Wilpinjong Coal Mine Extension

It is beyond the time to extend or begin any coal mine. The industry needs to be wound back while encouraging renewable energy projects.
And besides, the impacts of coal mines on the health and well being of communities is unacceptable.

Dear Sir / Madam,
I am writing to object to the proposed mining venture at Wilpinjong. The pervasive impact upon biodiversity, local Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions and community and rural industry have not been thoroughly assessed.
The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
The area has significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context nor in the broader national context.
The distress that mining will have upon a quiet, village lifestyle will be negatively profound, causing an immediate loss of quality of lifestyle and a loss of local, indigenous culture. With the rest of the world steering away from fossil fuels, this NSW government is taking the state backwards, to an era of unregulated pollution, where small, defenceless communities lose their identity until all they are left with is a ruined dustbowl for a town.

I wish to make a strong objection to theextension of the Wilpinjong Mine .
The extension would make the nearby village of Wollar unlivable.
The impacts on groundwater & surface water systems will almost certainly be significantly greater than predicted.
The cumulative loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been adequately considered.
The noise assessment, monitoring & mitigation measres proposed are totally inadequate.
Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in late 2015.
The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal will cause irreversible environmental & social damage cannot be justified.
The extension would produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, exacerbating the impact on climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
The proposal will remove more than 350 hectares of remnant native vegetation & have an adverse impact on some 24 threatened species & ecological communities.

The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will make the village of Wollar unlivable. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are totally inadequate. Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015. The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord. The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted. The predicted job numbers are overstated compared, with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal. Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all its obligations. The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval. The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

I object to the extension of the mine on these grounds:

The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.

The extension will remove 354 hectares of remnant native vegetation and have an impact on 24 threatened species and ecological communities - more than the current approval.

The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.

The extension will leave three final voids that will permanently scar the landscape and harm waterways for hundreds of years.

The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

as attached

The proposal to continue extraction of low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified

This proposal would be environmentally damaging and would provide little benefit to the local community

I spent many school holidays at Wollar. During my stays I helped with the rabit run, picking up rabbits trapped by farmers and taking them to the freezer at Gulgong. Most days were spent exploring the surrounding countryside and playing games. The bush dances. Playing in the tunnel on the Sandy Hollow railway line.This was a major part of my growing up. Don't take these opportunities away from our children. Give them the chance to experience this growrh. Wollar was part of my childhood and growing up. The coal mining expansion will stop these chances for our children for all time.

As a business owner with a significant investment in the township of Mudgee I feel it is very important that I lend my support to the extension of Wilpinjong.

In the last four and a half years, my business partners and I have thrown significant resources behind the economic development of Mudgee.

With our combined experience, my partners and I have identified the huge potential for growth that Mudgee has in front of it right now. Growth that other regional towns in NSW (and the rest of the country) can only ever dream of.

The extension of coal mines around Mudgee should not be taken for granted... While other coal mines around the country are contracting or even closing down, the mines around Mudgee are proving the most profitable in the country.

These are fortunate times for this town and these plans for growth and extension should be embraced by Mudgee, not rejected. Furthermore, they should be embraced by all of NSW, as we as a state, look to get our finances back in order.

It is our intention, with the confirmation of Wilpinjong's extension, to throw further, even more significant resources into Mudgee over the next ten years as we look to work with other, local and regional business owners to grow this great town.

The further commitment of such resources by us, and business owners in general, over the next decade or so is critical on the continued growth of this township. Without surety of commitment from mining companies such as Wilpinjong and the employment surety that it brings, no business owner can invest in the extension of the town without significant risks to the downside.

It is projects such as the extension of the Wilpinjong mine that are critical to Mudgee's future economic success. We have seen in recent times that the drought can have devastating effects on the local farming population and this then has flow on effects to employment within the region.

The extension of Wilpinjong gives the local population employment options. It creates diversity of industry within the region. It brings in significant investment dollars and creates further sub-industries with even more employment options and continued growth.

Mudgee has a diverse history and first grew on the back of potential gold mines, and then wool and agriculture, tourism and viticulture. We all know this and we are all proud of what a thriving and diverse community we have here. However, the continued, long term growth of the town will come from the extension of the nearby coal mines. Denying further access to some of the most efficient coal seams in the state, in fact, the country, seems, to me, nonsensical - it seems to be against the basic principle of continued growth and prosperity which we, as a township and a region, should be proud of, and aspire to.

