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Detailed Info
- This BVPA website contains information directly relevant to the activities of the BVPA and happenings directly relevant to Bylong
- For more detailed 'just the facts ma'am' information regarding mining and the Bylong Valley, see Craig Shaw's 'Bylong Mining' pages:
1. General Info Sources/Links
2. Bylong Specific Information
3. News Reports
4. TV/Video/Multimedia
5. Other Community Organisations
Key Contacts
- Stuart Andrews (Vice-President)
0427-112448 - Craig Shaw (Secretary)
0411-101988
bylongmining@craigshaw.com.au - All regular mail to:
BVPA
c/- 7690 Bylong Valley Way
Bylong NSW 2849
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Recent News
Council says Mt Penny study under-estimates mine impact Save
SAM PAINE
5th Oct, 2012
Mudgee Guardian
Council has responded to the environmental assessment for the Mt Penny Coal Project, saying that the assessment under-estimates the effect the mine will have on surrounding communities and infrastructure.
Mt Penny will be an open-cut coal mine in the Coggan Valley, with initial exploration to begin seven kilometres north-west of Bylong.
Operations are planned to begin in 2015, with mining progressing southward over the next 21 years, finishing within four and a half kilometres of Bylong.
"Council acknowledges that mining contributes to the economy of a region; however, there are also considerable pressures placed on public and private resources of the community," general manager Warwick Bennett wrote in his response to the mine's environmental assessment.
"Currently there seems to be an imbalance, with council and the local community bearing a disproportionate level of the burden created by mining in our region, which will be further exacerbated by the Mt Penny project."
Council's response argues that the mine has over-estimated Mt Penny's benefits to the region through taxes and mining royalties and under-estimated the impact on other industries, housing supply and local services.
"The reality is that a minimal amount of these taxes and royalties are returned to the regions in which the mining activities occur," Mr Bennett wrote.
"The amount that is returned locally is usually significantly less than the costs incurred at the local level."
Mr Bennett disagreed with the mine's estimate that it would source half its workforce locally, pointing out that the current influx of mining workers showed that labour was no longer easily found locally.
While the Environmental Assessment suggests the former Kandos Cement workforce would be available to draw on, Mr Bennett wrote that most of the factory's former staffers had moved on to other work or retired.
Because of the mine's flawed assumptions about the area and its community, Mr Bennett said he believed council would be at a disadvantage when trying to negotiate the mine's contribution to improve local infrastructure.
Council said the report did not adequately address the damage to roads caused by construction and heavy vehicle traffic and the mine's responsibility for upgrading of road infrastructure.
Methods suggested in the report to minimise the problems, such as special speed limits, clearing of vegetation and temporary traffic signals instead of road upgrades, were described as "inappropriate or unrealistic".
Mr Bennett pointed out that such measures required compromises by other road users that were outside the mine's jurisdiction to suggest.
Council's submission identifies discrepancies in the project's noise assessment, and raises unpredicted noise problems that arose in the development of Wilpinjong mine and could be repeated in the Coggan Valley.
Council has previously called for a moratorium on mining in the Bylong valley until a study can examine the impact on water in the Coggan Valley catchment and surrounding rivers.
For those of you who like detail (and have a desire to have a full " shock and awe" experience) we've taken the relevant extracts from Council's submission and from Gilbert + Sutherland's assessment of water related issues.
Scathing Assessment
ABC Central West
27th Sep, 2012
A mining company's offer to compensate the Mid-Western Region for any adverse impacts from its project has been described as "grossly insufficient". The local council has provided feedback to the proponent of the Mt Penny mine which would see an open cut operation about 7km from Bylong.
The submission (by Council) says the company hasn't detailed the potential impacts on water and roads, and has presented flawed assumptions and conclusions about possible employment.
Council spokeswoman, Catherine van Laehren, says the offer of half a million dollars as part of a Voluntary Planning Agreement also isn't enough.
"They've used a lot of averaging and annualising of data which means they haven't got a real, true reflection of what's happening to the stream flows and the characteristics of water courses that can be quite dynamic in their response to climatic changes. They haven't really addressed potential impacts on environmental flows or reflected the true impacts on water balances."
The Council says the company has properly addressed the issues surrounding rail transport.
And on that farm he had some mates
KATE MCCLYMONT
26 May, 2012
Sydney Morning Herald
It was Christmas Eve 2008 when the then resources minister Ian Macdonald "put out the garbage" - political slang for the release of a controversial decision when a government hopes no one will notice. In this case, Macdonald's December 24 media release announced he had granted an exploration licence for Doyles Creek, near the town of Jerrys Plains and bordering on national parkland.
What the minister didn't say was the process had been by "invitation only"; it had been expressly against the recommendation of his own department, and the winner just happened to be a company part-owned by his good mate and former CFMEU boss John Maitland.
For years other resource companies had sought to mine the rich coal deposits at Doyles Creek but had been refused because of the area's sensitive environment and close proximity to Jerrys Plains.
Maitland had enlisted the support of senior Labor figures and the coal mining industry, including Felix Resources's Brian Flannery, to back his bid for a "training" mine.
But once he had acquired the licence, Maitland's company sold the rights over the deposits for a huge profit to NuCoal. Maitland instantly became a multimillionaire.
Several of those who had backed Maitland's plans for the training mine were unimpressed.
"Mr Maitland disclosed no personal interest in the project and advised Mr Combet that Doyles Creek would be a mining operation dedicated to training underground miners in partnership with local educational institutions and industry," a spokesperson for the federal minister, Greg Combet, said.
Macdonald's actions in this and several other exploration licences, one of which was won by a friend and personal adviser to the family of the controversial former minister Eddie Obeid, himself a former resources minister, are now the subject of an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
No date for a public hearing has been set but in a statement this week the commission said it would delay publishing the findings of a previous inquiry into Macdonald in the wake of the new inquiry.
Last year's inquiry was a public humiliation for Macdonald, who claimed that he only received a neck massage from an escort named Tiffanie. The Chinese escort was alleged to have been provided to him by businessmen Ron Medich and Lucky Gattellari in return for an introduction to energy officials.
Both the past and the present corruption inquiries involve allegations that "Mr Macdonald corruptly used his position as a NSW Minister of the Crown to advantage the private interests of others".
The current inquiry is examining "allegations that corrupt conduct has occurred in connection with the granting of certain coalmining tenements in NSW".
In September 2008, Macdonald invited companies to apply for 11 coal exploration licences that were being opened up in NSW. As the criteria included "a demonstrated financial ability to fund work programs and subsequent mine and infrastructure development", there was surprise in the industry the following year when the successful tenderers were announced.
Three of the 11 licences were awarded to a $1 company run by a 36-year-old Bankstown mortgage broker, Andrew Kaidbay, who had no experience in the resources industry.
Even more curious was that Kaidbay's company Loyal Coal had been in existence for only a fortnight when the department ticked off on the successful bidders. Loyal had taken over the bids of another company, Monaro Mining, which had pulled out due to internal infighting.
At the same time as Kaidbay established Loyal Coal, he set up three other resource companies, which appear not to have traded. A Herald investigation has discovered that the majority shareholder behind these three companies was the Obeid family.
Industry newcomer Loyal Coal also had its backers hidden behind a nominee company, Voope. The registered office of Voope was initially at the legal firm Colin Biggers & Paisley, which acts for the Obeid family. Voope later changed its registered office to that of the Obeids's long-time accountant, Sid Sassine.
Loyal Coal ended up winning three of the exploration licences, only to hand two back to the department.
Within 90 days of being awarded the exploration licence over the Ferndale area, in the Upper Hunter about 125 kilometres from Newcastle, Loyal was paid $2.4 million for a 90 per cent stake in its licence by a major player, Coalworks.
Loyal and its mysterious shareholders stand to reap tens of millions of dollars a year if the Ferndale mine goes into production, expected to be in 2016.
But it wasn't just the Ferndale licence in which Kaidbay was involved. He managed to take time out from his day job, working as a mortgage broker with Mark Bouris's son Dane in Yellow Brick Road, to help the Obeid family get a good deal for options over their land with Cascade Coal, which had won the tender for the Mt Penny licence.
Nine months before Macdonald called for expressions of interest in the 11 coal licences, the Obeid family spent $3.65 million buying Cherrydale Park, not far from Mt Penny, which is in the Bylong Valley, about 80 kilometres east of Mudgee.
This week it was revealed that before buying in the Bylong Valley, the Obeids considered the property of Col and Ted Hewitt, whose farm lies within the Ferndale exploration licence area later granted to the Obeids's friend Andrew Kaidbay.
The Herald has revealed that once the Obeids bought in the Bylong Valley, Moses Obeid encouraged associates to buy other key properties in the area, telling them "we can't be seen to be buying them all".
A close friend of Moses Obeid, Justin Kennedy Lewis, bought Coggan Creek, where an open-cut mine is now slated.
An Obeid associate, Gladesville accountant John Campo, bought another key property.
The owner of the Bylong general store, Jodie Nancarrow, recalls receiving a phone call at the store in 2008 from Justin Lewis.
"Are you familiar with Google Earth?" asked Lewis, who was trying to work out where his new farm was in relation to the store.
"He'd never seen the property. I had to give him directions on how to get to the farm he had just purchased," Ms Nancarrow told the Herald.
Cascade Coal, which won the Mt Penny tender covering the Obeid group's farms, is a private company run by a Sydney banker, Richard Poole, along with industry heavyweights Travers Duncan, Brian Flannery, John McGuigan, John Kinghorn and John Atkinson.
Duncan and Flannery are BRW rich-listers - each is worth more than $600 million after the 2009 sale of coalminer Felix Resources to China's Yanzhou Coal for $3.54 billion.
The sale was facilitated when the former Labor government took the extraordinary step of amending the Mining Act retrospectively to allow Felix Resources to start construction on its $405 million thermal coalmine.
Back at Bylong, Andrew Kaidbay and a former banker, Gardner Brook, who was advising the Monaro Coal-turned-Loyal Coal bid, were representing the Obeid group to extract favourable options over their land from the Cascade group.
The Herald had been told that the Obeid family received more than $10 million for the option over their land, at least triple what they had bought the property for.
Friends of Moses Obeid have told the Herald he was angry when his friend Justin Lewis splashed out on a $500,000 Lamborghini Gallardo. "Mo said it was stupid of him to do that because it drew attention to himself," one friend told the Herald.
The associates also claim the Obeids stood to make millions of dollars more when Cascade was bought out by bigger player White Energy. But that deal fell apart.
In December 2010, publicly-listed White Energy announced it had been offered the chance to buy Cascade Coal for close to $500 million.
