Please find attached submission in an attachment.

This project proposes clearing 464ha of vegetation, close to half of which is Central Hunter Valley Eucalypt Forest, a critically endangered ecological community under the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The impacts of this project on biodiversity will be unacceptable and it must be refused development consent. It will clear 223ha of a critically endangered ecological community, including moderate to good quality patches that are critical to the community's survival.

The proponent is offering a 'biodiversity offset' package that will protect just 7% of the required area of this community protection as existing woodland. In contrast 56% of the offset requirement is proposed to be met through future mine rehabilitation. This is a clear violation of the 25% limit on meeting offset obligations through mine rehab promises, and is a clear indication that impacts on this community cannot be offset and the mine should be refused consent.

38 nearby residences are predicted to be impacted by increased noise pollution from this project. This area of the Hunter has been severely depopulated because of large scale mining, and further loss of farmers and private residents will cause ongoing destruction of regional social fabric. Increased dust emissions will also exacerbate health problems in the region.
Threatened species such as the Spotted-tailed Quoll will lose important habitat if this project proceeds. These species are already in severe trouble and any further loss of habitat will drive them towards extinction.
This mine and the three surrounding it will cause more than two metres draw down in the productive alluvial aquifers of the Hunter River and Wollombi Brook. The cumulative loss of water and productivity in these water sources and the wholesale destruction of surface water catchments for their tributaries is already too great.

This project has been developed at the expense of the owners of the United mine fulfilling obligations to close and remediate a mine that has been inoperational for six years and which was supposed to cease mining altogether four years ago.

It's going to leave behind two final voids, and delay rehabilitation at both the United and Wambo mine sites. Final voids are an unacceptable impact of mining that damage waterways for hundreds of years into the future, and are not wanted by the NSW community.

This is the first mine to be assessed under new economic assessment guidelines, but the economics of it don't stack up.

There's increased unemployment in the local area for this project since early 2014. Over the same period at least half a dozen damaging mine expansion projects were approved by the State Government on the basis that doing so would be good for employment in the region. New mine approvals are not securing jobs in the Hunter, and we need another strategy.

This mine is going to exacerbate the oversupply of coal in the export market, which has been a key driver of job losses. Further oversupply will drive further drops in the price of coal and this will lead to lay-offs and even mine closures, as it has in the last two years.

Despite applying the new economic guidelines, the assessment of the mine fails to include the economic cost of worsening air quality from coarse particle pollution and lost water from the Hunter River and Wollombi Brook.

It also fails to include the economic cost of the downstream greenhouse gas emissions from the coal mined at the site. The downstream emissions likely to be generated by this project are 259.3 million tonnes. Applying the per tonne carbon costs used in the economic assessment in Appendix 19, this would result in costs of a staggering $2.3-4.9 billion, dramatically reversing the proponent's claim that this mine will have a net economic benefit.

The mine is significantly impacting on our property by virtue of:-
reduced or static property value
dust
noise
visual impact
quality of village life
aesthetic considerations of village/county lifestyle.
quality of drinking water, particularly water tank contamination
air quality.
A once pretty village has been reduced to an industrial site. Values are reduced on the basis of post code so while the rest of NSW flourishes with increased property values ours is diminished because of the mines and so that the mine's investors can make large sums of money. This needs to be balanced by compensation by those mines, not only in a financial way but in contributions to quality of life, the appearance of the village, assistance to property owners to maintain their property to alleviate the stresses imposed by the mine. The presence of the mine needs to be an asset to Jerry's Plains, not a damnation.

I wish to object to the Wambo Open Cut mine proposal. The clearing of such a large area of vegetation (464 ha) in the already overtaxed Hunter Valley is regarded as environmental vandalism. Included in this is an area of 223ha of critically endangered species which makes this proposal even more disastrous.
The proposal also compromises the integrity of the alluvial aquifers of the Hunter and Wollombi Brook which we know now is a dreadful legacy left by mining practices in NSW. Any further threats to the water resources of the Hunter catchment area from such large mining plans as this has to be wholly rejected. We have no right to continue this activity by denying future generations critical water resources.
Water loss from mining is now considered to be well beyond acceptable levels.
Voids being left also for future generations to deal with is now an issue in the public forum. Planning cannot simply just go on as though this is not a major problem.
The full economic cost/benefit of another huge open cut is again not realised by this proposal. The physical cost of repairing the void and the ongoing heath problems of dust and noise, including coal transport , and the denuding of vegetation are not costed in.
The Wambo project is an absolute disaster and cannot be allowed to come to fruition. If this were put to a vote of NSW constituents there would be outright objection.
I ask that this project be not approved due to the broad environmental costs including emissions from extracted coal adding to climate change affecting all species on the planet.

