Rocky Hill Coal Mine

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project and the modification to the Stratford Coal Extension Project.

The unacceptable negative impacts from a coal mine located within 0.9km of Gloucester township include:

1. Proximity to residential areas
The mine is proposed only 900metres from the residential area of Forbesdale. These residents will carry an unacceptable burden and will be impacted by dust, noise and loss of amenity, resulting in risks to their health and loss of property value.

2. Impacts on Health
Health impacts from open-cut coalmines are well documented. With most of Gloucester township, including the hospital and schools, falling within the 5km health impact zone of the Rocky Hill mine, this places a large percentage of the population at risk. Those most affected by the health impacts are the very young, the elderly and the sick.

3. Impact on Tourism, worth $51M per annum to the Gloucester economy
An open-cut coalmine within 5km of Gloucester and within sight of the Bucketts Way will have an impact on the visual amenity of the area. The mine will risk the jobs of hundreds employed in the tourism industry.

4. Environment
The proposed mine is in the Avon Valley and in the catchment area of the Manning River. This supplies drinking water to over 80,000 people. There is definite potential for contamination of the water in the catchment.

5. Global warming - climate disruption
Mining and burning of fossil fuels is the main source of global warming and extreme changes to earth's climate, rising sea levels and displacement of entire communities in low lying areas.
No new coal mines. Keep it in the ground.

This mine should not be approved

Yours faithfully

Meredith Stanton

I have not made a reportable political donation

Submission for the Rocky Hill Coal Project - Application No SSD-5156 Stratford Coal Extension Project - Application No SSD - 4966 MOD 1
Dear Sir/Madam
I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project together with the Stratford Mine Modification.
No.1 Dust - GRL plans to generate 944 tonnes (over 1600 cubic metres) of dust every year. Children, the elderly, and people with respiratory disease will be at risk.
No.2 Scenic beauty - GRL claims that overburden from the mine will be used for `visibility barriers'. The largest is over 50m high and over 2km long. They will be visible to travellers along the Bucketts Way and residents on the eastern side of the valley. They will be as ugly as the mine.
No.3 Rehabilitation - There is not enough overburden to fill the voids or produce the claimed landform. 20 million tonnes of coal removed. Topsoil 40cm deep over rubble 190 metres deep will not hold water in dry spells.
GRL claim that they will fill in any voids and completely rehabilitate the area to look even better than nature has created. What if GRL go into liquidation and the mine ceases to operate? If we use the examples of mines in the Hunter then we cannot believe them. The bond put aside for rehabilitation is never enough. The mining company moves on and leaves the clean up to the taxpayers.
No.4 Night Lights - Gloucester sits in a quiet, rural valley with dark, starry night skies. This will disappear with the lights from a mine in the Avon valley. Even though the mine will not be operating at night for three years, the workers will have shifts until 10.30pm. They will be travelling along the haul road and to and from the mine. Their lights will be visible to residents in the Avon valley and will glow into the sky.
No.5 Extensions to the mine. - GRL have already earmarked the area north of the proposed Rocky Hill mine for `Stage Two'. As with all coalmines, when the first mine is approved then they follow on with extension after extension, after extension. If the coal is there then GRL will mine it. The exploration licence extends north up the Avon Valley to the town. There is no minimum distance from residences, as with the 2km for CSG.
No.6 Benefit to the NSW Government and the people of NSW - GRL will pay $63M in revenue and $60M in taxes. The life of the mine is 16 to 20 years. That means the company is paying just over $3M a year for revenue and taxes.
The question is, why would the Government approve a mine that is paying so little to the coffers of NSW?
Gloucester does not need this mine. Do not approve the Rocky Hill Coal Project.

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Mine
Dear Sir/Madam
I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project and Stratford Mine modification on the following grounds
1. Proximity to residential areas
The mine is proposed only 900metres from the residential area of Forbesdale. These residents will carry an unacceptable burden and will be impacted by dust, noise and loss of amenity, resulting in risks to their health and loss of property value.
2. Impacts on Health
Health impacts from open-cut coalmines are well documented. With most of Gloucester township, including the hospital and schools, falling within the 5km health impact zone of the Rocky Hill mine, this places a large percentage of the population at risk. Those most affected by the health impacts are the very young, the elderly and the sick.
3. Impact on Tourism, worth $51M per annum to the Gloucester economy
An open-cut coalmine within 5km of Gloucester and within sight of the Bucketts Way will have an impact on the visual amenity of the area. The mine will risk the jobs of hundreds employed in the tourism industry.
4. Environment
The proposed mine is in the Avon Valley and in the catchment area of the Manning River. This supplies drinking water to over 80,000 people. There is definite potential for contamination of the water in the catchment.
This mine should not be approved
Yours faithfully
Lara Corry-Boyd

I am unsure if the online submission I wrote last night was received by you. In case, it wasn't & because this issue is so important to us - I am doing again, albeit in an abbreviated version.

