coal

Last week a swag of mining bigwigs paid a few thousand dollars each to gather at the Parklands Resort just outside Mudgee and no doubt discuss the many opportunities for them in the region.

Unfortunately, with the three coal mines already operating just 50kms north of their town – Ulan, Moolarben and Wilpinjong– and their planned expansions, plus the proposals for Cobbora, Bylong and Running Stream, a lot of locals take a rather different view on their prospects under coal — or silver, as at Lue, or CSG or whatever else can make a few billion for big business.

So the concerned community groups got together for the first time and held their own ‘people’s conference’ for free. Mid-Western Community Action Network, in conjunction with Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, NSW Nature Conservation Council, Lue Action Group, Merriwa Health Environment Group, Rylstone District Environment Society, Running Stream Water Users Association, and Mudgee District Environment Group, organised a great two-day event.

David Clarke from NSW Farmers is pictured above, speaking from the posh truck stage, watched by M.C. Nell Schofield from Running Stream. (Photo from the Mudgee Mining the wHole story website)

Buses lent and driven by Susan Symons and Grayson Tuck-Lee, themselves severely impacted by the Moolarben mine, took about 100 people to a rally opposite the Resort.

Speakers summed up the issues from the back of a truck; passing traffic stared, some tooted support; only one driver yelled abuse.

Then we walked back to town, carrying a plethora of signs, and chanting ‘No more mines near Mudgee!’

It was a scattered trail, as some walkers were aged and some frail, a few walking with the aid of a stick — and with difficulty.

Several pushed toddlers in strollers — the generation who will bear the brunt of what is happening here long after the bigwigs have nicked off with the loot.

Some folk were from the almost extinct villages of Ulan and Wollar — cleared out by coal. Others had come from beyond the shire to lend support; those of us from the coal-trashed Hunter could only hope Mudgee does not go the same way.

Afternoon sessions at Lawson Park were illuminating, as a wide range of visiting and local speakers offered information and experiences and discussed various impacts, many already evident, from health to housing, business, wineries, tourism and farming. The day ended with a full-house dinner talk by me, called ‘Clearing out the country’, the title of the chapter about this area in my new book.

It was appropriate that I spoke there first about the book, Rich Land, Waste Land — how coal is killing Australia as the ‘Rich Land’ is embodied on the cover by my photo of the Andrews family at their Tarwyn Park property at Bylong — a spectacularly inappropriate place to mine!

Next day a full busload went on the Magical Misery tour to see current and possible future impacted areas. I’d had to leave, but then I’ve done my own misery tour for the book.

I feel that this Mudgee event foreshadows many such combinings of forces, as people power is increasingly seen as the only tool left to us, because, as I said in my talk, ‘reason and right and forward thinking have been taken out of the process’ by government.

Visit the Rich Land, Wasteland Facebook page

Have your say! Deadline 24th February.

If ever there was proof that this mining boom is supreme madness, the irreplaceable natural wonders of the most special parts of the Goulburn River Gorge now belong to Moolarben Coal Mine.

This is 80% owned by Yancoal Australia, that is, Yanzhou, ultimately owned by the Shendong Provincial Government in China.

Between the Goulburn River Stone Cottages and the famous dripping cliff wall, The Drip, is the Corner Gorge (above); the walk between the two is stunning. (See my posts Natural Treasures and Mining Madness). Tourists and bushwalkers, locals and visitors, picnickers and photographers — all are overwhelmed by their grandeur and beauty.

Of course these ought to be national treasures, protected as part of the adjoining Goulburn River National Park, and accessible for us all to enjoy. I had assumed they were.

Community, council and government had asked Moolarben to include the transfer of The Drip and Corner Gorges to the National Park as part of their offsets package.

BUT in Moolarben’s recently released plans for its Stage Two open cut and underground mine expansion offset plans, the company have NOT done so.

This is something that the government should have mandated — in a sane state. So we have to demand they do so.

