As a resident neighboring the mine my husband and I oppose any expansion of the current mining operations.

The dust is of major concern to us and the health problems that go alongside this. Our house is constantly covered in coal dust at present with the current operations. My husband has recently suffered from respiratory problems needing medical attention. I have suffered from migraine headaches immediately after blasting has occurred. Many studies show dust from coal mines can cause respiratory health problems, along with others. An expansion of the mines activities will only increase the amount of dust we are exposed to and put us at greater risk of health problems. This is of major concern for the whole community with other residents also suffering respiratory problems associated with coal dust.

The noise levels coming from the mine are currently at an unacceptable level, often disturbing our sleep at night. We have had made many complaints and believe the mine is not currently complying with its noise restrictions. An expansion in extraction will undoubtedly further these noise issues causing high levels of nuisance and disruption to our lives.

An increase in traffic from an expansion of activities will also cause noise issues, safety issues and danger to wildlife by increasing road kill. These issues are already a problem with current levels of traffic.

We are concerned with the impact on the environment, particularly of the water ways with the possibility of saline water discharge into the Hunter River. There have been many high rainfall events in recent years so there is a high chance that the discharge may happen semi regularly which could have detrimental effects on farming and the environment.

I am concerned about the impact this expansion will have on the few remaining residents in the area, as well as the possible pollution of the Hunter River. I don't think it is fair on the people who have chosen to stay living in the area as they are already impacted by the mine through noise & air pollution. Now they face an increase in noise, coal dust in their houses and other pollutants. The original mine plan has changed and the residents of Wybong, and the environment are not being protected or compensated.

Mangoola Coal expansion submission 26.06.2013.

We have lived in the Castlerock area for the past 30 years , and are approximately 7km from the Mine site.

Since the establishment of the Mangoola Coal mine,we have seen a deterioration in our living conditions, and have been affected adversely by the following :

1.Noise:

We are always aware of a dull rumble of continuous machinery noise, which varies in intensity from just audible, up to the point of being loud enough, at times, to wake us in the night ,even with our windows shut.

We are currently having cordial and ongoing discussions with Ben Clibborn,Environment and Community Manager at Mangoola Coal, regarding our concerns, but as yet no noise mitigation solutions have been offered to us.

Conditions such as "temperature inversion" , has been offered as an explanation for the increase of the noise level at certain times.If this is the case then perhaps some kind of special,operational protocol needs to be put in place to mitigate noise at these times.

2. Vibration:

This is evident on days of extreme noise ,and is an uncomfortable sensation.

3. Dust.

As our water supply is provided by rainwater tanks, the dust which is being washed into our drinking water supply ,from our roof catchment ,is of great concern to us. The amount of silt which can be seen collected in our guttering ,causes us to have concerns of possible ill effects to our health.



In view of our concerns outlined above , we can only assume that the problems we are currently experiencing will be further exacerbated by any expansion of the Mangoola Coal project.

They want to increase extraction by 30% and dump toxic salt water in the Hunter River. This mine is in a fragile ecological area already under pressure from this and other mines. The Hunter River is at a high risk of being irreparably polluted which would be devastating to local wildlife and farming. The local community is already under high health stress from dust levels. We are at a crucial time in our history when scientists are saying we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and this mine wants to rip out as much as they can as quick as they can with no heed to the environment or the local community!

This mine is in a fragile ecological area already under pressure from this and other mines. The Hunter River is at a high risk of being irreparably polluted which would be devastating to local wildlife and farming. The local community is already under high health stress from dust levels. We are at a crucial time in our history when scientists are saying we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and this mine wants to rip out as much as they can as quick as they can with no heed to the environment or the local community!

We act for Lindisfarne Pty Ltd and the occupiers of the land located at 714 Roxburgh Muswellbrook known as "Lindisfarne", Mr Sydney R Lawson and Mr David J Lawson.

The Company was incorporated on 16 June 1972 to purchase land at 714 Roxburgh Road Muswellbrook known as "Lindisfarne".

The original shareholders of Lindisfarne Pty Ltd were Sydney R Lawson and James W Lawson (brothers).

The current shareholders are Sydney R Lawson and the beneficiary of the estate of Mr James Lawson namely David J Lawson.

In recent years our client shareholders have witnessed and experienced the growth and development of coal mines upon their doorstep.

You will appreciate that when "Lindisfarne" was purchased it was part of a quiet rural community unaffected by coal mining.

Our shareholder clients are concerned that the proposed Modification will further impact upon "Lindisfarne" and their lifestyle.

In particular our client is most concerned about the following:

1 A deterioration of air quality due to an increase in dust levels.

2 An increase in noise and in particular the noise emanating from increased rail movements along the railway line bisecting our client's land.

3 An increase in noise and in particular the noise emanating from the coal handling plant due to increased production.

4 Increased vibration resulting from the increased production and the increase in rail movements.

5 The impact that the increase in mining activity and rail movements will have upon the value of "Lindisfarne" should shareholders wish to cause Lindisfarne Pty Ltd to sell the land in the future.

Lindisfarne Pty Ltd reserves the right to provide additional detail in support of these submissions in the future.

I own a property on Yarraman Road, Wybong. It has been used for weekend and holiday farming for more than thirty years, but could be used for permanent residential purposes in future.

I am concerned about the increase in dust and noise pollution that will accompany an increase in activity at Mangoola mine. This will inevitably come with an expansion of output.

