I truly believe the Vickery project will bring many benefits to the North
West Region, especially to Gunnedah and Boggabri. These communities
have been already beneficiated by current the Whitehaven Coal mines.
Adding another project to this region will bring more growth, jobs
opportunities and investments in the region

My objections to the propoed Whitehaven Mine Vickory extension:

1. Whitehaven was forced to move its pits a little further away from
the Namoi River, but the pits now come close to the edge of the
Namoi's alluvial aquifer, the productive groundwater that underlies
the river, and feeds it. This will cause leakage from the alluvial
aquifer and the Namoi River itself.

2. People in the small community of Boggabri believe the community
cannot handle a fifth mine in close proximity to the town and can
certainly not cope with this scale of mining. This community must be
heard and genuinely listened to.

3. The mine will be located close to the historically significant
property and homestead "Kurumbede" which was the inspiration for
several Dorothea Mackellar poems including the famous "My Country".
This is sacrilege. The homestead will suffer from the vibration of
blasting and the loss of scenic value and quietude.

4. The area adjacent to the proposed mine is strategic agricultural
land and the impacts of dust and noise will make this land unlivable
and likely impact the quality of crops grown there. This proposal will
mean more rural properties will be bought out because of air and noise
pollution, irreversibly changing Boggabri.

5. The town of Boggabri - the current mines have had a devastating
effect on the area. Already, 76 family farms have been purchased by
Whitehaven in close proximity to the town. The township, has been
hollowed out, affecting local businesses and tearing apart the social
fabric of the district.

I wish to make a submission regarding Whitehaven's Vickery Coalmine at
Boggabri in New South Wales.
My understanding is that Whitehaven's proposal is to double the volume
of coal being mined. We've just has a report from the IPCC telling us
in certain terms that we have about 20 years to do something about the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere if we want to limit the temperature
rise to a figure that will allow the Earth's Ecosystem to survive.
Approving Whitehaven to mine 10 million tonnes of coal a year is
suicide to put it bluntly.
From the point of view of the people who live around the mine, the
expansion will infrastructure such as a railway line and a new large
coal handling facility adjacent to the Namoi river on a flood plain.
This is inviting a disastrous toxic spill to pour into the river with
astronomical potential damage.
Leakage from the mine is threatening the aquifer under the river. With
100% of NSW recently declared to be in drought, the water is far more
important than the coal.
You should consider the effects of a new mine on the social amenity
for the people of Boggabri.
The mine is incompatible with agriculture. Growing food is more
important than burning coal.
Thank you for considering my submission.

I completely support the Vickery Project. I think it will be great for
the growth of the area and provide many job prospects to members of
the community both experienced in the field as well as new comers.

I support the Vickery Mine application

I am against the proposed Vickery extension project. The extension will
be too close to the edge of the Namoi's alluvial aquifer, the
productive groundwater that underlies the river, and feeds it. The
pits will induce leakage from the alluvial aquifer and the Namoi River
itself.
The area adjacent to the proposed mine is strategic agricultural land
and the impacts of dust and noise will make this land unliveable and
impact the quality of crops grown there.
We do not need more coal mines, and should be moving to renewables.

I object to the proposed extension of the Whitehaven Vickery coal mine.
I heard Keven Anderson the Nationals MP in Tamworth say the other day
that we have to look after our farmland. Yes we do.
What he and his Liberal -National politician mates think is looking
after our farmland is to put another coal mine or gas field on it.
If this mine is approved this will be another nail in the coffin of
our underground water supply. Santos have admitted that if their CSG
project is approved it will adversely effect the water in the Gunnedah
Oxley Basin and they will not guarantee there will not be an effect on
the waters of the GAB. Likewise the Vickery extension will induce
leakage from the alluvial aquifer and the Namoi River itself. Combined
this with the bores that will be needed to provide water for the mine
adds to the cumulative impact on our precious water supply continues
to build. This is not acceptable.
Combined this with the other adverse impacts on the community, then on
balance this project should not be approved.