The reality is, the whole town needs to have certainty of these coal mines long term existence and also, just as importantly, their extension to keep the local economy moving forward.
Wilpinjong's extension is a positive for Mudgee. It will create more jobs, more opportunities and greater growth.

As a business owner with a large investment in this town, I for one fully support the extension of Wilpinjong. If this extension is approved more and more people will stand to benefit from the positive flow-on effects this surety of growth and extension will bring to this town.

I believe now is the time for the town to lend its support to Wilpinjong's extension plans. To continue the growth of this great town, we must take a stand and support this extension, not just for the community of today but for generations to come.

Thank you for the opportunity to make this submission. I trust the opportunities for extension of Wilpinjong that we are presented with are not wasted - now or in the future.

It is time to continue the Mid-Western's record as one of the fastest growing regions in NSW. The extension of Wilpinjong must be approved.

I am a great-grandson of George Nathaniel Mason, buried in the churchyard at Wollar; and grandson of Cecil George Mason, who set out from the family farm at Wollar to fight (and sustain serious wounds) for Australia in the Great War.

I object to the proposal for the legacy of these men to be further despoiled, by approval of extension of a foreign mining operation, of shaky financial basis, devouring their village and its surrounds. The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will destroy the community of Wollar.

I make this submission in the expectation that this matter will be determined according to law (rather than otherwise, as was notoriously the case under a previous Government).

In particular:

1. Financial position of proponent should preclude approval: No application by or on behalf of Peabody Energy can properly be approved without full consideration of the increasingly financially distressed position of that entity (a matter of public record and notoriety), and consequent doubt as to its ability to meet obligations to remediate areas affected by mining following conclusion of mining operations. Failure to take the financial position of a proponent adequately into account, of course, would constitute a fundamental error of law (failure to consider a relevant consideration).

2.Unacceptable scale and impact of final voids: Even were Peabody Energy to remain in a position to undertake some level of required remediation (which as noted above cannot permissibly be assumed), the extension will leave 3 very large "final voids" (final voids, indeed) in the landscape that will have deleterious impact on the local environment and waterways into the indefinite future. This is a legacy which is completely unacceptable .

3.Inadequate environmental offsets: I note that the extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval - and that in particular the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.. I submit that approval cannot validly be given to a proposal where its associated biodiversity offsets do not meet basic tests for justifiable offsets, including:
(a) `like for like' offsetting, within a reasonable geographic proximity;
(b )no `net loss' biodiversity outcomes

4. Inadequate impact assessments and mitigation proposals: I submit that the proponents have not satisfied reasonable expectations regarding:
(a) noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures; (b) air quality, noting that the proposal does not include assessment against the new standards adopted in December 2015;
(c) the cumulative impact on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry. In particular, the area has significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.

The impending disaster can be averted simply by not going ahead with proposed destruction of the environment and community of Wollar and it's neighbours this proposed extension of WILPINJONG will destroy lives and lifestyles of innocent people who are already feeling the affects of greedy coal mining ARSEHOLES who are in no way deserving of any profit from coal as it's all a simple matter of the Wollar community not wanting to suffer simply so that the few may get a sorely won profit of a few dollars now and destroy Wollar forever!!!!!

Having observed the adverse impacts on Wollar and surrounds since the mine began, and written about them in my book, 'Rich Land, Wasteland', I strongly object to any further expansion of the Wilpinjong mine and hence even more unacceptable impacts.

There is no doubt that the extension of Wilpinjong will destroy the community of Wollar. It is clear that the cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.

Noise and air pollution must not be increased; no amount of mitigation will prevent an increase in these in reality, regardless of what Peabody submit will happen on paper. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate.
In addition, air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015

It is also unacceptable that the cumulative impact on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, community and rural industry has not been rigorously assessed. The village and the area has been decimated already by the mine, despite all the initial promises of growth and jobs. Wollar was a healthy, engaged social community, the centre of a rural area, before Peabody began.

The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.

Nor has the impact on greenhouse gas emissions been taken into proper account,. The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, fuelling global warming, and contradicts Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord. As a grandmother, I consider it immoral to allow this.

The area's significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values have not been assessed in a regional context, and should be.

I am seriously concerned at the environmental imapacts, as the extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation, which will have an adverse impact on 24 threatened species and communities. This is more than the current approval, which should not be allowed.

There is supposed to be no net loss of biodiversity, yet biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve. Death by a thousand cuts.

I find it appalling that the extension proposes to leave three final voids in the landscape; we know these will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years - an absolutely unacceptable legacy. The U.S. permits no final voids: we should demand the same.

