"AGL seeks that MOD 1 (lapse extension) be approved to allow AGL adequate time to evaluate the most efficient and cost effective solutions for the project,"

Perhaps AGL would also like to include an evaluation on the impact to the 2017 community and environment whilst they are at it??

I oppose AGL being granted an extension to the lapse date of the Dalton Power Project.

Considering the number of unsuspecting residents that have now moved or purchased into the Dalton/north Dalton area anticipating a clean wholesome environment; the changes that have occurred in the land use and the discovery of another rare species.
A new Environmental Assessment would be more appropriate rather than an extension to the existing approval.

Regards,
Chris Morgan

I do not like the proposed gas project. Gas has tripled in price.
Gas plants generate pollution, smog, and heavy particulates. I have lung cancer. This may well shorten my life. This is a nice place. AGL are not a nice company. I have visited Uranquinty. This development will create a twenty first century ghost town.
Please tell them no.

They had 5 years. They do not deserve more time.
This plant isn't needed.

They are corrupt.

They are rude [talked amongst themselves whilst local people were presenting at their community consultation meeting]

I say no to their request for an extension.

No.

I strongly oppose this extension of AGL - I own property that adjoins the AGL land I feel that lifestyle I have bought into will be compromised. Both the noise pollution and the output from the proposed power plant will be devasting to the environment

I'm opposed to an extension of time for the following reasons:

1. AGL seeks to modify the project approval to extend the lapse date for a further two years to enable "AGL to review the DPP in line with current technology and energy market circumstances".

* Allowing AGL to review the DPP to assess "current/new technology" would be a shift away from the original approved proposal that clearly stated the technology to be used. An action to introduce different technology, including battery storage and more advanced turbines could substantially change the impact on the community and the environment than was stated in AGL's original submission.

* Consideration of "current/new technology" should only be considered via a new DPP application process and under the legislation and rules with which new proposals are considered, not the legislation (now repealed [Part IIIA]) under which the original project proposal was approved.

2. In the AGL request to extend the lapse date it is stated that "In October 2012 AGL announced the suspension of construction of the DPP due to difficult market conditions - including lower demand for electricity".

* AGL has had five years within which to make a decision to start building the power plant and it has chosen not to in this time. They have had 5 years to continually assess and consider changing market conditions.

* I contend AGL is seeking an extension on the basis that things "could" change from this point on, rather than what changes have occurred in the last 5 years. AGL is wanting an each way bet on the future and with it keeping a dark cloud hanging over our community. This blank cheque for development is grossly unfair and not in line with community or government expectations when an approval is given.

3. AGL seeks to modify the project approval to extend the lapse date for a further two years to enable consultation with the local community, landholders and other stakeholders. AGL claims it wants to be a "trusted and respected member of the communities in which it operates". It claims it wants to engage beyond baseline regulatory requirements.

I make the following points:

* AGL has shown no commitment to the community in the last five years. AGL is a landowner here yet it has contributed nothing to the Dalton community since becoming a landowner here.
Importantly, they have known of their `wish' to extend this approval and modify it for some time. They deliberately chose NOT to engage with the community. AGL sought to hide their plans. AGL sought to deceive the community into thinking they still intended to abandon this project, given the domestic price for gas has tripled in less than 3 years and the retail demand for electricity has plummetted.

* There are new environmental concerns. The area has recently been identified as an environmental hotspot with the recent finding of the southern pygmy perch and the yellow spotted bell frog in our water ways. The frog was thought extinct for thirty years and is now part of a captive breeding program at no less than Taronga Zoo. A power plant will surely threaten these two endangered species. Further endangered ecological systems {Eucalyptus melliodora Eucalyptus blakleyi Grassy Woodland} are threatened and OEH would have much to say on this and the recent research of migratory species like superb parrots through this area in a short period each year.

