Wilpinjong Coal Mine Extension

See uploaded letter.

Submission is attached.

KEPCO Bylong Australia Pty Ltd supports the proposed Wilpinjong extension Project and maintains the position of supporting other mines in the region.

I support the approval of the Wilpinjong extension project as on balance the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.

My background and expertise is land management and as a NSW politician

I make this submission as a private citizen

Over many decades I have worked extensively with the department of Agriculture and other leading farmers in developing better ways to farm land, especially with minimal soil disturbance, utilize and grow more sustainable pastures and get better production with less in puts.

my political career was as a member of the NSW Legislative Council. As deputy chairman of the minister for the environments advisory committee I gained a very good first hand understanding of the environmental problems facing NSW

I am employed by Wilpinjong Coal as the Land and Agriculture Officer and had been working on the site for Excel mining from before the Wilpinjong mine was commenced - I also do a lot of Wilpinjongs donation and charity work - this with my political background helps gives me a first hand understanding of the Mudgee district and its people.

My family background includes looking after those less fortunate than one-self so charity work and giving are part of my up-bringing

I have known the Wollar area since owning part of the present Wilpinjong mine in the late 1960's and early 1970's

Like the land the village was in a major decline in those years with the General Store, butcher shop and bakery having closed leaving only a post office/ telephone exchange - a local grazing family was to latter open a small Service Center - the mechanical side has closed and the store is now heavily subsidized by the Wilpinjong mine.

When I bought into the Wilpinjong district in 1968 the area was in a time warp - the area had missed out on the sub clover / superphosphate development phase, as wool prices dropped after the 1950's wool boom so farmers increased stocking rates to compensate so degrading their land and eventfully reducing production, the last of the working draft horses had only just been retire. There were no new fences, reticulated stock water or modern machinery- rabbits had also ben a major land and pasture degrader of the district in the 30,'s, 40's and 50's . As a consequence many of these properties changed hands in this period.
For example the property I bought only contained 10 acres of improved pasture, the rest was degraded natural pasture and had to be re-sown, it was cheaper to replace all the internal fencing than repair what was there, while there was very little permanent stock water - I bought a caravan to live in as the house was in a bad state of repair and had to rebuild the sheep and cattle yards

The land surrounding Wollar is generally of a poorer grazing and farming quality which greatly restricts the number of people that can be employed - a lot of the land between the Wilpinjong mine and Ulan has become uneconomic and no longer supports any agricultural pursuits and now is regenerating back to bush land as is some of the Cumbo creek valley to the south of the mine.

There has been no new houses built in Wollar for over 30 years and many of residences are barley habitable without a major refit - although completely uneconomical Wilpinjong has done major renovations on a number that they bought.

In the 1960's there was a Wollar cricket team that traveled extensively - there has not been one for 20 odd years - the tennis club had over 80 members - the club folded many years ago and the tennis courts have been un playable for at least 10 years - the local Wollar fire brigade had 60 active members- now it is down to one full time local who can man a truck - the Wilpinjong mine has had to provide firefighters

The community hall used to have regular dances and social functions but by 1970 these activities were on the wane and by 2005 the then new Wilpinjong mine was asked for help as the committee could not pay the Halls insurance - the mine has had to financially help support the hall ever since to keep it open - the Wilpinjong mine also had to fund and build a new toilet block so as to allow the hall to stay open.

If you go back to the 1930,s the area of the mine lease - which does not include Wollar village that had a cricket oval and tennis courts- also used to have a cricket oval and tennis courts near the partly constructed Wilpinjong rail siding (also gone) while there were another set of tennis courts to the east of Cumbo creek.
There was also a school and at one time a church at Wilpinjong - now all long gone

The mine has been very beneficial for those wanting to sell as it considerably increased the value of both the land and buildings - giving owners a chance to up grade and move closer to needed facilities - As an example a vacant block of land in Wollar went from $5,000 / $7,000 (if you could find a buyer) to $25.000 plus. Should something happen to the Wilpinjong mine, real estate prices in Wollar would plummet.

There is no doubt that without the mine the village of Wollar, like similar small villages, would have continued to decline, residential numbers would have dropped, the service center closed and quite a few elderly people would have been trapped and not be having the life style and security that selling to the mine has allowed.
Unfortunately there are a few out-lying people who are disadvantaged as they can not sell to the mine but this was going to happen mine or no mine as Wollar declined.
Many people have taken advantage of selling to the mine to greatly enhance their and their families future.
The Wilpinjong mine has been very generous to Wollar but has not had the recognition that it deserves while some locals with vested interests have been very dishonest with their testimony and in their treatment of the mine. For example just recently Wilpinjong responded to request from the Wollar school for help to build an enclosed school vegetable garden - Wilpinjong responded by providing all the materials while their employees and contractors built it.