The predicted job numbers make no sense, when compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal. They are overstated.
As Peabody Energy is in serious financial distress, it and may not be fit to meet all current obligations and ought to be permitted to take on more.

Their contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.

Hence there is no justification for this proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage.
Please also see the attached extract from my book, 'Rich Land, Wasteland', covering the impacts of the Wilpinjong mine as at 2012.

Bathurst Community Climate Action Network, as a volunteer based community group working in this region for improved climate change policies and to lower our contribution to atmospheric pollution, opposes the proposed Wilpinjong Coal Mine expansion based on the immediate impacts on the community of Wollar and long-term costs of global warming on all communities from the continuation of the mining of coal. The continued expansion of coal mining in our region will make a significant contribution to Australia's already dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions. The ongoing coal extraction will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas per year, which will exacerbate the impacts of climate change, and is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
BCCAN believes the scientific evidence is sufficient for planning decisions in NSW to rule out new coalmining approvals. We cite two authorities for this view. First, the Climate Change Authority has reported that to have a 67% chance of keeping under 2°C warming, the world's carbon budget 2000¬2050 is 1700 GtCO2e. (Based on this, the CCA puts Australia's share of this carbon budget for 2013-2050 at 10.1GtCO2e. If all of Australia's coal resources were burned, the carbon released would consume two¬-thirds of the global carbon budget. It is likely that over 90% of Australian coal reserves are unburnable under even the most generous carbon budget. Australia has 77Gt known coal reserves, enough to produce 150GtCO2e, 15 times our budget to 2050. Further,

We oppose further expansion of the coal industry as analysis released by the international climate research consortium Climate Action Tracker (CAT) which shows that Australia cannot meet its unambitious 2030 reduction target through its Direct Action policies. Even more alarmingly it shows Australia will in fact increase its emissions by as much as 27% under its current policies and continued heavy reliance on a fossil fuel based economy. The international community have committed to meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at the climate talks in Paris in 2015 and it is clear we no longer have the luxury of pleading for our exclusive short term profits and jobs over the impacts of climate change upon future generations and other nations. With member states of the Pacific Island Forum calling on Australia to limit its coal sector because of its contribution to climate change and sea level rise it is time for our country to limit our emissions at the coalface. The time has come for planning authorities to say to mining companies: this coal mine cannot go ahead because of its contribution to climate change because of its threat to this generation and to all future generations.
We note the observations by the Climate Council that Investment in renewable energy has increased six fold since 2004 and businesses around the world are investing more in renewables than coal, oil, and gas combined. In many parts of Australia solar and wind energy have reached `grid parity' and are more cost effective than fossil fuels. If mines which have reached the extent of their approvals are granted continual extensions Australia will be trapped in the energy economy of the twentieth century and transition will be made even harder.
On top of the threat posed by the continuation of the coal industry in Australia this particular mine extension poses an unacceptable risk to the environment and residents of the region between Ulan and the Bylong Valley and the village of Wollar which will come within 1.5 kilometres of its open cut extension. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects in this region have not been considered. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are highly inadequate. Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in November 2015.
The mine has been operating since 2006 and has already had severe impacts on the local community of Wollar and surrounds. The mine has current approval to produce 12.5 million tonnes per annum of saleable coal until 2027. This extension proposes to destroy a further 800 ha of land and extend the mine's life until 2033. The company's own Social Impact Assessment identifies that this will accelerate the decline of the community, which has been suffering the impacts from the mine over the past ten years.
The extension will remove 354 ha of remnant native vegetation impacting 24 threatened species and communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The extension will leave 3 final voids in the landscape that will impact the local environment and waterways for hundreds of years into the future. This is a completely unacceptable legacy. The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted. The area has significant landscape Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.
The original justification for the mine was to supply low quality coal to Bayswater Power Station. Six subsequent modifications have resulted in increased export capacity while increasing the cumulative impacts on the environment and community.
From an economic perspective the predicted job numbers are overstated compared with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal. In addition mine owners US based Peabody Energy are in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all obligations. We note that Peabody Energy are in the process of divesting its entire portfolio of Australian coal assets, as one of the world's largest coal miner exits from the local market. The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval and does not demand further extension.

The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified. The cumulative impact on greenhouse gas emissions, the health and viability of a community at Wollar, biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources and rural industry have not been adequately assessed. BCCAN opposes any further extension of Wilpinjong mine and encourages the Planning Assessment Commission to reject this application accordingly.