Please have your say, objecting to the MCC PPR Stage 2 plan and calling for The Drip and Corner Gorges to be transferred into the Goulburn River National Park to ensure the long term protection and appropriate management and legal public access to this regionally significant recreational, educational and cultural river corridor. 

Ask the Department of Planning to appoint an independent expert panel (PAC) to fully scrutinise the strategies, assumptions and actions.

And Julia asks that ‘If you have time, add a few words why you personally value this river corridor’.

It would be good if you can c.c Save the Drip so they have an idea of how many care enough about this incredible place to fight for it.

We only have until Friday 24 February.

Email to : Dept Planning — Mining and Major Projects
                                                   
Refer to: Moolarben Coal Complex Stage 2 _ Preferred Project Report: Project No: 08_0135

Additional notes from Julia:

The coal mining boom has caused major devastation to the catchment with the Ulan, Wilpinjong and Moolarben Stage 1 megamines. But they are still planning more…

The full project description is here or here.

Summary of impacts: Moolarben Coal Complex Stage 2 _ Preferred Project Report

• The offset package does not include the culturally and scenically significant river corridor known as The Drip and Corner Gorges securing its long term protection, appropriate management and on going public access.
• The permanent  damage (at least 100 years) to the Goulburn River and connected groundwater system is unacceptable.
• Estimated cumulative water use by the three coal mines approximately  30-40ML/day (10-12 gigalitres/annum).
• Water use for just the Moolarben Mine estimated to be 10.55ML/day (3850 ML/annum).
• Water deficit for 23 of 24 years (up to 1990ML extra water required).
• No confidence that the groundwater modelling accurately predicts water impacts – there are significant disparities between Moolarben and Ulan Coal Mines groundwater assessments.
• Water for coal washing should be first sourced from Ulan Coal Mine surplus groundwater before any extraction from the Northern Borefield (adjacent to the Goulburn River).
• Clearing of additional 900ha of native forest (123ha EEC Box Woodland)
• Disturbance footprint of 1546 ha of native vegetation including 4.1 km of Murragamba Creek, 4.1 km of Eastern Creek and a direct impact on over 148 archaeological sites (from scatters to rock shelters).
• Biodiversity offsets are located outside the Hunter Valley catchment, do not represent “like for like’ nor replace the net loss to the bio-region or the east west vegetation corridor connecting the coastal forest to the western woodlands.
• Production 17 million tonnes of coal or 23.7 million tonnes CO2-equivalent/year of greenhouse gases fuelling further climate instability.
• Excessive noise levels e g location of the conveyor on top of ridge (must be sound attenuated and set lowered on landscape to minimise noise dispersal).

Victoria’s Latrobe Valley is coal power central, and very ‘dirty’ brown coal power at that, with its four power stations, all privately-owned, producing 33% more CO2 than ‘dirty’ black coal. See my posts Coal-powered clouds and Man-made murk from my 2010 visit there.

The oldest station, Hazelwood, alone produces 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions  — 15% of Victoria’s total. It was supposed to close in 2009; environment groups want it shut down now. Given that the best technology can do for the others is try to match black coal’s CO2  emissions, the Latrobe does not fit a low carbon future.

But the Latrobe workforce is dependent on coal and coal power jobs. Future-smart unions and workers in the Valley know this situation can’t continue, and are trying to establish transition industries that not only have a future, but positively help reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

It starts with the Earthworker Cooperative — ‘Australian manufacturing: working our way out of climate emergency’ which will now be a permanent link on this site.

Organiser Dave Kerin’s been working towards a positive alternative with his Earthworker strategy, rather than the pointless opposition of jobs vs. environmental needs, for about 10 years, in one way or another. He had looked at the skills base in the Latrobe and sourced a product to which they could be applied, and which had a sustainable future growth market — a locally designed solar hot water system, ‘hotter, cheaper, all stainless steel, gas boosted’.  It will be called Eureka’s Future.