White Energy shareholders were not happy. Not only was Cascade's only asset two exploration licences acquired for $1 million, but most of Cascade's directors were also directors of White Energy. These directors stood to make close to $60 million each if the deal went ahead.
White Energy had previously been in the news when it was revealed that last year, during the dying days of the NSW Labor government, the government finalised the transfer of 70 hectares of Crown land in the Hunter Valley to White Energy for only $1.
Cascade's John McGuigan told the Herald last week that he had "a gutful" of the speculation about the Mount Penny mine. "If we get development approval we are about to spend $500 million" but this "scuttlebutt … is undermining the quality of a decent asset".
Plans to mine Doyles Creek are now on hold, pending the ICAC inquiry.
When the Herald called Obeid for comment yesterday, he said: "I am not happy to talk to you on anything." Macdonald did not return the Herald's calls.
Obeid in ICAC sights
BRONWYN FARR
21 Dec, 2011 12:44 PM
The Land
FORMER Minister for Resources Eddie Obeid is the latest Labor identity to come under the spotlight with the NSW Government considering recommendations by law firm Clayton Utz that his land purchases at Bylong and his relationship with disgraced former colleague Ian Macdonald be investigated.
The NSW Government is likely to refer the matter to the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
It recently acted on recommendations from a separate Clayton Utz report stating that an inquiry should be held into the circumstances of Mr McDonald granting the Doyle's Creek licence in December 2008, referring the matter to ICAC.
Mr Obeid's family company Locaway purchased the $3.65 million property Cherrydale Park at Bylong in November 2007 - the property is covered by Cascade Coal's Mt Penny exploration licence. Mr Obeid has previously denied any knowledge of the Mt Penny coal deposit or the fact the NSW Government intended to grant an exploration licence over the area before Locaway bought Cherrydale Park.
Mr Obeid resigned from the Upper House after the March state election.
The Clayton Utz report recommended that "Eddie Obeid's status as a former minister for minerals resources, his position within the then government, and the circumstances surrounding Locaway's purchase of Cherrydale Park are grounds that justify further investigation".
It said the Government should find papers relating to the awarding of the Mt Penny licence as a matter of priority and that the government should investigate the association between Mr Obeid and Mr Macdonald, who was NSW mineral resources minister at the time expressions of interest in the coal licence were being sought.
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) spokesman Craig Shaw called on the State government to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding how the Mt Penny licence was awarded to Cascade Coal.
He said the community had questions about the actual tender process.
"When Ian Macdonald was minister for mineral resources, he was asked about the details of the awarding of the Mt Penny exploration licence. At the time, he brushed off concerns by saying the process had been overseen by an 'external independent probity auditor'," Mr Shaw said.
"But one of the things we never found out, for example, was just why tenders were re-opened in the first place, after the first round closed.
"We know from the Doyle's Creek experience that probity audits in themselves far from guarantee that all relevant issues have been investigated, or that investigations have been sufficiently thorough," Mr Shaw said.
"Our understanding is that the role of the auditor in the case of the Bylong tender was extremely limited and the decision to re-open the tender was not his.
"With the associated controversy surrounding Mr Macdonald, the referral of the Doyle's Creek exploration licence matter to ICAC, we think it's time there was a fearless and exhaustive investigation of all the issues surrounding the awarding of the Mt Penny EL."
The NSW Government embarked on an audit of all mining and CSG licences earlier this year.
NSW Minerals Council Tour And Community Meeting
On the 12th December, 2011, the BVPA was pleased to host Ms Sue-Ern Tan, Acting CEO, and Mr David Frith, Deputy Director (Environment and Community) from the NSW Minerals Council.
Ms Tan and Mr Frith joined members of the BVPA Committee for a guided tour of the northern part of the Bylong Valley, taking in the Cockatoo/KEPCO Bylong Project exploration area, the Mt Penny Project EL and 'Tarwyn Park' before joining senior Mt Penny representatives for a private meeting.
NSW Minerals Council Acting CEO, Ms Sue-Ern Tan,
addressing the BVPA's December meeting
The afternoon's community meeting was attended by about 50 people, including local Bylong residents and others from further afield. The meeting heard an update on various aspects of the Mt Penny project from Cascade Coal Director, John McGuigan and Project Geologist, Michael Johnstone before Ms Tan gave a short overview of NSW Minerals Council activities, including the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue. Ms Tan and Mr McGuigan then took questions from the floor.
Regional rallies join national protest
19 Oct, 2011
Mudgee Guardian
About 70 people joined the fight for environmental protection in mining communities at Bylong on Sunday.
The group listened to author Paul Cleary speak about his book Too Much Luck before being joined for a discussion with Tim Duddy.
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance secretary Craig Shaw said key themes in the panel discussion included more rigorous land use planning, putting aside government revenues earned during the mining boom for leaner times in the future and water-related amendments to the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation (EPBC) Act, recently proposed by Tony Windsor.
Paul Cleary (L) and Tim Duddy discuss Paul's book, 'Too Much Luck'
Also on Sunday, about 20 people joined a rally in Rylstone to support the national Defend Our Water campaign.
The rally was organised by the Rylstone District Environment Group and included a Capertee Valley Alliance member, local farmers and concerned citizens who walked across the Cudgegong River Bridge into town with a banner calling for clean air, clean water and protection of land.
A spokesperson for the group said they are calling for a moratorium on the further expansion of coal and coal seam gas operations until the full social and environmental impacts are known.
A similar rally for the Defend Our Water campaign was held in Mudgee on Sunday.
Speaking to the Defend Our Water rally in Lawson Park, Cudgegong Valley Water Committee president Trevor Crosby said the Cudgegong River could not sustain the demands of the Cobbora mine, which were equivalent to the total extraction from the river for town water, stock and domestic licences, irrigation and the environment.
Mr Crosby said the move would jeopardise the conservative water sharing plan developed over the past 15 years, by transferring licences from the large Macquarie Catchment to the smaller, delicate Cudgegong system.
Sunday's Defend Our Water rallies were part of a number held across Australia to protest against the effect of coal mining and coal seam gas mining on water resources.
Mid-West groups call for caution on coal seam gas
ROBYN MURRAY
10 Oct, 2011
Mudgee Guardian
The Mid Western Community Action Network (MWCAN) and Bylong Valley Protection Alliance are among 642 groups which have made submissions to the NSW Parliamentary inquiry into coal seam gas (CSG) mining.
The inquiry is looking at the environmental, health, economic and social impacts of coal seam gas activities and the role of coal seam gas in meeting the future energy needs of NSW.
In its submission to the inquiry, MWCAN has raised concerns that CSG mining is a very young industry and its effect on water resources are not fully understood.
"Commencing CSG mining in areas without knowing the full impacts that this mining will have on groundwater systems and without detailed hydrological mapping of that area is irresponsible and short sighted," wrote vice-president Chris Pavich in the group's submission.
MWCAN has also called for more consultation with property owners and the public and for planning on a regional basis before any further CSG development takes place.
"Agriculture and tourism are examples of two industries that cannot operate side by side with CSG extraction no matter what is suggested," the group's submission said.
"Contamination of ground water, visual pollution, noise and property interference are just a few of the reasons why."
The BVPA submission also calls for a precautionary approach to CSG exploration, and in particular the potential impact on water systems.
The group has called fir detailed water studies in each catchment before any further mining or CSG projects occur.
Petroleum exploration licences held by Leichhart Resources cover most of the Bylong Valley area.
Public hearings are currently being held as part of the inquiry. The final report is due on April 6, 2012.
EPBC referral highlights critical environmental issues with Mt Penny site
10 Jul, 2011
The presence of endangered and vulnerable plant and animal species has seen the referral of the proposed Mt Penny mine development to Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke. The referral was made at the beginning of last week by Mt Penny Coal under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Spokesman for the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, Craig Shaw, says the referral highlights not only the environmental sensitivity of the area but also flaws in the consultation process around the mine's development.
"We're talking both plant and animal species here including critically endangered types of grassy woodland habitats, endangered bird species such as the Regent Honeyeater and vulnerable animal species such as the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby.
"The area of grassy woodland they're talking about being swallowed up in the main development is over 300 hectares. That's about the same – if not more – than the area of this kind of critically endangered woodland that's already been swallowed up, or planned to be swallowed up, by the Ulan, Wilpinjong and Moolarben developments combined."
Mt Penny Coal, in its submission to the Minister, has said it will implement an offset program and are actively seeking suitable areas of land to establish long-term protection of habitat.
"They keep talking about offsets as if we had some kind of magic pudding where you can keep destroying things and just try and make up for it elsewhere. It's the cumulative impact that's the issue. The fact that these are critically endangered ecological communities really means they shouldn't be touched at all.
"If a farmer or any other kind of enterprise were trying to do this they'd be told to bugger off and not even think about it. But because this is mining, and mining is excluded from the provisions of the Native Vegetation Act, they can get away with murder – almost literally."
Submissions to the Federal Environment Minister regarding the proposal close on Monday, 18th July. Further information on how to make a submission is available in the right hand sidebar of this page.
Company to search for specialist minerals in the Hunter
Posted July 8, 2011
ABC News
A publicly listed Australian company has been granted approval to search vast areas of the Upper Hunter and Bylong Valley for specialty metals.
Murrumbo Minerals has been granted four exploration licenses covering 1200 square kilometres - an area stretching from Muswellbrook to Coolah and surrounding the town of Merriwa.
Chris Vose, CEO of Murrumbo, which owns Merriwa East and Merriwa West Pty Ltd, says they'll be searching for specialty metals and heavy rare earth elements to be used for high tech and energy saving applications.
"They all have amazing specialist uses from one called neodymium which is used in magnets, so if you own a Prius car you've probably got around 10 kilos of neodymium under the bonnet," he said.
Mr Vose says mining specialty metals offers a lucrative and low impact alternative to coal and coal seam gas mining.
He says the elements are also often located close to the surface.
"Certainly wouldn't be into a strip mining or fracking type approach like with coal where it has such dramatic impacts on the local community," he said.
"This is very low intensity.
"Just specific areas that have these high concentrations of these high value resources. "
New Korean powered push into Bylong Valley
BY BRONWYN FARR
07 Jul, 2011
The Land
THE current level of foreign purchases of agricultural land must be urgently reviewed by the Federal Government, said NSW Primary Industries Minister, Katrina Hodgkinson, following reports a government-owned Korean power company has snapped up Bylong Station for $18 million.
The Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has made big inroads into South East Asian countries in recent years, and now has its sights set on Australia, with subsidiary, Cockatoo Coal, aiming to mine 423 million tonnes of coal in the picturesque Bylong Valley.