see file

Please refer to attached document for submission

United Wambo Open Cut Coal Mine project
SSD 7142
I object to the above application.
The issues that concern me include environmental destruction, damage to water supplies, noise, dust, social impacts and lack of compliance with previous consents.
* This project proposes clearing 464ha of vegetation, close to half of which is Central Hunter Valley Eucalypt Forest, a critically endangered species.
* The impacts of this project on biodiversity will be unacceptable and it must be refused development consent. It will clear 223ha of a critically endangered ecological community, including moderate to good quality patches that are critical to the community's survival.
* Threatened species such as the Spotted-tailed Quoll, Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot will lose important habitat if this project proceeds. These species are already in severe trouble and any further loss of habitat will drive them towards extinction.
* The proponent is offering a 'biodiversity offset' package that will protect the equivalent of just 7% of the bulldozed area of this community protection in existing woodland. In contrast 56% of the offset requirement is proposed to be met through future mine rehabilitation. This is a clear violation of the 25% limit on meeting offset obligations through mine rehab promises, and is a clear indication that impacts on this community cannot be offset and the mine should be refused consent. The practice of allowing mines to have off-sets within their mining areas defies logic and common sense.
* At least 38 nearby residences are predicted to be impacted by increased noise pollution from this project. This area of the Hunter has been severely depopulated because of large scale mining, and further loss of farmers and private residents will cause ongoing destruction of regional social fabric. In our area with the surrounding mountains there is an echo effect. When complaints are made there is always an excuse, usually weather conditions or coming from another source. With so many opencut mines in the area, it is impossible to tell sometimes, and no consideration is given to cumulative effects. Over time the noise of the surrounding mines has been added to the background noise, and we are just expected to put up with the accepted increase in noise levels.
* Increased dust emissions will also exacerbate health problems in the region. The cumulative effect of all the mines in the area has resulted in more dust. This is evident by the more frequent need to change water filters, and clean the outside of the house.
* Threatened species such as the Spotted-tailed Quoll, Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot will lose important habitat if this project proceeds. These species are already in severe trouble and any further loss of habitat will drive them towards extinction.
* This mine and the three surrounding it will cause more than two metres draw down in the productive alluvial aquifers of the Hunter River and Wollombi Brook. The cumulative loss of water and productivity in these water sources and the wholesale destruction of surface water catchments for their tributaries is already too great. The privately owned wells in the Wambo mining lease are not monitored, even though it is a consent condition. It is of great concern that there is likely to be further losses from this project, but we will probably never know the real impact because of the lack of monitoring.
* This project has been developed at the expense of the owners of the United mine fulfilling obligations to close and remediate a mine that has not been operational for six years and which was supposed to cease mining altogether four years ago.
* It's going to leave behind two final voids, and delay rehabilitation at both the United and Wambo mine sites. Final voids are an unacceptable impact of mining that damage waterways for hundreds of years into the future, and are not wanted by the NSW community.
* There's increased unemployment in the local area for this project since early 2014. Over the same period at least half a dozen damaging mine expansion projects were approved by the State Government on the basis that doing so would be good for employment in the region. New mine approvals are not securing jobs in the Hunter, and we need another strategy.
* With the drop in coal prices, how can this proposal be economically viable?
* Wambo has a poor compliance record with Singleton Council and the Department of Planning. Repairs have not been done, monitoring was not done. How can we be assured that this poor practice will not continue with this joint venture?
The Hunter Valley can't afford to lose any more of its critically endangered remnant woodland. It can't afford any worsening air quality or any more draw down of its rivers and alluvial aquifers. It can't afford to worsen the oversupply of coal that is costing jobs. It cannot afford this mine, and the project should not be approved.
The Department of Planning should not approve this modification. Coal has had its day. It is time to change to renewable forms of energy.

I am objecting to the United Wambo Open Cut Coal Mine Project for a number of reasons:
* This area of the Hunter Valley has been the focus of many mines and the cumulative impacts on residents , farmland and the environment are already too great.
*Yet again an important area of critically endangered bushland will be sacrificed along with 20 threatened species which will lose critical habitat. Particularly adversely affected will be the Spotted-tail Quoll which is struggling for survival at present.
*This mine will exacerbate the oversupply of coal on the export market with the effect of lowering prices and contributing to more job losses.
*Quality of life for the unfortunate 38 families which live near the proposed site will be badly affected by increased dust and mine noise
*The mine will generate 259.3 tonnes of additional grenhouse gases which, given our knowledge and, indeed, experience, of the deleterious effects of climate change,would show wilful blindness and /or stupidity if it was to be approved.
I urge the government to put people and the planet before profit and reject this proposal

as attached