I believe the measurements that have been carried out in the past have not covered a sufficient area of the surrounding country and a range of weather conditions that cover the normal annual variation. I submit that no expansion should be approved until the probable degree of contamination by noise, dust and gases is properly assessed over an appropriate period of time and surrounding area.

I have no personal experience of dust or noise monitoring but have been involved for many years in monitoring the effects of mining on groundwater. My experience has been that continuous monitoring of environmental effects over a large surrounding area and a full range of weather conditions is required to give a true picture of baseline conditions and changes caused by mining.

Colin Dudgeon, ME, PhD, MIEAust (ret)
Formerly Director, University of New South Wales Water Research Laboratory

I object to this expansion of Mangoola open cut mine for the following reasons:
A concentration of mines in the Upper Hunter is resulting in an unacceptable reduction in air quality for residents.
Discharges of saline water into the Hunter river are resulting in an increase in the back ground levels of salinity in the river. This is detrimental to the river environment and downstream agriculture.
The mine will add to the cumulative impacts of mine sourced air pollution for the whole Hunter Valley.
Expansion will increase noised produced by the mine.
Increased production will put additional pressure on road networks.
Irreversibility of the damage caused by open cut mining.
Extra coal production add to climate change and mining in the Upper Hunter has a bad history of leaving land in a poor state.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
I would like to submit my objection to the proposed 06_0014 Mod.6 to Mangoola Mine.
I am a resident and property owner in the Castle rock area and I have lived here for over 50 years with my family.
Our concerns and objections are as follows:
* Our concerns relate to the impact on the environment, the impact on the local community and local areas and the impact to our lives and the land we cherish.
* We are concerned for the de-valuation of our property due to the increase and accumulation of mines in our local area.
* We are concerned that being situated between mines, outside of their purchase line, will cause us to be unable to sell our property at a `reasonable' & `fair' price, if we wish to do so in the future. We are also concerned that we are out of the area of compensation, even though we are being affected by the mining industry.
* Since the start of Mangoola mine operations we have experienced increases in dust. The fine black dust particles cover our home, the outdoor areas, our drinking water, the air we breathe and in the long term may cause health issues.
* We experience noise from Mangoola mine activities. The levels and periods of noise experienced will increase and impact our lives and our well-being.
* The increase in Mines and mining activity is now impacting on our lifestyle, our liveability and the economic security of our family farm. It is impacting on the enjoyment of living in this rural area and the local community has been severely diminished. It is a concern to all the people left living in the Wybong and Castle rock areas.

I appreciate the opportunity to make a submission regarding the proposed Mangoola Coal Modification 6 of Project Approval 06-0014, and respectfully make the following comments in objecting to the expansion of this mine.

Mining companies already own more than 50% of the rateable land in the Muswellbrook Shire. As the Upper Hunter Valley is already saturated with coal mines, further expansion should be halted.

The Precautionary Principle regarding short and long term health effects should be applied. There is insufficient data available to make a sensible determination regarding the impacts of open cut mining on the residents of the regions that are already exposed to high density coal mining. The reduction in air quality for residents of the Upper Hunter is already evident. Increasing mine output will increase the already high mine sourced air pollution and further decreased air quality for Upper Hunter residents. With the proximity of the mine to Denman, the fact that Denman does not have an air quality monitor that is part of the Upper Hunter Air Quality Network should be an community health indicator to halting expansion of this mine and establishment of new mines. In addition, the mine expansion will further add to the cumulative impacts of mine sourced air pollution for residents of the whole Hunter Valley.

Noise pollution will also be increased by expansion of operations through an increase of rail traffic and rail noise. This is unacceptable given that current disputes between mine affected residents and Mangoola Coal remain unresolved.

Water quality of the Hunter River and diversion of water from agricultural systems to mining operations are further reasons for halting expansion of Mangoola Coal. Discharges of saline mine water into the Hunter River are already resulting in an increase in the background levels of salinity in the River, causing detriment to the river environment and downstream agricultural operations. Discharge of saline water to the Hunter River was specifically NOT permitted under the original application and, if this expansion is approved, strict water management conditions should apply to ensure discharge is not used unless in extreme circumstances.

Public infrastructure in the Upper Hunter and Muswellbrook Shire is presently not coping with the pressures of current saturation levels of mining activity. Lack of affordable housing is also a significant detrimental impact of saturation levels of mining and extra pressure from increasing employee levels will only add further pressure for housing forcing young home buyers on normal incomes out of the area. Threats to diversification of the regional economy as mining drives out other sustainable industries and the long term employment they provide are likely to have detrimental impacts on the regional economy when the bubble bursts on coal mining activities - additional economic reasons for rejecting the Mangoola Coal Modification 6 proposal.

Mining in the Hunter Valley has a bad history of leaving land affected in a poor state and the damage caused leaves an irreversible scar on the landscape and renders the land useless for agricultural production. The initial application for Mangoola Coal and this modification fail to address the issue of leaving post mining final voids.

In conclusion, on 17 June 2013, the Climate Change Commission released its report warning that there needed to be a major shift in the way energy is produced if international targets for global warming were to be me. The Commission said the best way to avoid a changing climate beyond 2 degrees would be to invest heavily in clean energy and to phase out coal, keeping most of the world's fossil fuel reserves underground. This proposed expansion will produce an additional 2.4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, further increasing the threat of climate change.