Bylong Station is home to prominent Angus stud, Pine Creek, whose principal, Greg Fuller, declined to comment on reports of a sale this week,
Ms Hodgkinson said the NSW Government believed the current level of foreign purchases of agricultural land needed to be reviewed -and Premier, Barry O'Farrell, would write to the Prime Minister to call for one.
It comes in the wake of revelations that Chinese government-owned Shenhua bought 43 properties near Gunnedah for $213 million, and reports that KEPCO has snared up 30 land titles since acquiring the Bylong coal mine project for $403 million from Anglo Coal late last year.
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance spokesman, Craig Shaw, said it was obvious mining companies believed if they owned the land, they had a better chance of getting the green light for their projects.
He said KEPCO had two licences to explore 10,300 hectares at Bylong while Cascade Coal bad an exploration licence over Mt Penny, near Bylong.
Cockatoo Coal did not return calls from The Land.
Bylong resident, Jodie Na near row, said it was frustrating that governments were slow to protect prime agricultural land.
Local farmer, Peter Grieve, "Talooby", Bylong, said the Federal Government's review of foreign land purchase rules was "way overdue".
"It should have been done donkey's years ago, and we should have transparency so everybody knows where we stand, who owns country and assets - some of these companies fly well under the radar as they buy single properties, but then amalgamate into vast tracts of land," Mr Grieve said. "You can't buy land in other countries - my recommendation is leasing, and the saleable commodity becomes the lease rather than the land," he said.
Referring to the reported sale of Bylong Station, Mr Grieve said he respected the owners' decision.
"It's disappointing because we are trying to keep coal out of the valley and the coal companies are trying to get a leg in, but we are a free country and people have the right to make their own decisions."
Bylong sale raises land grab fears
BY DARREN SNYDER
06 Jul, 2011
Mudgee Guardian
A Rylstone man has expressed fears coal companies will target the town in the near future and purchase property for their disposal.
The fears come after reports on Tuesday that Bylong Station was sold for $18 million dollars to Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) in May.
Reports said the historic Bylong property was sold for close to six times the amount paid in 2004 by former owner Greg Fuller of the award-winning Pine Creek Angus Stud.
Rylstone man Alan Wills said when he heard about the reports he was "outraged".
"I'm now worried about Rylstone as a future target for mining companies," he said.
"There are one or two big properties here that could be lost too."
Mr Wills said he had seen the results of underground mining on his property.
"I had no notice either what was on my land when I bought it," he said.
He also said when a company was prepared to pay six times the value of a property people should be worried.
The Korean company has reportedly bought 30 properties since buying the rights to the Bylong coal mine project from UK-based Anglo American for $403 million last year.
Kepco holds a 5.2 per cent stake in Australian-listed company Cockatoo Coal which manages the Bylong project.
Cockatoo Coal NSW general manager for project development Stuart Hides told a Sydney newspaper the company was three years from making a mining application in Bylong but acquiring land early was becoming the industry norm.
In June, Cockatoo Coal announced it had opened an office in Newcastle to service the community and needs of the company for its Bylong project.
The NSW Farmers' Association has called on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to track foreign purchases of Australian farmland and water rights.
NSW Farmers' President Charles Armstrong said farmers were anxious at reports the Chinese Government-owned Shenhua Coal was buying out farmland in the Liverpool Plains while other overseas investors were snapping up their water licences.
"Last year we heard reports that $9 billion worth of agricultural land had been acquired by foreign investors within just two years - but eight months on, nothing has been done to address the issue," he said.
"Foreign companies are able to purchase Australian land up to the value of $230 million without being scrutinised by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
"While we don't oppose foreign investment we are opposed to foreign ownership."
New policy provides no real change to aquifier use
BY DARREN SNYDER
06 Jul, 2011
Mudgee Guardian
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance has said interim aquifer interference regulation launched by the NSW government on Monday will not have much meaning.
The interim regulation provides a three megalitre per year cap before a water licence is needed for minerals and petroleum exploration.
The state government also removed a previous exemption allowing holders of aquifer interference approval to take water without a licence.
Minister for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, said those that hold this approval will now be subject to standard water licensing procedures.
However Bylong Valley Protection Alliance interim president Peter Grieve said the new regulation would not change anything.
"It [full aquifer regulation] will depend on the aquifer studies," he said.
Ms Hodgkinson said the regulation was an important step for the NSW Government and allows the wider community some breathing space while proper consultation is undertaken.
She said that the new rules would not be retrospective and would apply to any new enterprises from 1 July. Mr Grieve described this as "reasonable".
The minister said it is important to allow the community adequate time for consultation while the government develops the aquifer interference policy.
"The new policy will form a vital part of the NSW Government's focus on strategic regional land use and will enable us to balance the competing needs of the environment, mining and agricultural sectors," she said.
"The community is clearly concerned about the impacts of mining and coal seam on groundwater resources and this new regulation gives us greater control.
"The NSW Government is determined to find a balance between farmers, industry and the environment when it comes to rural land use, and this new regulation, along with the proposed policy, are two key steps in what will be a long process."
NSW Farmers' view:
NSW Farmers' Mining Chair Fiona Simson said the state government appears to be listening to community concerns about the need to protect aquifers from potential contamination.
"Community concern, as demonstrated last week in Moree, shows people are concerned about the possibility of long term damage that could result from unchecked mining and gas industries," she said.
"We look forward to a permanent framework which will determine how aquifer interference approvals are managed under the Water Management Act 2000."
NSW Farmers' is a key participant in the state government's reference group, which is helping develop the final policy and regulation.
Crisis in Country Australia
05 Jul, 2011
Today Tonight
(Click image to view story)
There's a crisis in rural Australia as cashed up foreign corporations go on a spending spree like we've never seen before.
This story, which aired on Channel 7's Today Tonight program on Tuesday, 5th July, 2011, features Bylong Valley Protection Alliance President, Peter Grieve, along with several others, including Tim Duddy and Drew Hutton.
Asian land grab on historic cattle stud Bylong Station
BY RICHARD NOOONE
06 Jul, 2011
Daily Telegraph
ANOTHER historic Australian farm is in the hands of Asian miners after Korean giant Kepco purchased Bylong Station near Mudgee for a reported $18 million.
The latest grab for prime agricultural land follows Chinese miner Shenhua Watermark Coal's purchase of 43 properties near Gunnedah for $213 million.
From single-acre blocks to farms in the thousands of hectares, analysis by The Daily Telegraph of property records show a half dozen multinationals now own more than 800 separate land and water titles across NSW.
The carve-up of huge tracts of the state by Korean, Chinese, Indian and UK-based multinationals is putting enormous pressure on local agriculture, the NSW Farmer's Association reports.
The Korea Electric Power Corp has snapped up 30 land titles since buying rights to the Bylong coal mine project from UK-based Anglo American for $403 million last year. The state-run utility hopes to start extracting 7.5 million tonnes of coal in Bylong Valley, between Mudgee and Muswellbrook, by 2016.
The bulk of its titles are in three farms including Bylong Station, home to the 14sq km Pine Creek Angus Stud, that it purchased for a reported $18 million in May.
Former owner and award-winning cattleman Greg Fuller declined to comment yesterday but property records show he purchased it for $3.2 million in 2004. He has a one-year lease-back with an option to extend to May 2013.
Spokesman Craig Shaw from Bylong Valley Protection Alliance - essentially a group of farmers determined to fight the coal mine - said other properties had also been sold.
"They want the mine to go ahead, so they're buying this land to tip the lever in their favour by saying to the government, 'well, we own all this land anyway'," he said.
"It's good agricultural farm land and it's being bought by mining companies and it won't be used for agriculture. Then you have this foreign ownership thing over the top."
Kepco's interests are managed by Cockatoo Coal, an Australian listed company 41.2 per cent owned by foreign entities including a 5.2 per cent stake by Kepco.
Cockatoo Coal NSW general manager for project development Stuart Hides said it was about three years from making a mining application but acquiring land early was becoming the industry norm.
Mid-West group calls for wider study on mining impacts
ROBYN MURRAY
20 Jun, 2011
Mudgee Guardian
The Mid-Western Community Action Network (MWCAN) has called for a more wide-ranging study on the effects of mining proposals in the Mid-Western Region.
Council last week considered a draft consultancy brief for a study to be funded by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure, to look at the effects of mining on local and regional infrastructure in the Mudgee region.
The study will look at the how proposed mines will identify which additional services will be needed to cater for growth resulting from mining projects.
Speaking at council's open day, MWCAN spokesman Chris Pavich said the study area should include the villages of Lue, Rylstone, Kandos, Charbon, Clandulla, Ilford and Bylong, all of which were already significantly affected by coal mining or were likely to be affected.
Mr Pavich said the study should also look the effects of limestone, rhyolite, dolomite, and magnetite mining in addition to coal mining. He also called for the effect on rail and air transport to be included in the brief as well as roads.
The study brief should include increased use of the airport, and the effect of increased use of the rail corridor on village such as Lue, Charbon and Kandos, he said.
Mr Pavich said expansion of mining would also have a significant impact on Rural Fire Service (RFS) recruitment in areas such as Wollar.
Although mines relied on the RFS to provide fire fighting services, the number of volunteers available was falling as permanent residents moved away from areas such as Wollar.
Mines' demand for water was also likely to affect he entire region, he said.
"Libraries, sports, and children should all be mentioned in the consultancy brief," he said.
"We also need to think about liveability in the region in 30 years time when the mines are done with us."
Mr Pavich asked that the MWCAN, Mudgee Business Association, Kandos and Rylstone business groups, Mudgee District Environment Group, Running Street Water Users Association be included in consultation as part of the study.
A report to the Mid-Western Regional Council has also supported the inclusion of Gulgong, Rysltone and Kandos in the study.
Council deferred adoption of the consultancy brief to consider MWCAN's comments
Bylong Petitions For Protection From Mines
03 May 11
Mudgee Guardian
Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) is petitioning to have the valley declared a place of national significance to protect it from potential mining for coal, semi-precious minerals and coal seam gas.
BVPA interim president Jodi Nancarrow told a Rylstone District Environment Group (RDEG) meeting on Thursday that the group hoped to present Member for Upper Hunter George Souris with the petition in May and had already collected close to 500 signatures.
"We want the Bylong Valley to be a no go area for mining," she said.
Ms Nancarrow said only state legislation could prevent the spread of mining across prime agricultural land such as the Bylong Valley and surrounding region.
She urged those at the meeting to exercise "people power", work together and speak out about their concerns.
"It's not just here, it's everywhere," she said.