* Noise generated by the plant is a huge issue. AGL have not sought to explain the implications for people or to map clearly the likely issues for people and the environment of this. Will Rainbow Bee-eaters who spend only a short time in our area be impacted? Or Dollarbirds? Or Restless Flycatchers? Or red-capped Robins? Or Brown Treecreepers? Or Superb Parrots? I have seen all of these species on this site and their presence would/should be a red flag to this development. AGL has done an inadequate job of assessing the impacts on the environment and a new EA and new application is the only answer to this deficiency.
* AGL has shown complete disregard for its obligation to care for the land it owns. AGL has failed to control noxious weeds on its lands. The invasion of native plant communities by exotic weeds threatens our native plants and animals and it threatens the livelihoods of our farmers (AGL's neighbours). Serrated Tussock produces 250,000 seeds per plant per year. These seeds remain viable for thirty years. This voracious weed is the main threat to the local eco-system. Their total disregard has shown their views on land management and the role each landholder must take as stewards of the land they control. As a member of the local Landcare Group, past president, and chair of the Landcare co-ordinating committee for the region; we are surprised that AGL have not joined, participated in the simplest programs like our widely acclaimed "Tussock Tamers" and "Feral Fox Fighters" - addressing the 2 biggest weed and pest issues in this region. AGL do not care and have no interest in this land, the environment or us. They are driven by Profit for themselves. That is not enough.

4. AGL contend that extending the lapse date would not change the positive socio-economic benefits of the DPP. It talks of 5-10 long term jobs. In other documents it states 1 job in Victoria

* Since the AGL announcement to suspend the DPP project the village of Dalton has grown. Families have moved here with no knowledge of the proposed plans by AGL.

People have made financial decisions about buying property and building in our community since the AGL announcement in October 2012. An extension of time for AGL would only serve to leave a cloud of concern and fear hanging over the new community members for the next two years.

It potentially has significant financial economic and environmental impacts on them that they did not foresee or were warned about. If the DPP is built those families may end up with property that is worth less than what they paid for it and borrowed to buy it.

* Dalton is a farming community and a tourist community. We are not technically qualified to work in a gas fired power plant. Conversely, I understand that the plant will be operated remotely, not by locals.

* People come here to experience a peaceful quiet country village. They will not come here, or stay if the village is overshadowed by a power plant spewing toxins into our air, our waterways and our country side. If we lose our reputation as a place of peaceful tranquillity then we will lose the people who want to live here and the people who want to visit. If we lose our people and our tourists then we lose our businesses and our jobs, our schools. We will lose our community. We lose far more than 5-10 (remote) jobs that probably won't even end up being in the area anyway.
Some local jobs are highly skilled and relevant to agriculture.. Contract pregnancy testers are qualified ultra sound technicians. Their investment in equipment is a 6 figure cost. These are skilled gained through Under graduate level study - currently not available in Australia they travel to New Zealand. They are dependent on breeding flocks of sheep. No sheep will be bred in this district if AGL proceeds. Sheep breeding is an intensive grazing enterprise and relies on farmers living beside their sheep. AGL's planned facility will make living here impossible and therefore sheep breeding impossible. These people will lose their work. Highly paid, highly skilled work.
* Further, the construction of the plant if it proceeds will be undertaken by Leighton's. I doubt the veracity of the AGL claim that construction will provide local jobs. Construction companies such as these bring construction crews in from outside the area, and set up self sufficient camps. Local business hardly ever benefits in these situations and if it does the gain is only ever short-term.

Recent studies from Purdue University suggest much higher emissions and pollution than previously suggested for facilities such as that proposed by AGL. The extension should not be granted until all such information can be assessed.

AGL have destroyed communities like the one at Uranquinty with gas-fired power stations. They should not be allowed to do the same here.

AGL have been accused of market manipulation in South Australia and are not to be trusted. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-03/sa-power-jay-weatherill-unleashes-on-power-company-agl/8410508?pfmredir=sm

Based on AGL's non compliance with the terms outlined in their initial approval we cannot expect them to fulfil their obligations going forward. The request for an extension should be denied.

AGL have sought to influence the politicians and hide this from the planning process by not declaring donations made to access the Premier of NSW on 5 separate occasions. This demonstrates a contempt for the planning process. They should not be given a free kick under Part IIIA as a result.

Any facility built under the current model proposed by AGL will be almost immediately be redundant. This 'stranded asset' will be an impediment to economic growth, job creation, and the long term credit rating and success of NSW and all the citizens of this state. If built this will be a handbrake for business in this state. As an economic imperative it must be stopped.