I REJECT this application that no new coal can be dug up if Australia is to meaningfully facilitate its commitment to keeping global warming under two degrees.

I REJECT this application to expand based on the precarious nature of Peabody's finances.

Australia supported the Paris convention last year and acting to keep the earth's temperature rise at less than 2 degrees. Last week the planet hit a 2 degree increase for the first time, which albeit temporary was significant.

To avoid catastrophic biodiversity loss the expansion of all new coal must stop. It all must be left in the ground. As Bill McKibben says: "We've simply got to keep coal and oil and gas in the ground; there's not any other way to make the math of climate change even begin to work." (1)

From the Carbon Market Institute in February 2016 "The debate is over - the massive economic impetus to a zero net emissions global economy is unstoppable and business gets it. Consensus has been reached among the world's major political and economic actors that we are on an inevitable path to decarbonising our economies. The Paris Agreement states that emissions should peak "as soon as possible" with rapid reductions thereafter and includes a five-year cycle for reviewing emissions cuts with action to be continually ratcheted up. We are on a path to net zero emissions" (2)

Castellas CEO of the Carbon Market Institute, mentions that "business gets it", and "Consensus has been reached among the world's major political and economic actors". This consensus means that there must be no new coal, not at Wilpinjong, not by Shenhua, not in water catchments or in the Galilee Basin. How do the coal industry get to have more power, influence than all the "world's major political and economic actors."

Maybe a few years ago the environmental impact could have been debated. But in the face of existential climate change, it is not a tweak in the EIS here, a tweak there to appease the local environment concerns, that is relevant. Nor is the union excuse of a few jobs and the factional power these added members bring the hierarchy. (And we all know the mining industry would automate every job if it could). IF a govt priority is to create regional jobs and thriving regional communities then create a blue print for this, provide cheap renewable energy to manufacturing, facilitate innovation and stimulus in agriculture and tourism.

I reject this mine not just the extension will destroy another 800 ha of land or further impact the Wollar community and its environs. It is not just that it is so close to the Goulburn River National Park and the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve with its biodiversity and migration zones. It is that no new coal can be dug up.

No new coal can be dug up in Australia. No coal expansion in Australia approved. Go ask the church, the communities, the university scientists, the drs, the nurses and other MOST TRUSTED professions. Call a moratorium until a referendum takes place if needs be. But stop coal finance and power taking away our kids' futures.

THE PROPONENT PEABODY COAL - UNFIT FOR PURPOSE

I REJECT this application to expand based on the precarious nature of Peabody's finances.

Wilpinjong Coal Mine in the Hunter is owned and operated by Peabody Energy US.

Peabody Energy (the largest pure coal play company in the world) is on the brink of bankruptcy, its share price hovering just below $3 down from $179 in Nov 2014 and $50 in mid-2015. It has $6bn debt and can't pay its bills. (3) It certainly will not pay for any rehabilitation of damage caused at this mine to any level that is needed. And nothing it can pay will turn down the dial of planetary warming except if it stops mining coal.

On 29 Feb 2016 Peabody filed a report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailing recent discussions with creditors and outlining potential debt swaps that would not guarantee any of the company's existing debt. Across the markets the question is being asked: Is Peabody Energy Preparing for Bankruptcy? (4)

The question of coal's impact on climate change must be first and foremost in the framework for approval. There are no economic benefits on a dead planet and certainly not for the lives that will be lost from climate change.

Isabel McIntosh
Sydney
MOTHER OF THREE CHILDREN

(1) https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/03/04/why-degree-temperature-jump-more-important-than-trump-hands/lCyz5MHZkH8aD0HIDJrcYJ/story.html
(2) http://ecogeneration.com.au/news/a_new_era_for_the_global_economy1/101446
(3) http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/12/peabody-energy-wont-last-long-posting-earnings-res.aspx
(4) http://247wallst.com/energy-business/2016/03/06/is-peabody-energy-preparing-for-bankruptcy/#ixzz42B5AdRH1

The extension of Wilpinjong Mine

The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

WATER: The extension will leave three final voids that will permanently scar the landscape and harm waterways for hundreds of years.
The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted
SOCIAL IMPACT: The inhabitants of the village of Wollar will have to be relocated.
The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.
HEALTH: The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are totally inadequate.
Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015.
BIODIVERSITY
The extension will remove 354 hectares of remnant native vegetation and have an impact on 24 threatened species and ecological communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.
The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The cumulative impacts on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry have not been rigorously assessed.
The area has significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.