"There is no point in getting cranky with the people who work for the mining company or even the mining companies," she said.
'We have to get the government to change their mind - we need mandatory laws, not guidelines."
The BVPA is lobbying for changes including better consultation with communities and a ban on the trading of exploration licenses between companies.
"Community liaison, clear and transparent dialogue - they [the mining companies] talk about it all the time, but I've never come across it myself," Ms Nancarrow said.
The RDEG meeting was called to inform residents about mining proposals around the Rylstone district.
The audience viewed a segment from 60 Minutes on coal seam gas mining in Queensland and an excerpt from the US documentary Gasland.
Running Stream Water Users Association (RSWUA) president Jolieske Lips outlined the Centennial Coal's Inglenook project for mining in the Mt Vincent area.
Ms Lips said Centennial Coal had three exploration licences across the Inglenook project area.
"There is a strong possibility that we are looking at open cut mining at Ilford, which would be a lovely introduction to a scenic area," she said.
Expansion of existing mining at Kandos, and mining around Clandulla and Rystone were also possibilities, she said.
Ms Lips said the RSWUA was trying to ensure affected landowners worked together.
"It's really important to talk to your neighbours," she said.
"In areas where people have gone their own way, the difference in compensation has been in the order of 10 times.
"You cannot stop people from coming onto your land [to explore], but there is a distinct process that should happen."
Ms Lips said the RSWUA was looking for a solicitor with a background in access agreements and the Mining Act willing to act pro bono (without charge) on behalf of local residents.
"We have approached big firms that do pro bono but we are told 'sorry, conflict of interest'," she said.
Bylong Mouse Races
21 Apr 11
The Land
'The Land' this week carried a full-page spread on the Bylong Mouse Races (page 8 in the middle of the 'Classifieds' section). While the issue of mining in the Valley wasn't mentioned directly, the biggest single photo on the page featured Vice President Stuart Andrews, along with 'partners in crime' Dave Farmer and Bob Irwin, manning the BBQ dressed resplendently in their 'No Mines In Bylong Valley' T‑shirts. Way to go boys!
Bylong Valley 'No-Go Zone For Mining'
NATHAN STITT
23 Apr 11
Prime TV, Orange
Mining companies that want to dig coal mines in the Bylong Valley could have one hell of a fight on their hands. The local protection alliance says prime farm land should be a no-go zone for coal exploration.
(Click image to view story)
(This report aired on PrimeTV news on Friday, 22nd April. The story features BVPA President Jodie Nancarrow, Vice-President Stuart Andrews and Mid-Western Regional Councillor Peter Shelley, amongst others.)
Bylong Group Backs Call For Mine 'No Go' Zone
18 Apr 11
Mudgee Guardian
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has joined Mid-Western Regional Council in calling for the greater Bylong Valley area to be declared a "no go" zone for coal and coal seam gas mining.
In its submission to Department of Planning on the NSW Coal and Gas Strategy scoping paper, the BVPA has argued the Greater Bylong Valley should have been deemed to be "prime agricultural land" and protected from mining under amendments to the Mining Act proposed by the Greens in 2009.
The amendments were defeated by a single vote in the NSW Upper House.
BVPA interim secretary Craig Shaw said the group felt it was important to look at protecting more high quality agricultural land than that which is currently used very productively.
"Just protecting the Liverpool Plains doesn't do much to help 'future proof' food security," Mr Shaw said.
"We need to be protecting, in advance, areas of innately good quality - such as the Bylong Valley - where production would be able to be increased dramatically in years to come as food demand rises."
The BVPA submission also calls for stronger protection for rivers and streams near mining developments, especially those near national parks.
The group has urged the Coalition Government to adopt Labor's pre-election commitment to ban exploration in waterways next to national parks and remove exploration licences on waterways in close proximity to national parks.
The group is also calling for current guidelines regarding how close mine developments can be to streams to be made mandatory.
The BVPA submission notes the "decimation of Wollar" and other villages as a result of mining development, as an example of the flow-on effects of mining on communities.
"In our submission we have noted, as a particular example, the impact on Rural Fire Service brigades and the resulting increase in risks associated with bushfires through lack of adequate manpower and equipment," Mr Shaw said.
"A strategy is required to maintain or improve fire fighting capacity, rather than see it eroded."
The BVPA has supported the Mid-Western Regional Council's submission to the scoping paper.
"Council has shown outstanding leadership on mining and related issues in the region, including their calls for the protection of the Bylong Valley," Mr Shaw said.
"We - and I'm sure many others - are very grateful for their support."
Mt Penny Mine Sale Halted
DARREN SNYDER
15 Apr 11
Mudgee Guardian
The acquisition of Cascade Coal by White Energy was terminated on Tuesday afternoon after both parties were not able to reach agreement about matters associated with Mt Penny project at Bylong.
In an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange, White Energy cited risks associated with "a degree of uncertainty" were not able to be addressed in the sale agreement.
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) hailed the news on Wednesday as a "victory for common sense".
BVPA Interim Secretary Craig Shaw said the group had been puzzled by the amounts of money to potentially change hands "when so many issues remained up in the air".
"We're hoping now that the scotching of the deal will mean a more measured approach can be taken," he said.
"We're seeing it as a kind of 'circuit breaker'.
And the fight is not over for the Alliance.
It is known Cascade Coal has open cut coal resources at Mt Penny and the company has been granted Director General's requirements from the NSW Department of Planning to proceed with detailed assessment of the site as a prerequisite to development consent.
"[Tuesday's] announcement also makes it clear White and Cascade may well wish to re-visit the transaction if and when that development consent is achieved," Mr Shaw said.
White Energy said significant comment in the local area on the effects of mining in the Bylong Valley and the results of the assessment will be relevant in determining the extent of future mining activities in the area.
Mid-West Calls For Long View Of Mines
ROBYN MURRAY
11 Apr 11
Mudgee Guardian
Mid-Western Regional Council has called on the State Government to look beyond the next 25 years when considering the effect of new coal mines on surrounding communities.
In an extensive response to the State Government's scoping paper on a strategy for the coal and coal seam gas industries, council has called on the State Government to develop local regional action plans which take into account the all the costs and benefits of mining.
The report predicts that in the next three to five years, there will be at least nine coal mines within a 60 kilometre radius of Mudgee, producing up to 80 million tonnes of coal per year and employing more than 3000 people.
While the investment has the potential to create significant economic benefits, council has become increasingly concerned that the rapid rate of expansion has not been thoughtfully planned, the report states.
Group manager development and community services Catherine Van Laeren said current project assessments focused on the number of jobs created, capital investment by the mines and the royalties or taxes paid to government.
"There is typically no analysis or identification of external costs in terms of the impact on other industries, costs to health or environmental impacts," she wrote in the report presented by council's planning and development committee meeting last week.
Ms Van Laeren said the current assessment process did not take into account the deterioration of rural industries such as sales yards and agricultural produce suppliers due to the effect on farmlands, or the cost of increased demands on roads, schools and other community facilities.
She also noted that the scoping paper did not mention life after coal mining.
"If all of a local region's resources are directed towards and focused on the coal industry, then other industries will gradually decline," she wrote.
"This means when coal mining ceases, there will be nothing left in the local community (no jobs, no local industry)."
BVPA Calls On Labor To Clarify Policy Impacts On Mt Penny And Bylong Projects
20 Mar 11
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has called on state Labor to clarify what impact its recently released 10 point Coal and Coal Seam Gas Plan would have on developments slated for the Bylong Valley area.
The first point in Labor’s proposed plan bans exploration activities "in waterways adjoining national parks" and says a re-elected Keneally Government would "remove exploration licences on waterways in close proximity to national parks".
Interim Secretary of the BVPA, Craig Shaw, said the Alliance wanted to know exactly how the proposed changes would impact on the Mt Penny development.
"The northern portion of EL 7406 – the Mt Penny development – actually straddles the Goulburn River and abuts onto the Goulburn River National Park," he explained.
Total planned Mt Penny layout from White Energy 'Roadshow' document
Note the Goulburn River flowing through the EL's northern end
and how the EL adjoins the Goulburn River National Park
(click for larger image)
"We want to know how Labor’s proposed policy will apply, given where Mt Penny is at in the application process, and the fact that key infrastructure for the mine is actually planned for flats adjoining the river."
Mr Shaw said similar questions applied to the proposed Bylong project, where a significant amount of further exploration is planned for later in the year. The Cockatoo/KEPCO owned authorities adjoin both the Goulburn River and Wollemi National Parks.
"The key waterways that run through these exploration authorities – including the Bylong River and a number of its tributaries – all rise in the Wollemi National Park".
"Clarification of any implications of Labor’s policy for developments in the Greater Bylong Valley Area is critical in the lead up to Saturday’s election, since it will play a role in how our members and others in the region vote," Mr Shaw said.
"Will Labor’s policy have any impact at all? Or will it be just another case of ‘sorry, this offer applies to new customers only’?"
Can't Eat Coal, Can't Drink Gas Rally
20 Mar 11
Well over 1000 people travelled from all over NSW (and beyond) to attend the Can't Eat Coal, Can't Drink Gas rally in Martin Place in Sydney. Included in that number were representatives of many of the groups in and around the Mudgee region, including the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, Mid-Western Community Action Network, Running Stream Water Users Association and the Mudgee District Environment Group.
William Zappa, Leigh Small and Stuart Andrews with the BVPA Banner
Speakers on the day included Cate Faehrmann (NSW Greens MLC), Tim Duddy (Caroon Coal Action Group and Independent candidate for Upper Hunter), John Thompson (Lock The Gate Alliance) and Julie Lyford (Gloucester) - amongst others.
Of all ages and from all walks of life, those assembled made their voices heard, waving placards and punctuating the various speeches with enthusiastic applause and cheering (along with booing and occasional cries of 'shame!') before marching down Elizabeth Street to the Government Offices at Farrer Place.
Many thanks to those connected with the BVPA - both from the Bylong/Mudgee area itself and from the 'Big Smoke' - who came along to help put Bylong 'on the map' at the event.
Marten, van Steenis And Georgiadis Impress At March Meeting
12 Mar 11
A jam-packed program at the March community meeting at the Bylong Community Hall delivered some wise words, some shocking statistics and some good humour.
Dr Dick van Steens, Peter Martin and Costa Georgiadis
Peter Martin, Convenor of the Southern Highlands Coal Action Group, spoke about their campaign against some companies we're also dealing with here in Bylong, namely Cockatoo Coal (working down there in conjunction with POSCO, compared to with KEPCO here), and Planet Gas (working both here and in the Southern Highlands with Leichhardt Resources). Peter gave some useful insights into their approach and pledged to support us in whatever way they can.
