The Independent Expert Scientific Committee has published its responses to questions put by the Department of the Environment and Energy regarding the proposed Wallarah 2 coal mine at Bushells Ridge.
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The responses are expected to inform federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg’s final determination on the project.
The responses follow the publication of the Bioregional Assessment for the Hunter sub-region which predicted the extent of groundwater drawdown associated with the mine would be less than that in regional model predictions.
The IESC responses reiterate the key potential impacts of the mine, which includes a maximum 300 megalitres per year reduction in water from the drinking water catchment.
One of the conditions of consent for the mine, however, is that Wallarah 2 returns 300 megalitres of treated water to the catchment each year.
Wallarah 2 general manager Peter Allonby said the referral back to the IESC was sensible given the release of the Bioregional Assessment and the “ongoing consideration of water-related matters”.
“It is pleasing to receive further support of the science,” Mr Allonby said.
The IESC advice, provided in its responses, supported the “robustness of the scientific investigations” undertaken by Wallarah 2, and confirmed the “thoroughness and integrity” of the assessment undertaken by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and the determination made by the Planning Assessment Commission, he said.
The IESC had recommended measures to support the development and review of the strategies, plans and programs required by the state consent conditions, he said.
The forthcoming determination of the Wallarah 2 Coal Project will be made under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.
“Any conditions attached to the EPBC determination are unlikely to have any material impact on the project’s viability,” Mr Allonby said.
In January this year, the Wallarah 2 Coal Project was approved by the Planning Assessment Commission.
The mine would extract up to five million tonnes of high-quality thermal coal per year.
The mine’s opponents – including Central Coast Council and local Labor MPs – contend that the mine represents an unacceptable risk to the region’s water supply.
View the IESC responses at iesc.environment.gov.au