The predicted job numbers are overstated compared, with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.
Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all its obligations.
The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.

For a start it is ludicrous that in 2016 anyone would be wanting to build or extend a coal mine. Sheer lunacy and will likely be responsible for much death and illness for future generations. Also to extend a mine at this location is madness. The whole area is a crucial part of a mapped north south and east west climate change corridor. (OEH, 2007). The mine extension should be stopped and the mine gradually closed for the following reasons:-
* The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will make the village of Wollar unlivable.
* The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered.
* The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are totally inadequate.
* Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015.
* The extension will remove 354 hectares of remnant native vegetation and have an impact on 24 threatened species and ecological communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater.
* The cumulative impacts on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry have not been rigorously assessed.
* The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord.
* The area has significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context.
* The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
* The extension will leave three final voids that will permanently scar the landscape and harm waterways for hundreds of years.
* The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.
* The predicted job numbers are overstated compared, with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.
* Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all its obligations.
* The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.
* The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

Frustrated that successive governments and bureaucrats manage this land like pirates and robber barons.

Kevin Taylor

Having long been concerned by the impacts of coal mining in many parts of NSW, but especially, those in the Upper Hunter Valley and their undeniable impacts upon both the environment and many local residents, I strenuously object to this proposed expansion to Wilpinjong Mine

The views of many local residents, environmentalists and economists appear to be secondary to the perceived benefits to, in particular the proponents who, as the evidence clearly indicates, are in serious financial difficulty at the present time.

However, the most appalling point is that the proponents have indicated the mine will have an even more serious impact than already, both socially and, environmentally, upon the nearby village of Wollar. The irrefutable evidence is that, already, many who have long resided in the village, have been forced to leave the place they called home and, obviously, dearly loved, in face of the very real health issues associated with the extension to the mine. despite the hyperbole and fatuous assurances of the proponents, as to the risks associated to the extension/expansion of the mine.

Surely, in light of the very recently published research into Black Lung Disease in Queensland, this prpoosal, so close to Wollar, can't be approved.

Do you, the persons charged with the onerous task of determining the proposal, want to have on your hands and on your minds, for the rest of your days, the probability that many, perhaps unable to abandon their homes and lifestyles, will become, through no fault of their own, victims of this insidious affliction, which, supposedly, has long been diminished but which, obviously, despite assurances from the mining conglomerates and acquiescent government agencies, has been allowed to re-appear in the medical lexicon of the early 21st Century?

In addition to the obvious risks to the health of the public and the residents of Wollar, in particular, there are growing concerns about the viability of coal as a fuel source into the future (what future, indeed, with it still being burnt, as we currently do?), there are the very obvious impacts upon the environment and what remains of local plant and animal species within and adjacent to the proposed extension to the mine .

Surely, you who are charged with the review of the proposal, have seen and experienced the almost mind boggling extent of coal mining in the Upper Hunter Valley over many decades of similar activities as are proposed in this latest application? Surely, you, despite the "requirements" of many Acts, can see this insanity must stop and that the viability of this proposal makes it questionable, from the outset and that, should it, as it likely must, fail, within the time span claimed for the extension, then the State of NSW and future taxpayers will, inevitably, be burdened with the consequently, inevitable, horrendous clean-up, restoration and compensation of future, perhaps, NSW residents?

But, above all else, what of the displacement of those who have long called Wollar home, the never ending cycle of environmental degradation and extirpation of plant and animal communities and the loss of increasingly, as the nightmare of human population growth continues, unabated,
valuable farmland to feed that unchecked growth of human population? How much more viable farmland, in this country of, in the main, extremely poor/infertile soils, can we afford to allow to be sterilised to satisfy the seemingly, insatiable, rapacious appetites of the mining giants and in this case, yet another overseas owned conglomerate?

As a layman, a simple, high school educated, fifth generation Australian of convict ancestry on my maternal family's side, I say enough is enough and proudly, defiantly, add my voice to those whose lives are likely to be destroyed for, ultimately, nothing as the aeolian winds blow across the desolate landscape we are creating in our lemming like rush, towards that inevitable abyss - extinction of not just the plants and animals we share the Earth with, but our own race..

Do not, regardless of "law", for the sake of current and future Australians, approve this mine's expansion.

Dear Sir/Madam,
The proposed extension of the Wilpinjong Coal mine is poorly justified, and the lack of detail is negligent, to the point of deception in several places.

