The Gateway Panel explained

On Thursday 3 October, the NSW Government announced the Mining and Petroleum Gateway Panel, comprising independent scientific experts with expertise in the fields of agricultural science, hydrogeology and mining and petroleum development.

The Panel is an independent body constituted under the Mining SEPP. The six members of the Panel are:

 Terry Short (Chairperson) - Agricultural scientist.

 Professor Garry Willgoose – Groundwater expert.

 George Gates, PSM – Groundwater expert.

 Dr Ian Lavering – Geologist.

 Brett Whelan – Agricultural scientist.

 Dr Russell Frith – Mining engineer.

The Gateway Process and Panel are part of several elements of the NSW Government's Strategic Regional Land Use Policy.

The role of the Gateway assessment process is to identify potential impacts on valuable agricultural land and water resources from mining and coal seam gas (CSG) proposals before a development application (DA) can be lodged. Once identified, these impacts must be addressed in the DA.

The Gateway process will apply immediately to strategic agricultural land in the Upper Hunter and New England North West Regions. The NSW Government is currently inviting feedback on biophysical strategic agricultural land (BSAL) mapping for the remainder of the state (refer to item 18 in this Local Government Weekly). Once this mapping is finalised the Gateway process will also apply to this land.

In the meantime, a landholder, anywhere in the state, who has entered into an access agreement with a mining or CSG company, can have their site verified as BSAL through a site verification process (a protocol for site verification has been developed.)

Online informationhttp://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/srlup

http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/gateway-assessment-and-site-verification

http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Portals/0/StrategicPlanning/CoalAndGas/FAQ_Gateway_assessment.pdf

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/epi+65+2007+cd+0+N#_blank

http://www.mpgp.nsw.gov.au/

http://www.mpgp.nsw.gov.au/?action=page&page=members

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/epi+65+2007+cd+0+N#_blank

Department of Planning and Infrastructure Information 1300 305 695

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the use of the addressee(s) and may contain information that is confidential or subject to legal privilege. If you receive this email and you are not the addressee (or responsible for delivery of the email to the addressee), please note that any copying, distribution or use of this email is prohibited and as such, please disregard the contents of the email, delete the email and notify the sender immediately.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Call your local MP to say START AGAIN!

Right now, the NSW Government is making final changes to its disastrous new planning legislation. But Minister Hazzard's Planning Bills are so off the mark that NO amendment to these Bills will be good enough.

The Better Planning Network and our 427 affiliated organisations (including RSWUA) want a fair and responsible planning system for NSW.  A system that encourages growth in line with Ecologically Sustainable Development principles; has at its heart community wellbeing; protects our environment and heritage;  minimises risks of corruption and respects the rights of communities to shape local planning and development decisions.

Making amendments to fundamentally flawed legislation is not good enough and the Minister's recent changes certainly won't fix the Bills. NOW is the time to call your local MP and say NO to the Government's Planning Bills!

Make a call to your local MP here
The NationalsBathurst(02) 6331 1555

Pillaging the Pilliga

By Sharona Coutts

Alarm bells are sounding over further coal seam gas drilling in northern NSW’s vast Pilliga State Forest: dead animals and a toxic chain of ponds, along with the release this week of a damning ecological report.

---

“I call this one ‘roo stew’,” says Tony Pickard, a semi-retired grazier who lives near the Pilliga, a vast inland forest in northwestern New South Wales. Pickard is referring to a photograph taken in August 2009 of a dead animal immersed in filthy, brackish fluid. Tufts of grey fur protrude from the liquid, but the animal is so decayed — almost dissolved — that it’s difficult to identify whether it is indeed a kangaroo, or some other type of carcass.

For the past four years, Pickard has scouted the forest, a ladder tucked under one arm, and a camera slung over the other. He’s captured images of a turtle, a goanna, and a dozen frogs, all floating dead in the cloudy ponds or wells that litter this coal seam gas (CSG) drilling site.

All this in a "Noah's Ark" for declining bird and mammal specials, as an ecological study released this week called the Pilliga forest.

In recent months, the state government has taken concrete steps to help CSG drilling expand. On September 11, NSW lifted its moratorium on fracking, a controversial method of extracting coal seam gas. The state has granted several new exploration licences and it has renewed others — including the licence that was granted over the Pilliga. And in early October, the NSW Resources and Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher, told a coal seam gas industry conference that he wanted to ramp up CSG production in NSW.

Read the full story here

One step closer to saving the beautiful Gardens of Stone from a destructive coal mine!

Recently, the NSW Department of Planning strongly recommended that the Coalpac open-cut coal mine proposed near Lithgow should be rejected because of its impacts on the natural and scenic values of the Gardens of Stone.

Ben Bullen State Forest is publicly owned land within the Gardens of Stone area so named for its rock formations. The area contains a complex of narrow canyons, upland swamps, rock arches and pagodas that provide habitat for many endangered plants and animals.

The recommendation by the Department of Planning to reject this damaging project is a victory for common sense, the community and the environment.