We live on Crowthers Rd, Stratford - only 2-3 kms from the Stratford mine. We object on the following grounds:
1. The Rocky Hill proposal to truck coal to the Stratford mine for washing & loading etc will add unwanted noise, dust & lighting to the Stratford operation. This is the mine that was about to have it's original licence finish when we bought our property 15 years ago.
2. The Rocky Hill proposal is far too close to town & it's living, breathing citizens. We object to the noise, dust & lighting that will intrude into the quiet rural amenity that those citizens bought into & expected to enjoy. This mining activity is incompatible with the current situation and hence there is no social licence to impose coal mining activity upon the Gloucester community.
3. For generations the Gloucester area has been a gem for family holidays on account of it's rural, agricultural & river systems. We took our young family here years ago & that weighed on our considerations in deciding to spend the rest of our days in this area. There are many like us and to now face a polar opposite scenario of the prospect of coal mining at Rocky Hill plus more activity at Stratford is an unacceptable imbalance and breach of faith from the Government Department that is responsible for ensuring a proper balance for the lives of it's citizens. A 2nd coal mine was not a consideration when we made such a big commitment, like building a house with local labour etc. If approved, who would buy property so close to the Rocky Hill area?
4. The purported benefits form coal mining are clearly much shorter term than the longer term gains from the traditional agricultural & tourism activities.
5. The Rocky Hill proposal is 'plain wrong'.

Dear Sir,

As a resident of the Stratford village for 26 years I believe I have ample experience to comment on mine activities.
All owners of Stratford Coal have been untruthful in information provided to the township. The prospect of 24 hour operation of the coal wash plant will create a disturbance to the town in noise, light & dust from the plant. I am completely against the continuation of this wash plant.

Dear Sir/Madam

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project together with the Stratford Mine Modification.
No.1
Dust-
GRL plans to generate 944 tonnes (over 1600 cubic metres) of dust every year. Children, the
elderly, and people with respiratory disease will be at risk.
No.2
Scenic beauty
-
GRL claims that overburden from the mine will be used for `visibility barriers'. The
largest is over 50m high and over 2km long. They will be visible to travellers along the Bucketts Way and
residents on the eastern side of the valley. They will be as ugly as the mine.
No.3
Rehabilitation
-
There is not enough overburden to fill the voids or produce the claimed landform. 20
million tonnes of coal removed. Topsoil 40cm deep over rubble 190 metres deep will not hold water in dry
spells. GRL claim that they will fill in any voids and completely rehabilitate the area to look even better than nature
has created. What if GRL go into liquidation and the mine ceases to operate? If we use the examples of
mines in the Hunter then we cannot believe them. The bond put aside for rehabilitation is never enough. The
mining company moves on and leaves the clean up to the taxpayers.
No.4
Night Lights
-
Gloucester sits in a quiet, rural valley with dark, starry night skies. This will disappear with the lights from a mine in the Avon valley. Even though the mine will not be operating at night for three years, the workers will have shifts until 10.30pm. They will be travelling along the haul road and to and from
the mine. Their lights will be visible to residents in the Avon valley and will glow into the sky.
No.5 Extensions to the mine.
GRL have already earmarked the area north of the proposed Rocky Hill mine for `Stage Two'. As with all coal mines, when the first mine is approved then they follow on with extension after extension, after extension. If the coal is there then GRL will mine it. The exploration licence extends
north up the Avon Valley to the town. There is no minimum distance from residences, as with the 2km for CSG.
No.6
Benefit to the NSW Government and the people of NSW
-
GRL will pay $63M in revenue and $60M in taxes. The life of the mine is 16 to 20 years. That means the company is paying just over $3M a year for
revenue and taxes.
The question is, why would the Government approve a mine that is paying so little to the coffers of NSW?
Gloucester does not need this mine. Do not approve the Rocky Hill Coal Project.

Yours faithfully
Daniel Wilson

Dear Sir/Madam
I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project and Stratford Mine modification on the following grounds
1. Proximity to residential areas
The mine is proposed only 900metres from the residential area of Forbesdale. These
residents will carry an unacceptable burden and will be impacted by dust, noise and loss
of amenity, resulting in risks to their health and loss of property value.
2. Impacts on Health
Health impacts from open-cut coal mines are well documented. With most of Gloucester
township, including the hospital and schools, falling within the 5km health impact zone
of the Rocky Hill mine, this places a large percentage of the population at risk. Those
most affected by the health impacts are the very young, the elderly and the sick.
3. Impact on Tourism, worth $51M per annum to the Gloucester economy
An open-cut coal mine within 5km of Gloucester and within sight of the Bucketts Way
will have an impact on the visual amenity of the area. The mine will risk the jobs of
hundreds employed in the tourism industry.
4. Environment
The proposed mine is in the Avon Valley and in the catchment area of the Manning
River. This supplies drinking water to over 80,000 people. There is definite potential for
contamination of the water in the catchment.
This mine should not be approved
Yours faithfully
K. Theo