Dr Dick van Steenis spoke compellingly about the issues with dust and related air pollution arising from open cut mining and power generation. He emphasised the importance of monitoring PM2.5 (and smaller) particles and gave some insights into the enormous health-related costs involved.
Costa Georgiadis sprinkled his engaging presentation with liberal doses of wry wit, speaking passionately about the importantace of quality food and water. Costa spend the first year of his life on 'Budden' in the Bylong Valley and has taken an active interest in what's been happening here.
DoP Urged To Throw Out Mt Penny Application
10 Mar 11
ABC News
The New South Wales Department of Planning is being urged to throw out a development application to build the Mount Penny Coal Mine in the Mid Western Region.
Cascade Coal's $400 million plan includes an open cut mine, coal preparation plant and associated facilities north west of Bylong.
But there are concerns that a company business presentation states it anticipates developing three more open cut mines on the site in the future.
Craig Shaw from the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance says the extra mines should be included in the initial application so their potential impact can be assessed together.
"This is a big difference," he said.
"We're talking about an increase from around five million tonnes per annum up to 9.2 million tonnes per annum and that's got to make a difference.
"And we think, well that should be in the pot being assessed as one project as it is being presented to the market as one project.
"Ideally we'd like the Minister to throw it out entirely and ask for a new application covering the totality of the project as it's intended.
"The biggest thing then is that it allows the proper assessment of the totality of the potential impacts, not just of this project but cumulatively.
"We need to have everything on the table for consideration," Mr Shaw said.
A spokesman for Cascade Coal says the application does not include the three extra open cut mines because the sites have not been drilled and may not be developed.
[NOTE: The comment by the Cascade spokesperson that the additional pits "may not be developed" is very interesting. Certainly the White Energy roadshow document doesn't give any direct indication that these are just "maybes". Furthermore, advice received by the BVPA is that NOT having the additional pits would seriously affect the value being touted for the project as a whole. The market is being sold one large project, not one 'neat' pit.]
Possible Mine Expansion Dismays Bylong
02 Mar 11
The Weekly (Mudgee)
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has reacted with "deep dismay" to news of the possible future expansion of the proposed Mt Penny Mine.
Although plans submitted for approval detail only pit, information released to the Australian Stock Exchange during the week stated that Cascade "contemplates" a further three open cut pits and one underground mine.
The additional pits will contribute an extra 4 million tonnes per annual on top of the initial 5.2 million tonnes per annum, bringing total planned production to 9.2 million tonnes per annum by 2018.
Total planned layout showing 3 additional open-cut pits plus an underground pit
(click for larger image)
BVPA interim vice president Stuart Andrews said much of the current sales pitch for the mine focused on how the mine was visu-ally and acoustically sheltered.
"Well, that may be the case for the first pit, but the proposed expansions blow that story right out of the water," he said.
"Pit 1 is a Trojan horse, the thin edge of the wedge.
"The planned Pit 3 is on the Bylong Valley side of the saddle near Mt Penny. It will be right in our face - as well as our nose and ears for that matter."
Mr Andrews said that representatives of Cascade had recently denied any plans for expansion.
"All this looks like following the same kind of pattern set with Moolarben where construction on Stage 1 hadn't even really started before an application for Stage 2 was made," he said.
Mr Andrews called on the Department of Planning to insist that the proposed pit extensions be incorporated into the plans under consideration, rather than "pretending" that only one pit was ever going to be dug.
He said BVPA was also concerned that four months down the track from the initial White Energy announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange, there were still landholders in the exploration licenced area who hadn't been contacted by Cascade to say what was going on.
Mr Andrews said BVPA had written again to representatives from Cascade, asking for another face-to-face meeting and broader community consultation.
New NSW Farmers CEO Visits Bylong
24 Feb 11
Recently appointed CEO of NSW Farmers, Matt Brand, visited Bylong today as a “side trip” from the Regional Conference being held in Mudgee.
Matt Brand, NSW Farmers' new CEO, visited Bylong(Photo: Mudgee Guardian)
Mr Brand met with members of the BVPA Committee, and undertook a quick tour of the area.
Many thanks to Councillor John Webb (and others) for organising the visit.
Bylong Residents Fear They'll Lose Their Village To Mining
22 Feb, 2011
Prime TV News (Orange)
(Click image to be taken to iPrime website to view story)
The Planning Minister, Mr Tony Kelly, will be at a meeting in Lithgow on Friday for his new coal and gas strategy. There'll be plenty of locals keen to hear what he has to say. Nathan Stitt was in Bylong, where people fear their tranquil way of life will be destroyed by coal mining. (To view story on iPrime website, click here.)
MWRC And Former GG Michael Jeffery Support Calls For Bylong Water Study
18 Feb, 2011
Mid-Western Regional Council (MWRC) voted on Wednesday night to support the calls by the Bylong Valley
Protection Alliance (BVPA) for a full, independent study of the hydrology Upper Goulburn River
Catchment before any further decisions are taken with regard to mining in the area.
Former Governor General, Major General Michael Jeffery,
has added his voice to calls for a Bylong water study.
The motion "that Council writes a letter to the Ministers of Planning and Water supporting the call of
the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance seeking as a matter of urgency a study of the hydrology of the
Greater Bylong Valley area" was moved by Cr John Webb and seconded by Cr Peter Shelley.
Council's vote last night coincides with news received by the BVPA yesterday that former Governor
General, Michael Jeffery is also supporting the BVPA’s call for an expert, independent hydrology
study. (Major General Jeffery is chairman of the group Outcomes Australia, whose 'Land and Water'
project is investigating the best possible processes for the regeneration and sustainable
management of Australia's land and waterways.)
The BVPA's Interim Vice-President, Stuart Andrews, said it was very heartening to have the support
of Major General Jeffery and the MWRC.
"It's the 21st Century and everyone knows now the way things should be done – and that’s having
one, complete view of ground and surface water and managing it as one resource. It's time to stop
flying half-blind and to start doing things properly," Mr Andrews said.
BVPA Says Coalition Land Use Policy A "Good Start"
18 Feb, 2011
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has welcomed yesterday’s release by the
NSW Coalition of its long awaited Strategic Regional Land Use Policy, saying it was a "good start" in
what would be a fairly lengthy journey to full implementation.
'The BVPA's Interim Vice President, Stuart Andrews, said the policy’s transitional arrangements – to
commence within one month of the Coalition taking office, if elected – were a necessary and
important part of “"restoring some kind of sanity" to the process of granting Exploration Licences (ELs) and mining leases.
"The policy will take into account all existing ELs which have not yet applied for a Mining Lease. Although the Mt Penny Project has already reached this stage, the fact that the Bylong project – if it goes ahead – will now have to undertake an
explicit agricultural productivity impact assessment as part of any environmental impact statement
is good news. So is the fact that, during the transition period, approvals will not be granted on
strategic agricultural land where there will be a detrimental effect on the agricultural productivity of
that land and associated water resources.
Mr Andrews said that it was important to bear in mind that "we're only talking policy at this stage"
and that "a lot more work is needed" to see it through to its final legislative form.
"The devil will be in the detail," he said.
“Nevertheless, we think it’s a pretty good start."
Bylong Group Calls For Full Water Study
14 Feb, 2011
(Mudgee Guardian)
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has written to NSW Minister for Planning Tony Kelly and Minister for Water Phillip Costa requesting that a comprehensive water study for the Upper Goulburn River Catchment be completed before any further decisions regarding mining and the Bylong Valley are made.
BVPA interim secretary Craig Shaw said substantial mining development in the Upper Goulburn River catchment in the Ulan, Moolarben and Wilpinjong areas was already interacting with groundwater systems and further expansion was in the pipeline.
"That this activity is currently taking place in the absence of a detailed understanding of ground and surface water sources and connectivity is concerning enough, but the thought that significant development in the Greater Bylong Valley Area could be contemplated without a detailed understanding ef the region's hydrology simply beggars belief," Mr Shaw said.
Mr Shaw said the NSW Government had made a commitment to meet the objectives of the National Water Initiative and the National Water Commission (NWC) had clearly stated that, in order to meet these objectives, governments needed to adopt a precautionary approach to development.
"We're saying we need an independent, catchment-wide study, funded by the government, in order for proper planning to take place," Mr Shaw said.
"No decisions on Mt Penny or other projects should be taken until we know what the hell we're doing.
"Water is too precious a resource to stuff up."
The BVPA has asked the ministers to respond by the end of the month, and to accept a delegation to meet with both them and relevant departmental representatives as a matter of priority.
(Independent Candidate for Upper Hunter, Tim Duddy, has written in support of our request (click here), as has Greens Candidate, Chris Parker (click here). The following people and groups have also been in touch saying they have already written or will be writing as well:
Cate Faehrmann (Greens MLC), Joel Fitzgibbon (Labor, Federal Member for Cessnock) and MWCAN. We have also approached - and are waiting to hear back from - a number of other groups, including Mid-Western Regional Council. Current Member for Upper Hunter, George Souris, has kindly forwarded several replies he has received from the Director-General and others, acknowledging representations made on our behalf.)
Strong Attendance For Fiona Simson Presentation
13 Feb, 2011
Over 40 people turned up at the Bylong Hall today for the BVPA Community Meeting featuring Fiona Simson (NSW Farmers) and Upper Hunter Greens candidate for the state election, Chris Parker.
Fiona Simson (far right) at the February BVPA community meeting.
Fiona spoke at length about recent developments. One key message was that people should NOT assume that the "Coal and Gas" strategy stuff being organised by the current government would be "irrelevant" after the election. Since it's being driven by the various departments, its findings will nevertheless still be presented to the incoming Government and will(/may) have considerable influence. Fiona encouraged everyone who could to attend the public meetings being held in Lithgow (25th Feb) and Singleton (9th March) and for people to make written submissions.
Visit By Duncan Gay and George Souris (10/2)
Duncan Gay Duncan Gay (Nationals, NSW Upper House, Shadow Minister for Primary Industry and Energy) visited yesterday, along with George Souris (Nationals, Member for Upper Hunter), David Clarke (President, NSW Farmers, Rylstone) and John Webb (President, NSW Farmers, Mudgee and Mudgee Councillor).
George Souris (2nd from left) and Duncan Gay (3rd from right)
inspect soil and subsurface water at Tarwyn Park, with members of
the BVPA Committee and David Clarke (NSW Farmers) (Photo: Jenny Gregory)
Mr Gay and Mr Clarke toured the area, being shown the location and extent of the Mt Penny and Bylong proposals.