The pollution emitted by this plant will make businesses like "Moorlands Biodynamic Lamb", run by Vince & Janet Heffernan, downstream from the proposed gas plant impossible to comply with organic and bio-dynamic national standards. No communications from AGL is emblematic of the pathetic community consultation. Will these 6th Generation farmers who produce the best lamb in Australia [`delicious' Magazine Produce Awards 2012-2013-2014-2015-2016 - Gold Medalist] be wiped off the map for no good reason?

The original EA was flawed as was the indigenous engagement. An extension would be an extension of a unsavoury chapter in development in NSW and must not happen.

There is no clear disconnect with AGL and the political process that approves such developments under Part IIIA.

This facility is not needed. There is no shortage of electricity supply in NSW. Any supply shortage could be handled by shaping demand or by using new and emerging technologies that if the politicians choose - would be more than competitive with AGL's proposed gas plant. (eh; if the
They had a 5 year approval. Say no now and make them do a new EA so the 'changes' in the situation for this site can be assessed - not just their selfish

I do not trust AGL - this is a firm that used Part IIIA to sidestep the planning process and have the project approved by the minister. They then sought to influence the Minister by making political Donations BUT not declaring them [in breach of Section 147]. They are not naïve . They knew full well what they were doing. They then admit liability and pay a ridiculously small fine given the size of the project [no deterrent] . A small price to do business in the least transparent, most dishonest and unethical way. Please refuse this application for an extension - for the good of all the people of NSW.

I write to object to AGL's proposed extension of time for the commencement of work on the proposed gas fired power plant at Dalton (DPP), NSW. AGL has not sufficiently established good reasons for an extension. I object on a number of grounds including AGL's failure to consult with the local community, AGL's failure to fulfill the conditions of the orginal approval and the impact that this approval would have on the Dalton community and on agricultural producers in the district. I will be affected by the loss of product from my lamb producer. I am also deeply concerned about the environmental impacts of AGL's proposal. It is well established that gas is not a clean energy technology. The NSW government should be focusing on supporting available and emerging renewable energy and battery storage technologies.

This is the wrong direction to head with energy and how we as a society address global warming and climate issues. We need better government policy and for the politicians to offer leadership instead of policy differences for the sake of it.
We need to push much harder in a unified manner toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels.
To build plant does not meet these needs.

I, Matthew Bush object to the application from AGL regarding the extension of time for the proposed (Mod 1 project) Dalton Gas Fired Power Project.
My reasons for objecting to the extension period are simple.

AGL constantly put into their press releases and interviews about projects and planning to 2030 and beyond. They are well aware of what they are planning in the future. They have had ample time to assess this project but are now trying to get it through on the repealed part 3A.

This plant is an industrial complex. Dalton is a rural area with a background noise level of less than 25dB. This plant is not about base load power to compliment renewables it's a peaking plant that AGL will be able to use to manipulate the electricity price. How do you think they will justify a $1.5 billion expenditure on something that will only run a claimed 15% of the year? Sounds financially unviable to me.

I also object by the fact that my family are 7th generation landholders on Walsh's Road. The EA states that Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions will exceed World Health Organisation maximum levels by 20%. Dispersion modelling indicates a reach of over 10km from the site, the winds here would suggest far more distance. There would be very high concentrations in and around the Dalton village, especially on a frosty and foggy morning, and when it settles it will land on our livestock, land and waterways.

We don't know what the noise level will do to the residential houses in the near vicinity and double glazing windows as they suggested is a ludicrous idea. Some of these residences are over a 100-years-old, the noise will get through the `cracks' so to speak.

Construction will require approximately 4600 truck deliveries (9200 truck movements) over an estimated 18 month period. There will be "intermittent peaks associated with concrete pours", which will involve 2845 concrete trucks (5690 truck movements). It is assumed that number of vehicle movements will be exceeded if they truck in gas as the `Moomba' pipeline is expected to be finished in 2018.