A key part of the plan is that the systems would be part of enterprise agreements, with the energy certificate rebates as incentives for employers — larger scale collective buying, larger scale manufacturing. Five percent of profits would go to social justice programs.

And yet they aren’t getting the government funding they need to start up – and they’ve tried – although the Federal government has committed $100 million and the Victorian government $50 million to HRL’s coal to syngas project.

They do have the firm support of two local manufacturers, Everlast (stainless steel hot water tanks) and Douglas Solar.

100,000 future-smart Australians needed

But they need money. So Earthworker has launched their ‘100,000 Australians Campaign’ to find 100,000 people to become members of the Earthworker Cooperative for $20 each, and to use the funds to establish the factory.

Their aim:  ‘To facilitate the establishment of manufacturing workers cooperatives through our country, especially in the coal regions of Australia, through membership of the Earthworker Cooperative.’

We all know that the planet is in trouble from global warming, and we all know that Australian manufacturing is in trouble. Jobs and profits stay here, and have a future, with projects like this. If our government won’t support workers offering them a non-confrontational and clever solution, we the people, must.

We urgently need such transition industries as Eureka’s Future to help coal-dependent regions like the Latrobe and the Hunter and Lithgow be part of the solution  — not just bear the brunt of it.

This is a movement we all need to foster and grow; visit the Earthworker website and read more. 

I’m from the Hunter and I’m joining. Can you find $20 to join us?

Campaign launch photo from the Earthworker website

Just before Christmas the battlers for the village of Camberwell were given the most wonderful cause to celebrate.
 
They learnt that the Chinese Yancoal’s proposed Ashton South-East open-cut coalmine had been rejected by the Planning Assessment Commission. (Picture by Simone de Peak, Newcastle Herald)

It would have taken all Wendy Bowman’s  (left) farm and caused Deidre and Toby’s Oloffson’s (centre and right) Camberwell village home to be unliveable. (See my post Camberwell — in crisis from coal)

Potential damage to the alluvial systems was a major reason — as Wendy had been saying forever! — and the NSW Office of Water stood its ground against the government’s urging to have it approved.

The NSW Department of Health also stood firm, saying it would create unacceptable cumulative impacts on the health and wellbeing of the residents. Ashton knew this as they had offered to move them out for seven years!

So it seems to me that, just as the people spoke out at the Planning Assessment Commission hearing — and protested outside  — the bureaucrats are speaking up for common sense and long-term vision in planning, and for caring for the community.

Add to that the victory for the Moores (See my post Bullying the blind?) when NuCoal withdrew from any exploration drilling on their farm, (Picture by Ryan Osland, Newcastle Herald) and it seems that people power is emboldening the public powers to voice the truth, regardless of pressure for royalties. 

Dare we hope for glimmers of sanity in decision-making in this state, for more inappropriate mines — and there are plenty in the offing — being rejected in 2012?

Last Tuesday I and a bunch of other people from all walks of life and areas stood in hot sun outside Singleton Court House, or retreated to the shade behind for respite.

We held up home-made signs and chanted ourselves dry while the media recorded our anger and frustration: ‘No NuCoal!’ — ‘Save our Water, Save our Land!’ — ‘Enough is enough!’

And at one stage, a spontaneous ‘Where’s George Souris?’ chant arose, George being the sitting State National Party MP. (In case you don’t remember, the Nationals used to be the party who looked after rural interests.)

Why were we there? Because inside that Court House, Jerrys Plains cattle farmers Ian and Robyn Moore were battling it out against NuCoal Mining, after unsuccessfully ‘negotiating’ with them since July 2010.

Ian is legally blind; he can only work his farm, inherited from his father, because he has known it for so long. He couldn’t cope with new obstructions like the exploration drilling, couldn’t move to another property and he wouldn’t be able to farm here, blind or not, if NuCoal happened to wreck his underground water sources. Going to the Land and Environment Court was the final step, armed with an independent water study that cost the Moores around $50,000. And of course there’ll be the legal fees.