I have read the report carefully, and it does not adequately address many issue, not the least of which are

1/ The encroachment of the open cut mine into inhabited environment. Serious ongoing HEALTH issues, way beyond the 7 year extension

2/ The lack of any sort of proper detail as to WATER MANAGEMENT
Water Management- there is a great deal to be done before these goals can be met. The current standard needs to be upgraded, as existing standards have been raised:-

PSPEA p16-
" The existing site water balance model would be
updated for the Project as part of the EIS.
The Project water management strategy would be
developed as part of the detailed site water balance
model and would be based on the following:
* separation of undisturbed area runoff from
disturbed area runoff;
* collection and reuse of surface runoff from
disturbed areas;
* capture of pit inflows and reuse as process
water;
* storage of water on-site;
* licensed water extraction to supplement water
supply; and
* treatment of water in the Wilpinjong Coal Mine
water treatment plant and release to Wilpinjong
Creek in accordance with the site EPL."

Also p22 TABLE of 'Key Environmental Issues""-
All directed to what to do after there is a problem! It's too late- Money can't buy back a polluted aquifer...

"* Implementation of the Groundwater Monitoring Program and
Surface and Groundwater Response Plan to mitigate, monitor
and manage potential impacts on groundwater resources.
* Appropriate licensing in accordance with the legislative
requirements of the Water Management Act, 2000 and the
Water Act, 1912. "

The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.Their report actually states-
p11, 2.3
"Two distinct groundwater systems have been
identified at the Wilpinjong Coal Mine
(HydroSimulations, 2014):
* Alluvial groundwater system - associated
primarily with Wilpinjong Creek.
* Porous rock groundwater system - the
Narrabeen Group sandstones and the Illawarra
Coal Measures, consisting of coal seams,
conglomerate, mudstones and siltstones.
The NSW Office of Water has identified a portion of
the alluvial aquifer associated with Wilpinjong Creek
and downstream of the Wilpinjong Coal Mine as
`highly productive'. "

3/ The serious ISOLATION of parts of the National Park and Reserves, with token 'Restoration'
In their own submission- p10/11
"The Development Application Area adjoins the
Goulburn River National Park in the north and the
Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve in the south
(Figure 5). These lands are reserved under the
National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.
Three Enhancement and Conservation Areas
(ECAs) under a voluntary conservation agreement
with the NSW Minister administering the National
Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 are also located in the
Development Application Area for the Project
(Figure 5). "

4/The extension will leave three final voids that will permanently scar the landscape and harm waterways for hundreds of years.



4/ The predicted JOB NUMBERS are overstated compared, with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal.
A workforce total such as they have given will include individual workers doing short-term,one-off supply of temporary labour- There is no way over 600 'jobs' is anything other that playing with statistics of casual/temporary workers.

Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all its obligations.

5/ The contract to SUPPLY AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.

The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.With the price of coal falling and a world wanting less, this is an ecological and investment disaster waiting to happen.

5/ And who foots THE BILL in 7 years when the current extension all 'finished', the town is decimated, and the inhabitants sick from coal dust and other mine -related long-term health issues? And Peabody is 'broke' ?

The extension of Wilpinjong Mine will make the village of Wollar unlivable. The cumulative social impact of loss of population through mining projects from Ulan to Bylong has not been considered. The noise assessment, monitoring and mitigation measures are totally inadequate. Air quality has not been assessed against the new standards adopted in December 2015. The extension will remove 354 hectares of remnant native vegetation and have an impact on 24 threatened species and ecological communities - more than the current approval. The biodiversity offsets will not provide sufficient habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. The cumulative impacts on biodiversity, Aboriginal cultural heritage, water sources, greenhouse gas emissions, community and rural industry have not been rigorously assessed. The mine will produce an additional 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses a year, exacerbating the impacts of climate change. This is at odds with Australia's commitments under the Paris Accord. The area has significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values that have not been assessed in a regional context. The extension removes existing buffer zones for the Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve.
The extension will leave three final voids that will permanently scar the landscape and harm waterways for hundreds of years. The ongoing impacts on groundwater and surface water systems will be greater than predicted.
The predicted job numbers are overstated compared, with the current workforce extracting the same volume of coal. Peabody Energy is in deep financial distress and may not be fit to meet all its obligations. The contract to supply AGL's Bayswater Power Station can be met by the current approval.
The proposal to continue extracting low quality coal while causing irreversible environmental and social damage cannot be justified.

People are MORE IMPORTANT than another useless coalmine!