Dear Sir/Madam
I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project and Stratford Mine modification on the following grounds
1. Proximity to residential areas
The mine is proposed only 900metres from the residential area of Forbesdale. These
residents will carry an unacceptable burden and will be impacted by dust, noise and loss
of amenity, resulting in risks to their health and loss of property value.
2. Impacts on Health
Health impacts from open-cut coalmines are well documented. With most of Gloucester
township, including the hospital and schools, falling within the 5km health impact zone
of the Rocky Hill mine, this places a large percentage of the population at risk. Those
most affected by the health impacts are the very young, the elderly and the sick.
3. Impact on Tourism, worth $51M per annum to the Gloucester economy
An open-cut coalmine within 5km of Gloucester and within sight of the Bucketts Way
will have an impact on the visual amenity of the area. The mine will risk the jobs of
hundreds employed in the tourism industry.
4. Environment
The proposed mine is in the Avon Valley and in the catchment area of the Manning
River. This supplies drinking water to over 80,000 people. There is definite potential for
contamination of the water in the catchment.
This mine should not be approved
Yours faithfully
P.Theo

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal project . The proposed site for this mine is only 3 miles from the town of Gloucester and even closer to residential properties in the area of Jacks Road and Faulklands Road. Some effects of this are: contamination of air thus impacting on health and well being of residents; contamination of soil and pastures making it non viable for farmers and food production; the impact of local fresh clean water as Gloucester is reliant on the rivers for it's water; any new people wishing to live in this beautiful valley would certainly be put off by a mine being close by thus resulting in an economic downturn in the business of the town; no new business would be attracted to start up here; tourism would also take a downturn; property prices would reduce greatly . last but not least the scars a mine would leave on this magnificent part of NSW would be monstrous . I would like to be informed that my submission has been received and read. Thank you

I object to the proposed Rocky Hill Coal Project because it is too close to the town and will have intolerable noise, dust and visual amenity impacts on residents within the Gloucester Valley.

I object to the proposed Rocky Hill Coal Project because it is too close to the town and will have intolerable noise, dust and visual amenity impacts on residents within the Gloucester Valley.

Submission for the Rocky Hill Coal Project Â- Application No SSD-5156 Stratford Coal Extension Project Â- Application No SSD-4966 MOD 1 Dear Sir/Madam I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project and the Stratford Modification One would have to ask, why would the NSW Government justify a green field coal mine just 900metres from a residential area. Gloucester is an area of rural beauty, with sustainable industries of tourism, dairies and cattle farming. Not the place for a coal mine. Even coking coal is not in demand around the world. There is enough stockpiled to adequately supply the steel making industry. Coal mining is not a sustainable industry, with fluctuating prices and worker layoffs. The benefit to the NSW Government and the people of NSW is debatable. GRL will pay $63M in revenue and $60M in taxes. The life of the mine is 16 to 20 years. That means the company is paying just over $3M a year for revenue and taxes. Most of the profit from this company will go overseas. The NSW Government needs to invest in renewables, particularly in rural areas where employment is low. Towns, like Gloucester could be embracing the new world of solar, thermal solar, biomass, wind and hydro. So many options with huge benefits, like, reduced carbon emissions, lower power bills, regional economic development and stable job creation. Gloucester could be the new renewables hub instead of following an out dated industry like coal. IsnÂ't it about time we followed the rest of the world into the 21st century? Yours faithfully

I have no objections to Rocky Hill Coal Mine. Gloucester needs the mine to create employment, there is no industries in town for work. Some families have left town as a result of being put off at the Duralie coal mine, we will see more families move away from the town. With rules re dust from the mine it will be closely monitored so town won't have any problems.
Please let Rocky Hill go ahead.

I am opposed to the Rocky Hill Coal Mine because I live close to the coal loader at Stratford and am concerned about the increased noise and levels of dust both from loading of coal and heavy trucks.