There will be also be a "total of 24 over-dimensional and / or over- mass escorted truck convoys..." These "deliveries assume six convoys of up to four over-mass/over-size vehicles towing one multi-wheeled transport unit..." Each of these will be over 120 metres long, nearly 7 metres wide and over 5 metres tall, with a weight of almost 550 metric tonnes. I used to work on these roads, they won't be able to cope with that much traffic and weight, they will crumble under the stress and strain, needing constant repairs and maintenance, inconveniencing those who need to go about their daily lives, and so also, the up to two hundred year old trees that line the Gunning - Dalton road will need to be removed to accommodate them, desecrating the environment.

There is now more than ever a push to renewable energy using wind and solar. We need to combat global warming and building another fossil fuel station is not the way to do it.
If AGL are wanting to be known as the number one Energy company, trying to get this `fossil' up and running is a step back to the past and not a leap to the future.


Sincerely


Mr Matthew Bush
31 Felled Timber Road
DALTON NSW 2581

As a resident in Dalton I object to AGLs application for a two year extension to their approval to construct a gas fired power station near Dalton. My objection is based on their seeking an extension of approval under Part 3a which I understand to have been repealed. Further, by their own admission they say they are not sure what they will proceed with : they do not have a crystal ball. The uncertainty of their project is causing anxiety in the Dalton population. We do not know whether they will proceed with stage 1 or stage2, what the impacts will be on our natural environment, our health, our property values. The previous EA and Traffic management plans are now 5 years plus old. The representatives of AGL have not gained the confidence of the local population.

I am concerned on this proposed gas fire power station because of the following:

* The drain on the water supply in Dalton it would need to operate.
* The impact on the underground water from any bores drilled by AGL
* The impact on the roads of all the traffic and trucks during the construction phase.
* The impact of the health and wellbeing of residents in Dalton and surrounding farms.
* The values of residential and rural real estate going downwards
* The futures of both Gunning and Dalton itself as a place to live or visit.


Please do not alow this to be built. Reject it outright now and in the future!!

We, Andrew & Leslie Bush of "Kia-ora", 31 Felled Timber Road, Dalton, NSW 2581 oppose the application from AGL regarding the extension of time for the proposed (Mod 1 project) Dalton Gas Fired Power Project.

We are opposed to an extension of time for the following reasons:

They have not been in community consultation since they shelved plans in 2012, we have not seen or heard from them in all this time, until they put the application for the extension in. That is when we knew, after they had done it. No heads up, no warning, no just dropped in, saw your lights' on and came to let you know. A bombshell email sent 36 hours after, just to inform us that once again they were trying to destroy our community and our lives.

The fact that subsidiaries of energy company AGL in 2013 were hit with penalties of $1.55 million for dodgy door-to-door sales practices in which salesmen denied they were selling anything and claimed customers' current suppliers were overcharging. The action was brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in the Federal Court, which ordered AGL Sales and AGL South Australia to pay combined penalties of $1.555 million for illegal door-to-door selling practices proves that they are flagrant with flouting the rules.
This is reiterated by their recent fines in January 2017 for undeclared political donations, and the fact that the Dalton Power Project (charge 10) was directly linked to the charges should make any extension application and the original application null and void.
21. On or about 25 March 2010, AGL Energy made an application to the Minister for a Major Project, MP 10_0035 - Dalton Power Project, under the former Part 3A of the Act.
22. The Dalton Power Project Application relates to a proposal to construct and operate a gas turbine power station approximately 3 km north of the town of Dalton, NSW.
https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/5875bc13e4b0e71e17f565dd#_Toc471972941