Mr Gay gave some useful, broad insights regarding the Nationals' policy on mining and agriculture (due for release shortly) and expressed support for the Bylong cause.
Briefing To BVPA By Cascade Coal
Members of the BVPA Committee were briefed on the Mt Penny project by representatives from Cascade Coal on Thursday 10/2.
The Committee found the meeting useful and productive (and hopes the people from Cascade did too). You can read a .pdf copy of the presentation here (NB: 6MB file).
In terms of key points to note at this stage:
- Cascade will have a website up and running very shortly, which they promise will contain a lot of very detailed information. (We will advise the link as soon as it is 'live'.)
- Cascade apologised for the delay in beginning community consultation. They have now said that people are welcome to contact them directly with questions/concerns.
- Cascade have said their operations will require 1,500ML of water a year. They say they have all the necessary entitlements in place, aquired via the key properties in their EL over which they have purchase options (plus one adjoining property, outside the EL.) The BVPA has highlighted its concerns about water, and will be having further discussions with Cascade on this point.
- The BVPA will be writing to Cascade asking that baseline monitoring of noise and dust levels be extended to a site in the Bylong village and - ideally - to a couple of other points on the Bylong side of Mt Penny.
- Director General's Requirements (DGRs) for the project are still to be issued. Cascade expect these by no later than the end of February, and possibly even as early as the end of the coming week.
We will keep everyone updated as things progress.
Visit By Cate Faehrmann (9/2)
Cate Faehrmann (Greens, NSW Upper House) visited Bylong early on Wednesday morning (9/2) as part of a tour of the Mudgee Region, which also included Wilpinjong/Moolarben/Ulan and Mudgee itself.
Cate Faehrmann (NSW Greens) visited Bylong on Wed, 9/2
Ms Faehrmann has since written to the BVPA, saying "I found it really useful to meet some of the locals and to see what's at risk" adding that "I'll be doing everything I can to keep the pressure up so that Bylong Valley is protected from coal mining".
(In Ms Faehrmann's blog you can see posts relating to her tour around mining-affected areas, including some stark images of open-cut mining in the Upper Hunter.)
'Cautious' Welcome For Coal And Gas Scoping Paper
03 Feb, 2011
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has cautiously welcomed the release yesterday (Wed 2/2/11) of a scoping paper by the NSW Department of Planning seeking input to guide the preparation of a NSW Coal and Gas Strategy. The scoping paper will be on exhibition for 10 weeks, with submissions closing mid-April.
"We've said all along that what's missing is a strategy," said Craig Shaw, BVPA Interim Secretary.
"No one has been looking at the bigger picture. No one has been able to tell you why a particular mine should happen in a particular place – other than the fact it can.
Mr Shaw said that a real concern was the issue of cumulative impacts of mine development, along with potential destruction of productive agricultural land with its attendant implications for food security.
The cumulative impacts on surface and ground water and on the Goulburn river and its catchment "should really ring alarm bells," he said, pointing to the development and expansion of the Ulan, Moolarben and Wilpinjong mines and the possibility of multiple new mines further downstream in the Bylong Valley area.
The BVPA did, however, have concerns that the scoping paper could be seen as "actually being more geared to the question of facilitating mining, rather than coming to terms with the hard questions around land use conflicts". Mr Shaw pointed out that Upper Hunter Independent candidate, Tim Duddy, had already been strongly critical of it along these lines.
"Of course, how all this fits in with the fact that there will be a State election in the middle of the process, with a possible change of Government, remains to be seen.
"The NSW Coalition has been promising a policy on this whole area for months now and we're yet to see anything.
"Hopefully now, at least, we're starting to see the skeleton of a more sensible approach being built. This more strategic thrust needs to continue, regardless of who is in power," Mr Shaw said.
[DoP 'NSW COAL AND GAS STRATEGY'] [TIM DUDDY PRESS RELEASE]
[SMH STORY]
Packed Audience For Mudgee Screening Of GasLand
26 Jan, 2011 09:13 AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
Seventy-six people attended a screening of the documentary Gasland, hosted by the Mid-Western Community Action Network (MWCAN), on Monday evening.
Before the screening, Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) interim secretary Craig Shaw outlined plans by Leichhart Resources to explore for natural gas in an area covering 1736 square kilometres of the Bylong Valley.
MWCAN secretary Rob Binks said viewers were “horrified” by the possibility that the Gasland experience could be repeated in Australia.
"People didn't realise that what is happening there might happen here," she said. [FULL STORY]
Gas Exploration Arrives In Bylong
20 Jan, 2011
On top of planned coal mines and an exploration licence application for diamonds, rubies and sapphires, comes the news that exploratory drilling for coal seam gas is about to commence near Bylong.
Queensland-based company, Leichhardt Resources, holds a licence for gas exploration (PEL 468) covering an area of 1,736 km2, stretching from Bylong and Murrumbo in the north to Olinda in the south. Leichhardt has described Bylong – along with its other exploration areas in NSW – as "prospective for coal bed methane of a commercially significant scale", adding that they "appear amenable to cost effective exploration and appraisal".
PELs shown in purple/lavender (Click for larger image)
Jodie Nancarrow, Interim President of the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, says that "it feels like we're being hit with everything at once".
"It's like there's a mining millionaires party happening in our backyard - and we're certainly not invited."
Ms Nancarrow pointed out that, immediately to the west of the Leichhardt PEL, were PELs owned by Macquarie Energy Pty Ltd.
"PEL 456 covers an area that stretches from Gulgong in the west through Munghorn to Coggan, while PEL 460 takes in large amounts of land to the north and south of Kandos and Rylstone.
"All of these areas are potentially targets for gas exploration in the future."
(6.30pm, Thurs, 20/1: We have just received information from the company that will be organising the drilling and seismic work for Leichhardt that this is delayed slightly and probably will not commence now until April. Environmental and aboriginal heritage work is, however, already underway.)
Council Backs Bylong
DARREN SNYDER
14 Jan, 2011 09:50AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
Mid-Western Regional Council (MWRC) general manager Warwick Bennett and councillors were on the same wavelength as the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) on Wednesday afternoon after discussions about the potential impacts of mining in the Bylong Valley and surrounding area.
After visiting Bylong, Mr Bennett said that he would recommend to an extraordinary meeting next week that council call for a moratorium on mining in the Bylong Valley area until the State Government addresses all the cumulative effects on mining.
"Bylong is one of the most pristine valleys in the region, if not New South Wales. The moratorium should include both project approvals and the issuing or renewal of exploration licences," he said.
BVPA interim secretary Jodi Nancarrow said Bylong had been suddenly bombarded by mining activity.
"Bylong is currently having to deal with four different coal exploration licenses, one precious metals exploration license, and a petroleum exploration license," she said.
"We’ve gone from a quiet little hamlet doing our thing and living a very nice lifestyle to being bombarded."
Ms Nancarrow said the purpose of the BVPA meeting with council lors was to show them how mining would affect the town.
"It gets confusing for people to know exactly where everything lies and who owns what and what is going on but the two active ones are the Cockatoo-Kepco deal in the Bylong Valley proper and obviously the Cascade and White Energy deal at Mt Penny," she said.
"It was nice to be able to show the general manager and councillors exactly where everything lies and exactly how we feel about it.
"We don’t want mining in this valley, full stop, we can’t co-exist, it’s too precious.
"The water is too precious, the underground water situation in Bylong is phenomenal, the place is productive and beautiful as you’ve just seen, why would you want to spoil that?"
MWRC Mayor, Des Kennedy, has said he could not believe the amount of prime agricultural land that will be gobbled up if the mines go ahead.
"The land that is proposed to be mined in the Bylong area is on prime crop and pasture land and it is clear that if any approvals are given then the Government is stating that the business of short term mining far exceeds the importance of long term agricultural values," he said.
Ms Nancarrow also said there were problems other than environmental issues, stating some property owners would be left right out of the equation.
"There’s this myth that mines are coming and we’ll be instant millionaires and unless you have the coal under your property if you live a kilometre or so away and they don’t need you they won’t even talk to you," she said.
"They treat us like mushrooms, we’re told nothing."
Ms Nancarrow did say some cooperations were beginning to consult with the community.
"They [Cascade] saw us yesterday and we’re certainly going to talk to them very soon and we’re very keen to talk to them," she said.
"We just want to have some open dialogue and some honest conversation with some of these companies."
Seismic testing has already begun near Tarwyn Park within the Cockatoo-Kepco exploration lease.
Earlier in the week, council planning staff had participated in an inter-agency site inspection for the proposed Mount Penny mine, as part of the lead up to finalisation of Director General’s requirements (DGRs) for the project.
MWRC will hold an extraordinary meeting this coming Wednesday, January 19, to finalise its input to the DGRs.
Bylong Exploration Lease Transaction Completes
31 Dec, 2010
Mudgee Guardian
Cockatoo Coal Limited announced on Christmas Eve the transfer of the Bylong Exploration Lease to their investment partners had been completed.
The transaction sees KEPCO (Korea Electric Power Corporation) acquire 100 per cent of Anglo Coal’s Bylong project with a three year call option for 30 per cent interest to Cockatoo.
In a statement from Cockatoo Coal, the Bylong Exploration Lease has been acquired to undertake exploration activities with an objective of building up sufficient information for the company and its partners to make an informed decision about the viability of the project.
Cockatoo’s Project Manager for the Bylong Project, Stuart Hides, said that Cockatoo is committed to dealing with the Bylong community in an open and transparent manner.
"Over the next few months we welcome detailed dialogue about the project, sharing information on the potential benefits for the region in terms of employment, development and investment, and addressing concerns which may be raised by the community," he said.
"I can say from the outset that Cockatoo is committed to the highest levels of practical environmental management and protection in all aspects of its operations and this will be a fundamental consideration throughout all project stages.
"The Bylong Project is at a very preliminary stage and there remains several years of planning, exploration work and environmental monitoring to be undertaken."
Cockatoo’s newly acquired Bylong Exploration Lease has been reported to have thermal coal recources up to 423 million tonnes.
Further details of the call option were released by Cockatoo Coal on the Australian Stick Exchange on July 7, 2010.
NOTE:
The project area referred to is on the eastern side of the Bylong Valley, and covers Tarwyn Park along with other significant properties. The BVPA is looking forward to hearing from Cockatoo Coal.
Christmas, Binks Style
25 Dec, 2010
BVPA Committee Member, Robbie Binks, has made sure that her whole extended family - and everyone they run into - gets the message about the mining threat to the Bylong Valley area.