The mine has been very beneficial to the up grading of the local roads - especially the Wollar to Ulan, Ulan to Gulgong and Ulan to Mudgee roads

The Wilpinjong mine has been very generous with its community donations and has helped fill the void left by the GFC when local business donations became much less- For example Mudgee's Rotary's "Carrols in the Park" got under way thanks to Wilpinjong while Gulgong's Gold Nugget Business awards are totally reliant on Wilpinjongs support - substantial money was put into Lifeskills new premises allowing them to relocate from what was very undesirable conditions- the list is long (as is the support other mines give to the local community)
Also mention should be made of the Wilpinjong workers direct donations such as $20,000 to the police Citizens youth Club, the award presented at Government House for funds razed for Cancer research- worlds greatest shave, support of the Mudgee Relay for Life, Lifeskills - The McGrath foundation Gulgong sports field -the list also goes on.
My research shows that donations made by the mines are vital to Mudgee and Gulgong in being able to run their extensive social charitable activities while it has taken a little pressure off the local businesses for donations. A lot of local businesses are finding it tough going due to the lower coal prices, mines spending cut backs and less contractors being employed by the mines - there just are not the dollars flowing through the local businesses that were two years ago.

A high percentage of Wilpinjongs work force live in Mudgee and Gulgong while especially Mudgee is supplying more and more of the mines on going specialized contract work, all of which is vital for the continued development of the area - It would be a social and financial disaster for Mudgee and Gulgong should the Wilpinjong mine be down graded or close.

Yes there are some social disadvantages with the mine but they are small in comparison to the advantages and the mine management does all in their power to over come - the mine is well placed socially and environmentally being 50 K's from Mudgee,in a valley surrounded on three sides by National park and a mine which does not effect Mudgee environmentally while the low strip ratio and being next to a rail line that is down hill to a port or power station means the mine has a lower environmental foot print.
I am impressed with the ability, attitude and dedication of Wilpinjongs environmental team whom I work with regularly.

An often over looked fact is that Wilpinjong and the indirect jobs it created allowed Mudgee family's to be reunited while a lot more of the school leavers do not have to move away to find work -

Mudgee's population is at the very low end of the critical mass needed for a town to go ahead and as such needs mining to be able to keep expanding. Mudgee does not have the government departments like Orange, Dubbo and Bathurst to act as a base from which to expand. Without the mines it would have been very hard to justify a new hospital which when completed in a few years will greatly help Mudgee to keep going ahead - for example attracting more of the self funded retires from further west and north

Ten years ago Sydney road, Mudgee had little life at 7.30 in the morning - now it is thriving and a hive of activity in the mornings. It is essential that these businesses use the mines as a base to grow and diversify as the mines will not be about for ever

One of the most under rated and little known or understood statistic is the work done on the restoration of Wilpinjongs buffer land.
The original buffer zone land acquired to start the mine was of poor quality, mostly run down and in some places badly degraded supporting few livestock, poor native pasture and in places over run with sifton bush (used to b e a noxious weed in some shires). On acquiring the land the mine immediately set about restoring the lands productivity and fixing its environmental problems - this was achieved before the mine was fully productive. Quite a contrast to see a productive pasture one side of the fence on Wilpinjong owned land and on the other side land, not owned by Wilpinjong, where agricultural pursuits have been abandoned.

Wilpinjong does not own any live stock but rather works in with lessees who have a proven record of sound pastoral management and helps them to implement an environmentally and economically sound rehabilitation program on all the newly acquired buffer land. This includes all the Cumbo creek valley.

Some base figures are over 70 k of new boundary fencing erected plus over 40 k of new internal fencing, nearly $500,000 spent on a permanent stock water scheme for the Baragan valley and are in the process of spending over $250,000 to water the Cumbo Valley which runs out of stock water in drought times. The extra internal fencing allows much greater utilization and control of the pasture - helping to regenerate the more desirable native species that have almost become extinct. Many hundreds of acres of sifton bush have been brought back into productive pasture while in conjunction with the CSIRO an area has been mapped for carbon. Plus there is extensive agricultural work being done on the Aurelian estate land. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on weed control, wild dog and pig control, all of which are given a high priority

If the Wilpinjong mine had not proceeded a lot of the land around Wollar at present owned by Wilpinjong Coals parent company, Peabody energy, would have continued to reverted back to unproductive scrub this had started to in many instances and therefore been lost to agriculture,

I see many examples of better family life, families reunited, granny's enjoying their grandchildren, Mums being able to stay at home in the early years of their children's life, whole families watching at children's sport, young adults leaving school and being able to get a job locally - all because of unseen Coal mines 50 k's away.

Since the demise of the grape industry, drought and tough rural times there would have been significant drop in school enrolments - this has been largely averted due to the mine expansions over the corresponding period

My one great regret is not being able to do anything about the large amounts of money spent (wasted) by Wilpinjong in justifying their position or answering bogus actuations made by unscrupulous people who had vested interests in tarnishing Wilpinjongs name for their own gain - this money could have been used to improve the environment - enhance peoples lives or charity.

Lloyd Coleman

As attached

Please see attached Submission.

Re: Wilpinjong Extension Project (Application Number: SSD 6764)


I write this submission in strong support of the Wilpinjong Extension Project.