Even recently at the Community Meeting they organised in Dalton on the 5th April, not one Flyer, Community Announcement Poster, Meeting invitation was posted anywhere around Gunning and Dalton by them, so much for their engagement with the community.
We draw your attention to page 3 of their Extension Application; `Be a trusted and respected member of the communities in which we operate'. Please, they never had any intention of doing any such thing. All they are doing is seeming to appear to be doing the right thing to get the proposed extension passed by flying it under the radar on the basis of the former part 3A.
We cannot and do not understand how anyone can think that building a massive Gas Fired GE9FA Turbine powered Plant is in anyone's best interest in this age of renewable energy is beyond me. It smacks of corporation greed, not what is best for the people and the environment and isn't that what we all want...a better future, a more sustainable planet to leave as our legacy, haven't we done enough damage to this stunning world we are privileged to belong to...when do we say `enough'.
The noise coming from the project is purported to be equal to a jet engine per turbine firing up and the constant hum all day, the carcinogens that would be coming out of the stacks would be like living in a city of half a million people every day it is on, not to mention the blight on the environment, our ecosystem, the loss of tourism to our beautiful hamlet, the devaluation of everything we have built, achieved and hoped for our children, if there is no land to farm, no house to live in, there is no future if this project is allowed to go ahead.
We do not want our children to be the last generation of their line to live here.
We do not believe there has been sufficient recent economic or environmental investigation into justifying the extension of this power project, the data supplied in the EA is already outdated. Gas pricing has increased significantly since this power project was first proposed, there is more environmental, socio-economic and cleaner options in using wind and solar. We are given to understand that the contracts for the current pipeline AGL used in their submission will no longer be viable in 2018, which AGL would have been certainly well aware of, so they have had a plan in place for this eventuality, so once again it negates their inference that they need time to evaluate and community consultation. There is mention that they would have it trucked in, really! so how many more movements on our roads would that be. And wasn't access to the pipeline and transmission grid one of the reasons they proposed Dalton as a site. Another reason to refuse the application.
They want the extension not to assess the need but to get their other plans in place. Once again it reeks of manipulation. Where will the gas then come from? AGL Energy plan to build a $300 million LNG import terminal off the south-east coast. Their quote `"If all goes to plan, we would commence construction in approximately 2019, with the terminal in operation by about 2020-21'.
This would be absolute soul stealing devastation to our community. The farmers that would be forced off their land, some like ours are 7th and 8th generation, how do you equate that with someone being able to turn on an air conditioner. The new families that have come here in the last 5 years to get away from the city and raise their children in a peaceful rural environment with clean fresh air, some weren't even informed of it and have made serious financial investments in moving and building here.
I married a member of one of Daltons founding families and we moved home to raise our children in this beautiful rural community. We love it here, my husband grew up here, played in the creek, climbed the hills and the trees on the land that surround us, went to the local school, played cricket and tennis, is a Warden of our local church, became a solid community member, all the things our children have enjoyed and still do. And they consider themselves lucky enough to do it in this district, in this town.
We love and recognise the core values of this extraordinary community that we live in. We love that we have this wonderful view of the landscape, the dare I say it `Serenity' as we sit on our front verandah after the work day is done, the magnificent stars we see at night that glitter above us in the clear skies. The same things my husbands' grandparents must have seen and felt as we sit where they once did. This is home.
We do not want to be seeing smoke stacks when we sit on our verandah at R16, (as we are called by AGL) and be assured, we will do so. We will hear it at less than 3.2km from the proposed site. When they did the visuals for the EA Appendix K- Visual Impact Assessment June 2011 - Photosheet 4 - Figure 6 - Photo location 12 - Our family property `Springwood' on Walsh's Road (Cowper St), they showed where the stacks would be in the photos. Looking at the montage you would be forgiven for thinking that the station would be 15km away and not the less than 2.3km in reality. It was very misleading to any of us who know the area. When we asked AGL to have a `visual assessment' done on our property `Kia-ora' on Felled Timber Road (R16), we were deemed of `no consequence'. Even though our neighbours at R15 were given one and they are 3.8km from the proposed power station. Another example of indifference towards us by AGL.
We take pride that when we look around us we see what our children's' forefathers strived so hard for and our hearts aches with the certain knowledge that they would be 'rolling in their graves' with the unwarranted destruction that could come to pass.
