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.

I support the proposal for the development of T4. This state and region relies on coal exports to a large degree, and the expansion of the port is essential for continued growth. The T4 development can and will be managed to effectively limit adverse environmental impact, and will result in hundreds of new jobs and millions in additional royalties to support the quality of life in the state.

I write in support of the PWCS T4 at Kooragang Island. This Liberal/National government was elected to break the shackles holding back business growth in NSW, and this infrastructure is a classic test for the new government and any commitment it holds for opening up NSW to meaningful growth.

Let's get coal from the Upper Hunter to the Port and enjoy the royalties to flow therefrom.

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).

NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.

The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.

Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our sate's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.

One if the most professional submissions I have seen. Very comprehensive dust, noise and water control measures in place along with very significant offset areas. This sets a new benchmark in environmental considerations for an industrial development.
The land that the terminal is to be constructed on is a dumping ground, filled with decades of industrial waste. This land will need to be remediated anyway, so it is beneficial to the community to have an industry fund this, rather that at the taxpayers expense.
This application provides a good and fair balance between the environment and development. We cannot halt all development without massive change to our standard of living, so we need to support 'good' developments.

I am writing in support of jobs and investment in infrastructure in NSW and in particular to support Port Waratah Coal Services' Terminal 4 project (T4).

NSW needs new infrastructure to meet future demand for the state's biggest export industry, including an additional coal export terminal at Kooragang Island in the Port of Newcastle.

The T4 expansion will ensure sufficient terminal capacity to meet the long term needs of industry in the lower and new upper Hunter Valley and bring jobs in construction of the new facility and in mines and the hundreds of businesses supplying our mines into the future.

Like most people in NSW, I want to see a strong and prosperous future for our state's mining industry so that jobs and economic opportunities continue to be provided throughout regional NSW.

The fourth coal terminal will provide significant business opportunities and employment growth in the region which is good for the economy.