3 July, 2015
A World Heritage Area is no place for a coal mine
Centennial Coal must be required to fully remediate any damage caused to the World Heritage-listed Wollangambe River by the partial collapse of Clarence Colliery’s waste dump near Lithgow in the Blue Mountains. [1]
“It is an environmental tragedy that Centennial Coal has done this to one of the few wild rivers left in NSW,” Nature Conservation Council Campaigns Director Daisy Barham said.
“The NSW Government must make Centennial Coal pay to fully remediate any harm it has caused to the river and the World Heritage Area, and the Environment Protection Authority must thoroughly investigate how this disaster was allowed to occur.
“Coal waste dumps usually only collapse after heavy rain, but this incident has occurred in fair weather, which demonstrates that the design of this dump was clearly flawed.
"This raises the prospect of more collapses if something is not done to shore it up, so the public has a right to know what Centennial Coal is doing to ensure this never happens again.
“It beggars belief that the planning system in NSW would allow a coal mine to have such a serious impact on a World Heritage Area.
"It demonstrates that there is something seriously wrong with the way major projects are assessed and approved in this state.
“This disaster isn’t an isolated case and shows that the conditions for mining companies to operate in these special places are clearly failing.
“A report by the Office of Environment Heritage (OEH) last month found that Centennial’s Clarence Colliery was poisoning the Wollangambe River by dumping huge volumes of water contaminated with nickel, sulphur and sulfate that are 150 times background levels and highly are toxic to aquatic life.” [2]
In a separate development, Centennial Coal is seeking to expand operations at another of its operations, Springvale Colliery, also near Lithgow.
“Given the company’s poor environmental track record, we have no faith that Centennial Coal will be able expand its Springvale operations without causing serious environmental harm,” Ms Barham said.
“We are calling on the NSW Government to reject the application.”
[1] Coal mine investigated over waste spill into Wollangambe River www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/coal-mine-investigated-over-waste-spill-into-wollangambe-river-20150702-gi3l2l.html
[2] Krogh M., Edge K. and Miller J., 2015, Clarence Colliery Discharge Investigation, Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, www.epa.nsw.gov.au/licensing/clarence-colliery.htm
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