Image: Rocglen Mine, situated on the floodplain with the Nandewar Ranges to the east (top) and Vickery State Forest to the west (left of pic) Pic courtesy of Wando Conservation and Cultural Centre Inc, Maules Creek. Rocglen mine pollution fine reduced due to “good character” of Whitehaven… but Court did not hear the full story … The NSW Land and Environment Court has decided the case of Environment Protection Authority v Whitehaven Coal Mining Ltd [2019] NSWLEC 27, a prosecution of the Rocglen Coal mine over a blasting violation from 2016. Whitehaven Coal…continue reading →

This document now has a broken link: https://resourcesandgeoscience.nsw.gov.au/miners-and-explorers/applications-and-approvals/current-titles-reports-applications-and-services/title-status-reports/Petroleum-TitlesCurrent-2018-05.pdf It can be viewed here. The department have indicated that they are updating these documents. NWPA have contacted the department to ask when this might be occurring. Community would have remained better informed if the older Titles document had remained whilst updating occurred.The mapping here has not been updated since 2016 and the link to the Titles is also broken. https://www.resourcesandgeoscience.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/691234/161207PELSAPPSPGH.pdf This is a map detailing the expired petroleum titles in NSW. The impacted communities have been calling for these titles to be cancelled for…continue reading →

The NSW Department of Planning has inadvertently revealed to the world a fact that Whitehaven Coal would rather not admit. Contrary to claims by CEO Paul Flynn, the so-called Vickery Extension Project going before the NSW Independent Planning Commission is not a mere “extension” of an existing coal mine. It is in reality a plan for a brand new, major coal hub that will include not only the 10 Million Tonnes Per Annum megamine, a 13 Million Tonnes Per Annum Coal Handling and Processing Plant (CHPP) which will import coal from other mines,…continue reading →

By Johanna Evans It’s the hour before sunrise in the Pilliga forest, it’s cool and the stars cover the forest like a blanket, it’s quiet mostly, the occasional truck belts down the Newell not seeing the scars left by gas company Eastern Star Gas and their cowboy fracker contractors who held no regard for the sacred Biliga. The Pilliga forest is the largest inland forest in New South Wales, an iconic Australian landscape offering rugged beauty on a grand scale, 3,000 km² of semi-arid woodland sits atop the recharge zone of the Great…continue reading →

The NSW Environmental Protection Authority has slammed many aspects of Whitehaven’s proposed Vickery mine. Having assessed the Vickery Environmental Impact Statement, the regulator believes the air emissions inventory is not transparent and there is not enough information provided. Cumulative noise impacts from surrounding coal mines are not correctly assessed. The EPA has also called on the company to review the rail noise impact assessment and criticised Whitehaven for failing to take into account worst case climatic conditions. Additionally, the EPA stated in relation to the “final void”, the unfilled mine pit Whitehaven Coal…continue reading →