FASSIFERN resident and singer John Paul Young has aired his view that Centennial Coal should pay to clean up a blanket of black sludge which he says covers the bottom of the creek at the end of his garden.
He wants the NSW Government to ensure a slice of Centennial Coal's profits are returned to the west Lake Macquarie community,.
Mr Young, once known as Australia's king of pop, believes the company should be giving back to the community.
He said Centennial was planning to "pull billions of dollars worth of coal out of the ground" with a planned expansion of its Newstan mine at Fassifern.
Centennial Coal spokeswoman Katie Brassil said the company supported a "fairer share of royalty revenue being directed to ensure government infrastructure and services meet the changing needs of our communities".
She said the mining industry made a large contribution to NSW coffers, with royalties of more than $1 billion this year.
NSW Resources Minister Chris Hartcher said the state government had moved to introduce more stringent assessments to address concerns about environmental standards for mining.
Mr Young's property adjoins LT Creek which he said the mine had polluted with "a black sludge". .
He said a levy should be put on Centennial's profits to improve the creek and roads in Fassifern, Fennell Bay and Blackalls Park.
"We live in the shadow of this multibillion-dollar project and live with the coal dust and noise, but virtually nothing comes back to the community," he said.
"We should at least have a program to clean up the creek every five years."
Ms Brassil said Centennial would work co-operatively with "those who have an interest in improving the quality of LT Creek".
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