I object to this proposed coal mine for the following reasons;
* It is simply a concept at this stage with inadequate detail for serious judgement
* There is inadequate consideration of surface water pollution issues
* The final landform concept is a joke because there is no data to substantiate how it will be constructed such that it can function as described
* There is a very real chance that the final landform will develop into saline swamps and areas of acid mine drainage and this will impact on Avon River water quality
* The visibility assessments are all based on instant revegetation of overburden heaps without any assessment of the chance of success
* The photorealistic photomontage concept, with all areas shown as green, treats readers as idiots
* The use of 1;100 year flood prediction is inadequate for a State Significant Development and there is no assessment of consequences of more severe flooding to the infrastructure or to downstream areas
* The losses to agriculture in the region due to the purchase of farm land by the Proponent is not adequately addressed
* Damage to Waukivory Creek and Oakey Creek due to diversion of flows from above the mine area is not adequately addressed
* The significant loss of water for irrigation in the Avon system has not been addressed
* The groundwater studies are inadequate
* Statements about the time taken for groundwater to reach equilibrium after mining are grossly different to those calculated for adjacent mining sites by AGL and Yancoal
* The pollution through the use of salty water, contaminated with heavy metals, for dust control around the mine has not been considered
* The impacts of air quality and noise pollution on residents in the vicinity of the mine and in the town has been treated superficially
* The proposed biodiversity offset is inadequate
* Advertisements in local newspapers stating that 75% of employees will reside in the Gloucester area is a con and designed to deceive the community
* The huge overburden stripping ratios due to the dip angle of the coal seams and the thinness of the seams make the mine unviable in comparison to other Gloucester and Hunter mines
* The lack of discussion of geology and mine planning indicate that the operational details are either not known to the Proponent or are deliberately being kept from agencies and community
We do not need or want this ridiculous development concept on the edge of Gloucester.

I oppose the Rocky Hill Mine Project

I live in proximity to the new mine and the existing Stratford mine I strongly and vehemently Oppose another mine in the Gloucester valley I am concerned over the degradation to the environment by mining practices and also the increased dust and noise traffic and reduction in property values that will ensue from the approval of a new mine. The Gloucester valley is the gateway to the Barrington Tops National Park and the Gloucester Tops National Park. And we all know blasting and Mine sites are not a pretty reflection of this.
Furthermore I rely on tank water for our household and drinking water and the increased dust and air pollution and toxins that will settle on our rooftops and enter our tanks are of a huge health concern. The increased production in the processing plant at Stratford will not only increase noise to our area but also further dust and toxins to the air. The increased dust from the link road and noise increased to same from the rocky hill project to the Stratford Mine is a further concern of mine.
Please be sensible when considering this submission and think of this would you want four blast a week on your back doorstep. Along with all the concerns I have mentioned. I am sure you would say NO and this is why I am saying NO to this project.

Kind regards
Your truly

BH

I Oppose Rocky Hill Coal Mine Project and the Stratford Coal Mine extension project.

I have not made a reportable political donation.

I wish to express my disgust and concern at the proposed projects listed above as a resident of Stratford I strongly oppose both. My concerns are for the environmental impact to the region in increased noise, dust, and reduction in property prices. Furthermore I am concerned with the effect it will have on our drinking water, and the beautiful Gloucester valley I am yet to see a pretty Mine site.
With increased production expected at the Stratford Mine being earmarked as the processing plant for both Stratford and the rocky hill projest I feel the noise and dust pollution will become unbearable.

Thank you

MH

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project for the following reasons:

Too close to residential areas
Negative health impacts
Noise impacts
Impact on tourism

My Mum lives in Gloucester. She has been involved in the campaign against this mine for years. Her stories, of how this proposal and the entry of GRL into the Gloucester area, has affected her friends are heart breaking.

People live too close to the mine boundary. Their health will be affected by dust and noise. Their peaceful quality of life will be gone. Those that are near the mine can't sell their homes. Their land values have been decreased so that if they can sell it will be at a greatly reduced price. Why should those people be collateral damage for a multi national company only interested in profit?

My mum and her partner moved to Gloucester to escape the noise and pollution of Sydney and now, like so many of her Gloucester friends, they will be dealing with an open-cut coal mine in close proximity.

My family and I visit Gloucester regularly. We think it is a beautiful place. We will not be so keen if it is damaged by mine pollution.

Do not approve this mine.

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Project

My mother-in-law and her partner live in Gloucester close to town. We visit them with our small children. Having small children I can imagine what the mothers are concerned about. The dust from this mine will affect the health of the children in the area. It is alarming to know that the Dept. of Health does not consider this mine a health hazard to the residents and particularly the children.

This mine should not be approved on the grounds of the health impacts.

I oppose the Rocky Hill Coal Mine.

I am very worried about the effect to the local environment, and how that will affect my health, especially as I already have health issues. I am shocked that the mine would be built only 900m from homes. There is already evidence of the impact to health from open-cut mines. I am very opposed to the mine!

Gloucester is a great town at the moment, and I see this mine will have a negative impact on the town and the beauty of the town. This will also have a negative effect on tourism in the area. Gloucester provides a lot of services and businesses, making it a great place to live, but which wouldn't be possible with less tourism supporting them.