7 August. 2014
Government back flip on Coalpac coal mine threatens the iconic Gardens of Stone
Bankrupt coal miner Coalpac has moved one step closure to re-opening and expanding its environmentally damaging coal mines near Cullen Bullen today after the NSW Planning Department recommended its plans be approved.
The proposals will now be considered by the Planning Assessment Commission, which will have the final say.
Coalpac went into receivership late last year when its expansion plans were rejected three times by state planning authorities.
Environment groups were shocked and dismayed when the company was permitted to submit amended plans in April this year that will, if approved, result a large area of Ben Bullen Forest being destroyed and unique pagoda rock formations destabilised.
“One of the company’s arguments for resubmitting plans was that it needed to continue mining to pay for rehabilitation of the areas it had already despoiled,” said Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski.
“No reasonable person would accept such twisted logic as a rationale for expanding a destructive and polluting coal project.
“The fact that the Planning Department has done so demonstrates just how far the state’s planning system is skewed in favour of mining companies and against the interests of the environment and local communities.
“It also raises serious questions about the adequacy of the environmental bonds that large coal mining companies are required to post to cover the costs of rehabilitation if they go bust.
“The planning system in NSW should provide certainty to the community, but this latest twist in Coalpac tale serves only to undermine public confidence.”
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Coal and gas
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