This family has gone through so much over the years. My mother-in-law and I share a bond that no mother should ever have to face, the eternal grief of the deaths of her two sons and my little boy, she has also lost two grandsons and son in law, my husband's parents have endured floods, droughts, fluctuation of the wool market, the war, the depression, ongoing health problems, but they have endured and stayed in the community and on the land, this is where they belong, it is where they want to die. The land is in their hearts, mind and soul, it is what they live and breathe, after all, this land has been home for over 180 years.
Over a year and a half ago, my elderly in-laws (now 82 and 95 years old) lost their home and all their belongings when their uninsured rural home went up in flames. My Father-in-law spent 5 days in hospital fighting for his life. It was touch and go there for a while, their emotional, physical and mental health were terribly affected by this event. Even now, my husband's father finds it difficult to breathe and will need full-time oxygen in the very near future. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions this past year or so for them, for us, for the entire family as we have all struggled to help them re-group in whatever way we could. We were lucky...lucky I laugh with a sob, granted an extension by Centrelink and the local council to put a home back there for them and just when we were finally in a position to obtain financial help to make it happen, it may now not be possible, we could now be considered a bank risk because of the power project. If we don't get a home back there by September, they will lose what little pension they receive and be forced to sell the land because it will be considered an asset by Centrelink. Land which their son, my husband has been working for over 30 years with no wages (as well as working a paying job) as it is his to inherit. Added to this we also many years ago, in a family agreement bought his grandfather's house from his parents that also sits on their property, it is our home but the deeds are still in their name, it wasn't ever an issue, we are family, but because of this terrible possibility of the proposed power project we also stand to lose our home and everything we have worked for, and what we are forging a future for our children.
I ask this. Where was AGL when our family went through this? We have been offered support by the community, electricians, plumbers, builders, Divalls Construction company offering to help clean up the site for rebuild...but no sign of AGL, not even a letter offering sympathies, and after all that schmoozing and trying to convince elderly people to just sign here, it will all be good!
So much for caring for the community.
The last go around with AGL, we were told because of how close they were to the proposed project they could be bought out if the plant was too noisy...Wow, what a solution, yes let's wipe out all those memories, that family history...that connection with the land, never mind this is where they want to live out the rest of their days. They want to die on their own land, in their own tranquil spot they have raised their family on, surrounded by the memories of the hills, streams, and paddocks they have walked over many years. Does this seem `just' to you?
My Mothers ashes are scattered on our property because she also loved being here. I love knowing my Mum is so close to me, she raised us after the death of our Father when I was only six, who died riddled with cancer at the age of 52 after working for many years at the Corrimal Coke Works and Port Kembla steelworks in Wollongong, where for decades, not only was there no monitoring, but no restrictions or controls on BHP's emissions of benzene, despite years of international scientific and medical studies showing that benzene is linked to leukaemia and other cancers. There is no doubt that recent studies prove that the emissions that come from the type of project that AGL want to build can be toxic.
Our beautiful little boy whom we lost when he was only 7 years old is buried here at Dalton with his uncles, cousins, great grandparents, in his hometown, the place where he and our other children played, laughed and ran. I want to be buried next to him, I can't stand the anguish of thinking of him being left here alone, without us.
The disgust I feel over a greedy corrupt company like AGL wanting to build such a soul-destroying monstrosity in our backyard for a few dollars more, has not abated since the last time. We equate it to a David and Goliath War against big business thinking they can hand over a few dollars and `she will be right mate' stomping the little people into the ground, after all they consider our lives of no consequence. What is it they called us five years ago, `Collateral Damage'.
But what happens if it is built, a 30-year life span, then what? maybe build something else there, an organic farm, animal farming for meat export, maybe a School on part of it...mmm, does Camden High School ring a bell and the ongoing cancer clusters that former staff and students have developed the cause by those affected being apportioned to the Camden Gas Works and the contaminants that ended up leaching into the ground and waterways that were carcinogenic to humans and toxic to aquatic ecosystems.
There is no justifiable reason to extend the time for this proposal, there has been to many factors that have changed since the original approval. They have had 5 years to make a decision and during this time have shown a clear disregard for the community and environment and are seeking an extension so they can hedge their bets for high profits using section 3A rule which has since been repealed.
We have explained our situation, shared deep and painful emotions, laid our souls bare so you can understand the constant stress we are under once again due to this extension application and the uncertainty that the future may hold. Your own mantra is to protect the environment and build great communities.
We do not want their blood money, we do not want to be another Uranquinty, we do not want their Power project, we do not want AGL here at all, we are not collateral damage, please don't make us so.

Yours Sincerely
Andrew & Leslie Bush
'Kia-ora'
DALTON NSW 2581