As the Managing Director of a company that provides over 1200 workers nationwide to the resource industry, I can see how the Wilpinjong Extension Project is critical to the local NSW communities and economy by making significant financial contributions to NSW via state royalties and to the Mid-Western Regional Council via voluntary planning agreements. Wilpinjong Mine also supports many local non-government and community organisations.

This project would extend the life of the mine - and thus the above benefits - to 2033. The mine's continued production of up to 16 million tonnes per annum of run-of-mine (ROM) coal, and production of approximately 13 million tonnes per annum of product coal, will also keep approximately 625 people employed at peak.

My company, One Key Resources, is a member of the local business community with established offices in Mudgee & Singleton, where we currently service Wilpinjong Mine - further contributing to the local economy. As an employer of resource industry workers, I believe it is important that the families working within this critical industry receive a fair go, and have the project be assessed on its merits using facts and evidence.



Sincerely,
Grant Wechsel
Managing Director
One Key Resources

Submission uploaded.

Please refer to the attached for the Nature Conservation Council of NSW' submission.

Please see attached .pdf

I fully support the Wilpinjong Extension Project as proposed by Peabody Energy Wilpinjong.

Please attached submission

Please find attached our objections to and comments re the Wilpinjong Mine Extension Project.

Please find PDF file attached.

See Attached

As a resident of Bulga in the Hunter Valley, where we are constantly threatened by out-of-control coal mines, I oppose the proposed Wilpinjong Coal Mine, Wilpinjong Extension Project for the following reasons:

We do not need more new coal mines. The science on the danger of climate change is clear [1], [2]. Recently our elected representatives returned dewey-eyed from COP21 in Paris and immediately proceeded to approve more coal mines! Clearly, digging more coal in Australia and burning it overseas will bring more carbon into the atmosphere and will come to haunt us in the form of droughts, floods, bushfires and wild weather. This aspect is not considered anywhere in this or any other mine proposal I have ever seen.
The proposed new coal mine will destroy valuable agricultural land and associated underground aquifers. Under the current regulations all coal mines are allowed to expand - forever. To my knowledge, not a single coal mine in NSW has ever closed properly and restored the land to its original healthy condition. In the case of the Wilpinjong Coal Mine they are planning to leave three dirty final voids full of toxic water for the benefit of the future generations.
The current environmental regulations also give mines free hand in destroying irreplaceable ecological communities. The complex system of the environmental offsets is completely ineffective and getting worse with every regulatory change..
Coal mines in general and open cut mega-mines in particular, create dust and noise pollution that damages health of the local residents living in the neighbourhood. At the same time the mines own and run the dust and noise monitoring systems. Monitoring data are treated as a private property. Surely this is a conflict of interest!
Open cut coal mines also destroy the value of the surrounding rural properties and yet the current regulatory system puts the mine management in charge of any compensation. Once again, a conflict of interest! Furthermore, how can the putative profits of a foreign multinational company, Peabody Energy, justify the destruction of the village of Wollar and inevitable harm the lives and health of the local residents?
The economical benefits of the coal mining, such as jobs and royalties, are vastly overstated while the mines enjoy many free subsidies. How else could we explain that we are at the tail end of the biggest mining boom in history and yet all the levels of the Australian government are broke? Obviously, if Australia could not benefit from coal mining when the prices were high, digging more holes at the time when the coal prices are low is not going to work either. One would have to be pretty stupid or corrupt to believe in such a theory. Yet this is the "business as usual" approach that the current mine regulatory system in NSW takes. The quality of the economic analysis was recently demonstrated by Michael West in SMH [3]: "a mere expansion of the marginal Wilpinjong, near Wollar, is worth 15 times more than the share market value of the US parent corporation.
Do we need to say more?


References
[1] COP21 "A turning point" http://www.stockholmresilience.org/21/news--events/general-news/12-13-2015-a-turning-point.html
After two weeks, and just a day late, the COP21 climate summit produced a historic agreement. It attempts to keep global temperatures "well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels".
To achieve this a rapid decarbonisation of the global economy must start immediately.

[2] Earth Day: scientists say 75% of known fossil fuel reserves must stay in ground
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/22/earth-day-scientists-warning-fossil-fuels-
Three-quarters of known fossil fuel reserves must be kept in the ground if humanity is to avoid the worst effects of climate change, a group of leading scientists and economists have said in a statement timed to coincide with Earth Day.


[3] Coal advisers dig us a hole
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/westy-20160221-gmzm49.html
There's a public meeting at Wollar, near Mudgee, this week at which US coal major Peabody will seek community support for an approval to extend its Wilpinjong coal mine.
No doubt a report by Peabody's "expert", Deloitte Access Economics, will be brandished about with élan. For the report finds the Wilpinjong expansion has net benefits of $745 million; something which may surprise Peabody's shareholders as their entire company is now worth $US38 million.
That's correct; a mere expansion of the marginal Wilpinjong, near Wollar, is worth 15 times more than the share market value of the US parent corporation.

See attached document.

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