Please accept this as my submission to the Vickery Extension Project -
SSD 7480

I strongly object to the Vickery coal mine proposal for the following
reasons:

The mine will impact detrimentally on the local farming and business
community, who are already feeling the negative impacts of the coal
industry in the area as surrounding farmland is bought up for coal
mining, air and noise pollution lowers land values and the social
fabric of local towns is destroyed as the population dwindles along
with the viability of local agricultural and service industries.

The risks of pollution to the Namoi River and damage to the alluvial
aquifer are unacceptable. The viability of the farming community will
be destroyed if the water supply is damaged or degraded.

Air pollution from existing coal mines in the area is already having
negative impacts on the health of the local community and the
viability of cropping land, with mine owners failing to comply with
approval conditions. If promises on paper are not adhered to during
mining operations, how can the locals welcome this development?

Our NSW rural communities need assurances for long term sustainability
for farms and townships. Protection for water and guarantees of strong
regulation by government. Mining companies far too often are allowed
to break the conditions of their approvals and it is rural communities
who suffer the negative consequences.

If coal mining companies cannot operate within the approval conditions
and remain financially viable these projects should not be approved.
Existing operating coal mines in the area have lost their social
licence to operate because of non-compliance.

The Liverpool Plains is prime agricultural land and must not be
sacrificed to the fossil fuel industry while Australia has an agreed
international imperative to meet global carbon reduction targets and
transition away from polluting coal energy.

The latest IPCC report on climate change warns that the world is not
acting fast enough to avoid catastrophic global warming impacts and
that any feasible window of opportunity to act to lower emissions is
closing fast.

Failure to reduce the impacts of global warming will have devastating
impacts on the NSW farming community, as this years drought conditions
have shown.

We must keep fossil fuels in the ground, transition to clean energy
technologies and protect and restore waterways, forests and woodlands
if humanity is to have the slightest chance of leaving a habitable
planet for our descendants.

Polluting coal mines do not have the approval of local residents whose
land, livelihoods, social supports and cultural heritage are all
threatened by the unacceptable impacts of the coal industry.

Please reject the Vickery Extension Project - SSD 7480.

yours sincerely,

A rural resident of NSW
17th October 2018

Why do we keep destroying and polluting the planet? There are so many
other options available.

Whitehaven already has an approval for a mine at the site, but with this
project the company wants to more than double the volume of coal it
mines every year, to 10 million tonnes. The infrastructure the company
is proposing has larger capacity than the proposed mine, and farmers
know from bitter experience that coal mines tend to grow...
*The company proposes a new rail crossing over the Namoi River and
floodplain and a new large coal handling facility that can process
coal from other mines in the region.
*Thanks to the efforts of farmers fighting the mine, Whitehaven was
forced to move its pits a little further away from the Namoi River,
but the pits now come close to the edge of the Namoi's alluvial
aquifer, the productive groundwater that underlies the river, and
feeds it. The pits will induce leakage from the alluvial aquifer and
the Namoi River itself.
*People in the small community of Boggabri believe the community
cannot handle a fifth mine in close proximity to the town. They're
concerned that the scale is too large for the town to cope with.
*The mine will be located close to the historically significant
property and homestead "Kurumbede" which was the inspiration for
several Dorothea Mackellar poems including the famous "My Country."
One outbuilding at Kurumbede will be destroyed by mining and the
homestead could suffer from the vibration of blasting and the loss of
scenic value and quietude.
*The area adjacent to the proposed mine is strategic agricultural land
and the impacts of dust and noise will make this land unliveable and
likely impact the quality of crops grown there.
*Already, 76 family farms have been purchased by Whitehaven in close
proximity to the town of Boggabri. This has hollowed out the township,
affected local businesses and rent the social fabric of the district.
This proposal will mean more rural properties bought up because of air
and noise pollution, irreversibly changing Boggabri.
This is not acceptable.
Peter Small