The O’Farrell government now has an historic opportunity to protect this unique part of the state’s environmental heritage once and for all by declaring Ben Bullen State Forest a state conservation area.

Call on Planning Minister Brad Hazzard and Environment Minister Robyn Parker to safeguard the Gardens of Stone by taking the necessary steps to reserve the area under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.

Help protect the Gardens of Stone here

Report on the Airly Mine community information session at Glen Alice, 9 September 2013

by Guy Sim, Vice-President, RSWUA

On Monday 9^th September 2013 I attended the Capertee Valley special community information session on the Airly Mine Extension. It was held in the Glen Alice Community Hall.

It was truly wonderful to drive to Glen Alice from Cherry Tree Hill early in the morning. I ensured that I had sufficient time to travel to the Coorongooba camping area downstream from Glen Davis before the meeting started. Travelling through these natural wonders certainly brings home the reality of our struggle against the massive expansion of coal mining on our doorstep.

The meeting was well attended by about 40 to 50 residents, guests and Airly Mine staff.

Donna Upton was brilliant in bringing the meeting together and providing a wealth of information on all local mining operations in our wider community.

Below is the extract from Centennial Coal Projects web page:

Centennial is seeking approval to renew Airly Mine’s existing planning consent by 2014. Under the renewal process, Centennial is proposing to extend mining operations into the eastern section of the mine’s current mining lease, proposes to continue the underground mining operations, increase the mine’s coal extraction capacity and upgrade existing site infrastructure.

The NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure (DoP&I), in consultation with other government agencies, will use the information provided in the briefing paper to determine what Centennial must include and address in the Environmental Impact Statement.

The Environmental Impact Statement is proposed to be completed and submitted to the DoP&I in mid-2013. Centennial’s community consultation process will provide information on the project and comment is encouraged when the DoP&I publicly exhibits the Environmental Impact Statement.

While currently on ‘Care and Maintenance’ the Airly project will allow, when the mine reopens, the mine to continue operating, therefore creating local jobs, while the local and regional community will also benefit from the positive economic contribution.

The extension will increase coal from the past 1.8 million tonnes per annum to 3 million tonnes.

Several senior staff members from the Airly project attended the meeting. These were Bob Miller, David King (Project Manager) and Greg Brown (Environmental Officer).

As Donna was delivering her presentation, staff from the mine clarified several issues. One that I found particularly appalling is that they already have approval for full extraction in certain areas of the existing lease. Full extraction is the removal of the entire coal seam in a particular area, with subsidence levels commensurate with the thickness of the seam. It is truly frightening that this can be approved in a State Conservation Area of such significance as Mugii Murum-Ban SCA.

Airly staff did add that they had no intention of operating these full extraction methods, which while noble, can be subject to change pending global markets, scarcity of coal and the principles and ethics of future owners.

A DVD presentation by Lock the Gate Alliance was shown, which was very thought provoking.

The guest speaker was Ian Holden, a solicitor from the Wagga Wagga region. He gave a presentation on the vital importance of having very sound and specific access agreements in the exploratory phase of mining operations. He spoke on the latest planning legislation and how it will favour the mining companies and put less and less emphasis on other uses of the land. He spoke of the importance of understanding the Aquifer Interference Policy and how it is probably the most important item to ‘take on’ coal mines. (See information about the NSW Aquifer Interference Policy on the NSW Department of Primary Industries, Office of Water website.) 

Ian intended to speak further on strategies to forestall exploration of private lands but chose not to due to the presence of the staff from Centennial Coal.

During the lunch break I spoke with David King, the Airly Project Manager, who stated he was glad that he had attended the meeting as it had given him an insight into what concerned the locals and would address these at the public Technical Sessions planned for October 2013. Unfortunately this is just one of the tactics used by mining companies to overcome local resistance to their operations. 

Justin McKee of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society gave a brilliant presentation of these tactics to the people at Cullen Bullen a couple of years ago. It was disturbing hearing it straight from the Project Mananger’s mouth.

The public are invited to attend the Technical Sessions planned for Sunday 13 October (10 am, Airly Mine) and further information can be found on the Capertee Valley Alliance blog. (RSWUA members are urged to attend and to make their voices heard at the meeting.) More information from Centennial about the Airly Mine can be found in Centennial's latest Airly Mine Newsletter.

VALE MARGARET HUNT

 Last month, with much sadness,over a hundred people, of all ages, gathered in the Running Stream Hall to commemorate the life of Margaret Hunt. Margaret was a well loved member of the Running Stream community, and gave to her community in many different ways. She was one of the founding members of the Running Stream Water Users Association and we will miss her contribution.Our thoughts are with her husband Jim (our president for many years) and her children and extended family. Vale Margaret.

AIRLY MINE EXTENSION PROJECT -

Special community information session with guest speaker

9.30 am on Mon 9th September
at Glen Alice Community Hall

Followed by a sausage sizzle (gold coin donation)