Robbie had T-shirts printed up by Rob Duffy at Image Signs in Mudgee with the same wording as our bumper stickers, namely "NO MINES IN BYLONG VALLEY" - and gave them to everyone as Christmas presents.
We're told it was made very clear that wearing of the T-shirts at every available opportunity is "non-negotiable". :-)
Mount Penny Claims 'Simply Wrong'
23 Dec, 2010
Mudgee Guardian
(Letter to the Editor by Planning Minister, Tony Kelly)
NSW Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, wrote a Letter to the Editor, published in the Mudgee Guardian on Christmas Eve, rubbishing concerns expressed earlier by the BVPA regarding the Mt Penny project:
I'm disappointed a regional newspaper of the Mudgee Guardian's standard would have failed to confirm the facts before writing a story on Cascade Coal's mining application at Mt Penny (First coal, now diamonds, sapphires and rubies -December 20, 2010).
Development applications for mines are some of the most scrutinised in the NSW Planning system.
The process involves the following:
- The proponent applies for guidelines (what's called Director General's requirements) which detail what issues it must address in its environmental assessment -this can take several weeks or more;
- On receiving those requirements, the proponent must then prepare its environmental assessment - this takes months, sometimes years;
- The Department of Planning then decides if the environmentaJ assessment is worthy of being placed on public exhibition for a period of at least 30 days - often with mines it's longer or extensions are granted.
- If the environmental assessment is not adequate, it must be revised before being exhibited;
- The Department then forwards all public submissions to the proponent which must address them - this also often takes several months or longer;
- If the Department deems the responses are not adequate, the proponent must address them again; and
- Only when the Department is satisfied, will it then finalise its assessment of the project, subjecting the application to rigorous analysis.
In regards to this specific application, the above process takes us well into mid 2011 at the earliest!
This process has been in place for five years now, with the public informed at every step of the way via the Department of Planning's website. So, claims this project is being pushed through at the last minute are ridiculous and simply wrong.
So is the claim Mr Eddie Obeid's properties are also involved. I am advised the proposed area for the project does not include that land.
Finally, this environmental group, and subsequently your paper, claims I have announced I will not be standing at the next state election, as well as Mr Obeid. 1 can assure you I will be seeking Labor
Party endorsement to run again as a candidate in the Legislative Council. I understand Mr Obeid has not made any announcement on his position.
The BVPA's response to Minister Kelly was published as a Letter to the Editor in the Guardian on Friday, 7/1/11. The text of this letter appears below:
The Minister for Planning, Mr Tony Kelly, has made a number of assertions in his letter to the Guardian ("Mt Penny claims simply wrong", 24/12) that we feel demand further scrutiny and a response on our part.
Minister Kelly says that Eddie Obeid's properties are not involved in the proposed Mt Penny development. We would like to make the following points regarding that statement:
- The report in the Guardian referred to Mr Obeid, along with family associates, owning a "considerable amount of land within the Mount Penny exploration licence". This is most definitely true, despite what the Minister says. The exploration licence in question (EL7406) includes the properties "Cherrydale Park", owned by an Obeid family company, Locaway Pty Ltd, and "Coggan Creek", owned by Justin Kennedy Lewis, who has known the Obeid sons since childhood.
- The Minister now seems to be deliberately referring to the "proposed project area" rather than the totality of the exploration licence (which is what we were talking about). At this stage, information on the "proposed project area" is not publicly available, as he would well know. And even if Mr Obeid's "Cherrydale Park" is not included in this area, it is difficult to imagine that Mr Lewis' "Coggan Creek" also isn't included. (Perhaps Minister Kelly would care to enlighten us on this point?)
The Minister also explains that, on receiving the Director General's requirements (DGRs) regarding the proposed mine, the proponent "must then prepare its environmental assessment", which "takes months, sometimes years".
Given the intention announced to the ASX on 30/11/10 to commence production by 2013 (since modified to commencing construction by that date), it's difficult to imagine the process taking "years" in this particular case. This is especially true given that those involved in the proposed development are experienced "coal barons" (to use the Australian Financial Review's description), i.e. would have a very good idea as to what to expect, and that on-the-ground environmental work has been carried out in the project area since at least the first half of 2010. (Note that some of the key people involved were also involved in the development of the Ulan and Moolarben mines and therefore already know the area quite well.)
In other words, we anticipate that much of the drafting of the environmental assessment will have already been completed prior to the DGRs being issued, helping to minimise the amount of time elapsing between their release and the lodging of the EA. We will be watching with great interest to see just how long this period turns out to be.
In relation to our claim that Mr Kelly and Mr Obeid would both be retiring prior to the state election in March, that was what I (i.e. Craig Shaw, Secretary) personally had believed, but was clearly mistaken and should have double checked my facts prior to our release. I apologise unreservedly for this error.
Finally, we would make one last point. Mr Kelly refers to the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) as "this environmental group". We are not an "environmental group". We are a community-based organisation made up of concerned local landholders, residents and others, doing the best we can in a David-and-Goliath battle to protect the beautiful and agriculturally productive Bylong Valley area - from Mt Penny in the west, to Murrumbo in the east - from destructive harm of all kinds, including mining.
BVPA Says $500M Purchase Of Cascade Coal By White Energy Suggests Mount Penny Mining Lease Approval 'A Given'
23 Dec, 2010
Hot on the heels of Planning Minister Tony Kelly's assurances that decisions in relation to the Mount Penny mine "won't be rushed", comes the confirmation today of White Energy's decision to purchase the Mount Penny exploration licence from Cascade Coal for $500M.
"The decision shows the degree of confidence White Energy has that the Mount Penny mine will proceed," said Bylong Valley Protection Alliance Interim Vice President, Stuart Andrews.
"When you spend half a billion dollars, you're not expecting 'no' for an answer.
"All up, it seems to suggest that what Minister Kelly meant when he said on Tuesday any proposal would 'certainly' be given 'full scrutiny' was, in fact, that a go ahead is actually pretty much a fait accompli, although there may be more rigorous conditions imposed," Stuart said.
[AAP/SMH NEWS STORY] [WHITE ENERGY ASX ANNOUNCEMENT]
Minister Rejects Claim Mine Will Be 'Rushed Through'
21 Dec, 2010
ABC Radio
(Begin Transcript)
A group representing Upper Hunter residents wants the NSW Government to delay considering any decisions on a proposed mine near Bylong until after the state election.
A pre-Christmas application by Cascade Coal to NSW Planning for the Mount Penny project has raised local anxiety over mining in the area.
It comes with another exploration licence being sought for Bylong, south-west of Sandy Hollow, covering diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other minerals.
"The way it is looking, it looks like everything is being pushed through during the Christmas break, which is hardly a fair thing to do because a lot of the departments go on holiday," Bylong Valley Protection Alliance vice-president Stuart Andrews said.
"We would ask for, at least, any decisions to be left for the new parliament after the March election."
NSW Planning Minister, Tony Kelly, has rejected any suggestion that the mine would be 'rushed through' for approval, describing the claim as wrong.
"They have suggested that this proposal won't be given full scrutiny, it certainly will be," Mr Kelly said.
"They obviously don't understand the process or are misleading,"
"Firstly, the company has to get their mining lease, having got that they have got to get the Director-General's requirements, they have got to address those,"
"Then if they comply, its got to go back for public exhibition, so it is a very, very long process."
(End Transcript)
The BVPA would like to make the following points/observations by way of a response:
- We are very pleased to know that issues we are facing in the Bylong Valley area - including Mt Penny - are now on the Minister's 'radar'.
- We welcome his assurances that the project will not be 'rushed through' for approval and that getting to final approval (if that is the outcome) is a 'very, very long process'.
- We would like to make it clear that we are not attempting to be misleading in any way. Rather, our concerns about apparent haste have been founded in:
- There being no public comment of any kind being available on the Mount Penny development until the ASX announcement by White Energy on 30 November - an announcement that certainly gave the impression of a well-advanced project (so advanced and so implicitly 'certain' of ultimate mining approval that White Energy are potentially willing to spend $486M to purchase Cascade's exploration lease);
- The advice by White Energy in its ASX release (page 1) that production was scheduled to commence in 2013 - implying (at face value) very quick approval.
- The request for DGRs going in over the Christmas period, leaving less time than normal for a full response by Council and other agencies;
- The advertisement in the Mudgee Guardian yesterday by Cascade Coal, advising of an 'Application for Project Approval' being lodged (see further below), reinforcing the impression of a project well down the track; and
- The fact that there has undoubtedly been controversy around the whole project (as reported in the AFR, SMH and elsewhere) which has indeed given rise to local anxiety that due process might not be followed.
- Minister Kelly's comment that we "obviously don't understand the process" is fair insofar as we haven't been through this process previously and we are learning as we go - with little or no direct instructive guidance from the Dept of Planning (in as much as anything we have learnt has been very much "self-serve", relying on the DoP website and - perhaps even moreso - on the websites of others, including the Environmental Defenders Office). We are learning as fast as we can.
- To be perfectly honest, we are still a little confused by the Minister's comments regarding process flow: "Firstly, the company has to get their mining lease, having got that they have got to get the Director-General's requirements, they have got to address those." It had been our understanding that the DGRs preceeded the production of an EA (at which point there was community consultation) and then a mining lease was granted, as per information provided by the mining industry body, the Minerals Council of NSW) - and we will be seeking clarification on this point.
- Finally, we are disappointed that there still seems to be no reference to strategy development or a desire to have any rigorous framework for assessment of potential projects, particularly with regard to context and "cumulative impact" (with decisions seemingly considered instead only on a case-by-case basis).
Mt Penny - Notice Of Application For Project Approval
20 Dec, 2010
A new advertisement in appearing in the Mudgee Guardian today (Mon, 20/1) gives notice of an application for project approval for the Mt Penny mine under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. (Click image below to see a larger version. (TIP: Use your browser's 'zoom' feature to enlarge the resulting pic even further.)
Amongst other detail, the ad lists the following major proposed features of the project:
- An open cut mine producing up to 5 million tonnes per annum of run of mine coai over 21 years.
- The mine will operate up to 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
- Construction of out of pit overburden emplacement(s).
- Run of mine coal facilities to provide initial coal processing.
- Coal processing plant.
- A staged, bi-directional rail loop with associated train loading and provisioning facilities providing tor transport east or west from the project.
- Coal stockpiles, converyors and associated coal reject handling facilities.
- Construction of a 66kV power line from the Bylong substation to the site.
The ad does mention - by way of a short endnote - that these plans are nevertheless still subject "environmental assessment and public consultation requirements".
