Submission by: Peter Haydon Bloomfield Homestead Blandford, NSW, 2338 In response to Dartbrook Coal Mine-Modification 7 To N SW Government Independent Planning Commission At A therstone Room UH Conservatorium Music, Muswellbrook, NSW 9 April 2019
Preserve this: Precious River Flows in the Upper Hunter Valley
Presented by Peter Haydon: Today I present this submission as a long term farmer and Stud Operator from Blandford in the Upper Hunter on the Pages River. Haydon Horse Stud is one of Australia’s oldest continual horse’s studs. It has the unique claim of having been on the same property operated by the same family since 1832, a continuous 187 years. The Haydon family were pioneers in the area selecting Bloomfield on the Pages River because of its water supply and are now up to the seventh generation living on the same original property. I have a Bachelor of Commerce degree from UNSW and have worked in big business in both Sydney and London. I have wide experience in horse industry including working overseas for HM The Queen and HRH The Prince of Wales at the Royal Mews at Windsor Castle in England. I currently operate Haydon Horse Stud with my wife Alison and our three sons. We have just had a horse inducted into the Hall of Fame. As the 2009 Scone Horse Festival’s VIP I led the Bickham Beersheba rally with Olympian Nikki Richardson when a large group of over 500 horses were ridden to the Scone Council Chambers and address the gathering regarding stopping Bickham Coal Mine. I was involved with the Bickham Coal Project from day one, involving a period of 10 years with roles including Chairman of the Bickham Coal-mine Stakeholders Group. We made history when the State Government actually stopped the coalmine proceeding on the recommendation of the Planning and Assessment Commission when they concluded that digging down 400m just 100m from the Pages River would put the river at risk and the whole future of the valley and its position as Horse Capital of Australia. We should not be here today: The Bickham Coal Experience We should not be here today and this for me, is sadly, déjà vu. We should not be here if the DPE actually did its job correctly and objectively. We are here because as we found with Bickham Coal the Department actually worked closely with the coal company and every objection we raised they worked together to alleviate the issue. We are actually here today as we called for an “independent arbitrator” to actually assess the project away from the bias of the department. This is actually why you are here today following the precedent we created at Bickham. This was really ground breaking, creating the role model, and why you are assessing the project today as an “independent” b ody. Again, this Dartbrook mine should never ever have been approved in the first place if it had been assessed on the Bickham precedent when mining 400m down next to the river was determined too big a risk when incredulously they allowed mining activity actually under the Dartbrook and the Hunter River. Actually, going underneath these waterways. We were shown
photographs way back then of water pouring down from above. And how did the department not even foresee this problem as simple common sense, the law of gravity and the simple flow of water would have predicted this. Bickham Coal working together with the department put together this solution if river leakage or “river capture” occurred. They actually proposed a “grout curtain” which would stop the water discharging. It was “ Industry best practice” we were told. It was thrown out by the PAC who were luckily water experts. We have been just totally disillusioned and horrified by the coal industry’s so called best practices that have created the dangerous air we have to breath here today, they are allowed to leave massive final voids at the end, they are allowed all sorts of emission to things like the “salinity trading scheme” which allows the mines to pump saline water into the Hun ter waterways. During the Bickham campaign we came across so many examples of industry best practice and industry not so best practices. There were far too many to list here in the time allocated today. In fact, there were so many complaints the department dealt with it by closing the local office. In our early research work, there is one story that really stood out and conveyed by Wendy Bowman, the now international recognised and amazing campaigner who started Mine Watch. “ On a Christmas day instead of driving the long way around for Christmas lunch she decided to drive across country through her paddocks. She came to this gully that had this incredibly clear water flowing down it which she had never seen before. She later found out that is what saline water looks like and the coal mine had used Christmas day to discharge their problem waste water and not be caught. ” You now only have to fly over the valley to see the lunar landscape created by the industry ’s best practice. I urge you to take time to look at the more global/regional aspects already affecting this valley. Add up the amount of water taken out by mining and you will see it exceeds all the water in the system. That is why the springs, gullies and streams have been sucked dry in our area at the top of the catchment. It is heart wrenching to ride around our paddocks to see natural watering points never known to go dry to be now totally dry and to see animals bogged and dead in them as they have tried to chase that precious last drop of water. Please look at look at the bioregional assessments. Also please add up the total area of the final voids that will be left and see for yourself how there are no satisfactory plans to rehabilitate this lunar landscape. This is an example from Bickham, on a micro scale …. the department promised that Bickham would fill in the large bulk sample hole, as they had to put down a deposit which would cover the rehabilitation. We later found out the deposit was only $50,000 and the hole remains there to this day. Multiply his industry best practice on a valley scale and you will discover the catastrophic condition the valley will be left in. We believe a full audit of the final rehabilitation should be undertaken now to ensure the current miners are held to account to restore the whole area not just move on and leave the mess behind them.
Bickham Coal bulk sample hole-still there today The local community concerns must be listened too. This starts with The Upper Hunter Shire Council strongly opposing the mine. How can you override the voice of local government? After Bickham our local council position was to ban all further mining in their area to preserve the existing industries the area is internationally renown’s for like its horses, wines and other agriculture pursuits. It is Horse Capital of Australia on a par with Kentucky in the US and Newmarket in England. Winx’s was bred here. The following is a list of key objections to the Dartbrook project which need to be taken in to consideration: 1. Decision Time- due the mine ’s operating history it should be totally shut down and rehabilitated. It is an unsafe and dangerous mine. It will not be able to overcome the problems of air quality, emissions and water. The community needs long term certainty.
2. Mine free precinct - the Upper Hunter Shire should be gazetted a mine free as put forward by the local council. 3. Long term damage/small benefit- this mine has a long term and permanent impact on the region for a short-term benefit of the miners. 1,000’s of existing jobs could be put at risk. It will be right in the heart of “Horse Capital of Australia” . How can this possibly be justified from a planning point of view ? Let’s face it the streets of Muswellbrook should be line with gold instead of mine dust as the money goes out of the region. 4. Location- one of the biggest issue’s planners must come to grips with is the location of the mine near the Hunter River and Dartbrook. Reports have confirmed what we all have known from living for generations with these rivers, that there is a connection between the alluvium water both above and below the site. There is no safe buffer zone to stop this connectivity. There are many examples of river capture worldwide that have occurred in similar situations, such as at Yallourn in Victoria in 2007 as shown below; 5. Cumulative Risk Affect - when the combined influence of all these identified risks are aggregated together the amalgamated uncertainty clearly means this project cannot proceed. The precautionary principle should definitely be applied. 6. Mine expansion- this mine should be shut down now and also be prohibited from expanding into an open cut mine. 7. Coal combustibility- is another major problem. We actually saw at Bickham when the bulk sample was piled up it started burning and smoke was often seen coming from the stockpile. 8. Water Quality- during the act of mining to such depths the water will be disturbed and mixed in with all the other water. Dirty water is unfortunately the unavoidable reality of mine such as this. High salinity is common in the coal seams and with depressurisation many problems will occur. A closer examination is required regarding the evaporation ponds and waste water. 9. Air Quality- all the recordings and graphs of the dangerous PM2.5 readings showing them above the acceptable benchmark levels illustrates the total disregard the department has for the people breathing this air. Adding to this air pollution is inconceivable. 10. The applicant -a thorough due diligence is required to assess the financial and experience suitability of the new applicant as grave concerns have been raised.
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