23 July 2015
Centennial Coal must comply with environmental standards to save the Coxs River
The NSW Government must not approve Centennial Coal’s plans to expand Springvale Colliery near Lithgow until the company can demonstrate it can remove the extreme high levels of salt currently flowing into the Cox’s River and Sydney’s drinking water supply. [1]
“Springvale Colliery already discharges unacceptably saline water into the Coxs River and Sydney’s drinking water supply – it should not be allowed to increase its environmental impact by being licensed to dump even more toxic water into the environment,” Nature Conservation Council CEO Kate Smolski said.
“These discharges are slowly killing a river that flows through the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and into Sydney’s drinking water supply.
“It is simply unacceptable that the NSW Environment Protection Authority, a body established to defend nature and public health, is considering allowing a company to threaten the life of a river and the purity of Sydney’s water supply.”
Dirty water from the mine was treated to acceptable levels by a nearby power station until 2012 when the power station closed. Ever since, Springvale Colliery has been releasing highly saline water into the Coxs River.
“Unbelievably, the EPA has allowed the mine to continue to release waste water with salinity levels 24 times higher than natural levels,” Ms Smolski said.
“The environmental impact of the mine would increase significantly if it the expansion were approved, so it is more important than ever that discharges be adequately treated before being pumped into the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.”
[1] www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/blue-mountains-coal-mine-licence-to-permit-highly-saline-discharges-20150722-gih2zs.html#ixzz3gekw13KB
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