While the hearing proceeded, outside the building, speakers from other areas, like Deidre Oloffson (right) from coal-trashed Camberwell and Stuart Andrews (left) from coal-threatened Bylong shared their concerns. Hunter Communities Network’s Bev Smiles and Lock the Gate’s Drew Hutton kept the talk and the chants flowing.

Two days were set aside for the hearing, but by the end of Day One the judge had come to a decision

Although the holes on alluvial soils were denied to NuCoal, the Moores were ordered to allow the three others on higher ground.

The Moores are devastated and not sure what they will do next.

Their supporters may have been a motley lot but not ‘the rabble’ as NuCoal’s senior counsel described us. Like the Moores, we were standing up and speaking out for the future of farming and rural communities in Australia.

If social licence to proceed means anything, inside that court NuCoal would have been in no doubt they have none.

However, ex-Minister Ian Macdonald, currently being investigated by ICAC for an alleged piece of naughtiness, approved that mine in rather whiffy circumstances.

Soon after the Moores’ day in court and the good media coverage of the ‘rabble,’ the government has asked NuCoal to suspend operations until the ICAC result is known.

Cross your fingers!

It was a November 7th deadline to speak up for nature and Bimblebox, but Paola has written from Bimblebox to say:

‘We were informed yesterday that the comment period for Waratah Coal’s EIS has been extended until December 19th. This is because Waratah has had an incomplete version of the EIS on their website (a major omission being Appendix 10, which deals with the impact on the terrestrial ecology!).

‘The EDO is looking through our ‘short version’ to make sure is all correct for people to sign.’

I will put the shorter submission letter that Paola mentions up on this site when it’s ready. And I’d say terrestrial ecology is rather relevant for a nature refuge, wouldn’t you? Lucky that Friend of  Bimblebox, Sonya Duus, spotted the omission.

If you think we ought to save some of New South Wales for future generations — rather than hand it out now to coal and coal seam gas companies — you might like to join like-minded people next Thursday and tell the government and the industry just that.

The NSW Government is sponsoring a $900-a-head NSW Mineral Exploration and Investment Conference in Sydney on 18-19 August.

Already 70% of NSW is under coal or petroleum exploration licences; those who will benefit are meeting to share tales of their progress and prospects, no doubt to applaud each other and to commiserate on the nuisances that these protesting communities have become.

I couldn’t see it on the agenda, but I’ll bet they share strategies over drinks for ‘managing the outrage’. Many of us are outraged that government still allows mining projects to over-ride the wishes of communities (like Camberwell), damage environments (like the Pilliga), threaten productive land (like Caroona) and precious water (like just about everywhere!).

All the heavies will be there; Thursday is about exploration, so Coalworks, AGL and Santos feature largely. Government and industry need to be told that we would prefer they conferred on how to save the state from rampant fossil fools, and think of the future instead.

The Lock the Gate Alliance is organising an alternative conference outside the venue — a conference for food, water and communities.

They are inviting community groups who want a different future to come to Sydney and present the other side of the impacts of mining. (I’m sure they mean individuals too.)

What: Rally at the NSW Mineral Exploration and Investment Conference 2011

Where: Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, Phillip St., Sydney
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When: 12 noon, Thursday 18 August

Speakers include:

• Jess Moore: Stop CSG Illawarra
• Tim Duddy: Caroona Coal Action Group
• Bev Smiles: Mudgee District Environment Group
• Peter Martin: Southern Highlands Coal Action Group
• Jane Judd: Friends of the Pilliga
• Mark Ogge: Beyond Zero Emissions
• Jeremy Buckingham: Greens MLC
• Rising Tide Newcastle
• Drew Hutton: Lock the Gate Alliance

For more information email Lock the Gate

Register at the Facebook Event

Visit the Lock the Gate Alliance Website

Conference agenda