In this sense the ad is, perhaps, a little premature (and, possibly, designed to 'intimidate' to some degree), given that Director General's requirements (DGRs) under Part 3A have only just been applied for and will probably not be finalised and available to the Mt Penny project until the end of January, 2011.
The Environmental Assessment (EA) can only be finalised once the DGRs are given, although we can expect that most of the requisite work for the EA has already been done and its finalisation will be 'simply' a matter of ensuring all the DGRs are met. Thus, we can probably expect the EA to appear very soon after the end of January. It's once the EA is available that the period of public display and comment begins (usually 28 days).
Finally, note the description of location the project as the "Coggan Valley". The BVPA regards this as very much part of what we are terming "the Bylong Valley area", which stretches from the Mt Penny development in the west through to Murrumbo in the east, and from Growee Gulph in the south to the Goulburn River in the north.
First Coal, Now Diamonds, Sapphires and Rubies
ROBYN MURRAY
20 Dec, 2010 08:51 AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
The Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) has called on the Minister for Planning Tony Kelly, to rule out making any decision on mining the area until after the state election in 2011.
The BVPA's call comes after developments during the last week, including Cascade Coal's application to the Department of Planning for director general's requirement, preceding the production of an environmental assessment and application for a mining lease at Mt Penny.
Also ringing alarm bells is an application for a licence to explore for diamonds, rubies, sapphires and minerals in an area covering all of the north of Bylong Valley, from the proposed Mt Penny development area through to Murrumbo in the east.
BVPA has criticised the "unseemly haste" in both developments and the degree to which the issue of mining prime agricultural land has become "desperately overheated". [FULL STORY]
SBS's 'Costa' Throws His Support Behind Bylong And The BVPA
18 Dec, 2010
Costa Georgiadis, the wild and woolly host of SBS's "Costa's Garden Odyssey" has thrown his support behind the BVPA and its campaign against mining in the Bylong Valley area.
Mr Georgiadis was in Mudgee last week with Joel Salatin for a workshop at Milkwood Permaculture as part of the 2010 Regenerative Agriculture Workshop Series. He dropped in unannounced at the Bylong General Store last Sunday (11/12).
As it turns out, Costa is the godson of George Varvaressos, former owner of 'Budden', and spent the first months of his life in the Valley. (To read the Mudgee Guardian coverage of Costa and Joel Salatin's visit, click here.)
New Exploration Licence Application For Diamonds And Rubies - Mt Penny To Murrumbo
18 Dec, 2010
An advertisement appearing in the Mudgee Guardian (Fri, 17/10) has advised that an application has been made for yet another Exploration Licence in the Bylong Valley area.
The area involved covers all of the north of the Bylong Valley, stretching from the proposed Mt Penny development area in the west through to Murrumbo in the east (as shown below). The application is for exploration relating to diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other metallic and non-metallic minerals.
Advertisement in Mudgee Guardian (17/1), showing
the area covered by ELA4128. (Click for larger image.)
An independent (i.e. not connected with NSW Industry and Investment or the company lodging the ELA) geologist familiar with the area has advised the BVPA that the news came as "absolutely no surprise", given the geology of the area.
The applicant, Laccolith Pty Ltd is ultimately owned by a public company, Murrumbo Ltd, both of which were only formed in mid-November and both of which have their registered office in inner Brisbane.
(For reference, a laccolith is a dome or mushroom shaped geological formation resulting from the intrusion of magma between two layers of sedimentary rock. This kind of structure is, we are assuming, present underground at Murrumbo.)
Bylong Alliance Condemns 'Sneaky' Testing
Seismic survey work taking place near Bylong store
ROBYN MURRAY
17 Dec, 2010 10:28 AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
Mid-Western Regional councillors have supported the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) fight to prevent coal mining in their valley.
BVPA member Jodie Nancarrow appealed to councillors at their meeting this week to work openly with the group in its campaign against three potential coal mines in the valley.
Ms Nancarrow said that residents were concerned that council had not advised them that it had given approval for seismic testing in the valley. She said council approved the testing by Hansen Bailley on behalf of Anglo Coal in November.
Ms Nancarrow described the testing along council road reserves as "sneaky", since the crews used "Roadwork ahead" signs to hide the real nature of their work.
[FULL STORY]
[MEDIA RELEASE]
Duddy Inspires The Locals
BVPA Committee members Robbie Binks (L) and Peter Grieve (R) talk with Tim Duddy after his presentation
12 Dec, 2010
Tim Duddy, spokesman for the Caroona Coal Action Group, spoke to around 40 people at a community meeting at the Bylong Community Hall yesterday (Sat, 11 Dec), organised by the BVPA.
Tim spoke passionately about his fight with BHP Billiton and Shenhua against mining on the Liverpool Plains. He also shared valuable advice regarding strategy for the BVPA's fight to protect the Bylong Valley area from coal mining.
In response to a question from the floor, Tim said he was "still considering" whether he would run as an independent against George Souris in the Upper Hunter in March's state election.
Notes from Tim's talk will be available shortly.
Mount Penny (rear right)
White Energy Signs Option To Acquire Mt Penny From Cascade Coal
- $500M total deal (Mt Penny + Glendonbrook)
- Mine has 'conceptual development plan approval'
- Land and water rights secured for Stage 1 pit
- Planned 2013 production start date
01 Dec, 2010
Residents of the Bylong Valley have expressed their dismay at this morning's news
that White Energy has signed an option to acquire the Mt Penny coal development
property on the valley's western side.
In an announcement to the ASX dated 30/11, White Energy (ASX:WEC) revealed that it has signed a free 28 day option and exclusivity agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Cascade. Cascade owns what White Energy describes as 'the highly regarded'
EL7406 (i.e. the Mt Penny coal project) as well as EL7405 (Glendonbrook coal project, located 12km east of Singleton).
Chairman of White Energy, Travers Duncan, described Mt Penny as "a very exciting development property given its coal quality and unique infrastructure advantages". (Duncan is a former director of Cascade, who retains a 12.02% interest in the company.)
Craig Shaw, Interim Secretary of the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA),
explained that the "real shocker" was learning just how far plans seem to have
advanced for Mt Penny's development.
"We now find out they've got 'conceptual development plan approval' for the project
and are looking to commence production in 2013. It's incandescent testimony to just
how badly the whole exploration, planning and approvals process in New South
Wales sucks that we can be right next door and kept completely in the dark."
Shaw also expressed the BVPA's frustration with the lack of strategic planning around new
mine developments, not only in the Upper Hunter, but elsewhere in the State.
"There have been calls for a proper strategy for years now and they're only getting stronger.
NSW Farmers wants a moratorium on new mine development, Mid-Western Regional
Council wants the same – everyone wants to see the overall plan, but there isn't one.
It's complete and utter madness," he said.
Harvey Norman Goes Into Bat For Bylong
DON MAHONEY
26 Nov, 2010 08:51 AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey has spoken out against the proposed coal
mining of the Bylong Valley.
Mr Harvey said proposals to mine the valley,
including to Peter Andrew's "Tarwyn Park",
home of Natural Sequence Farming, were "sheer
lunacy".
"Tarwyn Park is a living case study of how we
can get it right when it comes to water use and
sustainable agriculture. The place should be a
bloody shrine, not a hole in the ground," Mr
Harvey said.
"The irony - and stupidity - of possibly losing a
place like Tarwyn Park to mining is simply
breathtaking. What the hell are they thinking?" [FULL STORY]
Hunter Stud Owner Shuts The Gate To Stop Mining Companies Bolting Across His Land
BEN CUBBY
25 Nov, 2010
(Sydney Morning Herald)
IT WAS the cradle of a national plan to regenerate farms and fight salinity, but a Hunter Valley
horse stud is now a target for a new coalmine.
Peter Andrews developed the practice of "natural sequence farming", which involves building
earthworks and planting trees to mimic original landscapes, on his property at Tarwyn Park, near
Bylong.
The practice, which was championed by the former governor-general Michael Jeffery and the
businessman and thoroughbred breeder Gerry Harvey, has since been applied to hundreds of
degraded Australian farms.
But Mr Andrews has barred his gates to Anglo American Coal workers seeking to drill bores on
the property to locate and measure the coal seams beneath it, and neighbouring landholders have
followed suit. [FULL STORY]
CLARIFICATION: 'barred his gates' refers to not having yet agreed to any access arrangements. The situation at this stage is not a 'lock out' as such.
Miners Should Let Bylong Be Bylong
STEFF WEAVER-WONG
26 Nov, 2010
(Sydney Morning Herald, Letters To The Editor)
Peter Andrews of Tarwyn Park is a mastermind in ecology. But instead of rewarding him for his
ecological achievements, our government rewards him with a "thanks very much, we'll take that
for a lump of coal" attitude ("Hunter stud owner shuts the gate to stop mining companies bolting
across his land", November 25).
How much more prime farming land can we afford to lose to mining? We too have a property in
the Bylong Valley and have our backs against the wall in a fight that is only beginning against
Kepco and Cockatoo Coal.
This is pristine, A-grade farmland with a record of producing top-quality beef. It has its own
aquifers which have provided the valley with a constant source of water for hundreds of years
and the view through the valley is breathtaking, with 150-year-old convict-built sandstone
homesteads and churches.
My three young boys won't be old enough to remember the great experiences they had on a farm
in Bylong when it becomes a coalmine. They will be old enough in the future to blame our
generation for its stupid, selfish attitude to our land, air and water.
Once the coal is gone, what will be left? It is time to rewrite legislation and use common sense.
Section 3A of the Planning Act is the most absurd, harmful piece of legislation I have ever read.
And we are at its mercy.
Stephanie Weaver-Wong Putney
Steff Weaver-Wong is the daughter of Ron and Helen Weaver, owners of 'Budden'
ROBYN MURRAY
19 Nov, 2010 09:33 AM
(Mudgee Guardian)
Bylong Valley residents are uniting to fight coal mining proposals which they fear will destroy one of Australia's most fertile and beautiful valleys.
The Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) has bought two authorities to explore 10,300 hectares at Bylong from the Anglo American Metallurgical Coal (AAMC) and plans to begin mining in 2016.
Kepco has announced plans to eventually
produce 7.5 million tons of coal a year from
open cut and underground mines in the valley.
Mt Penny Coal (Cascade Coal) and the NSW
Department of Industry and Investment also
hold exploration leases in the Bylong Valley.
Seventh generation Bylong Valley resident Peter
Grieve said mining would destroy not only
productive agricultural land and aquifers, but
also an area rich in history.
The area covered by exploration leases and
authorities includes seven historical homesteads:
Bylong Station, Sunnyside, Wingarra, Budden,
Torrie Lodge, Wigelmar and Tarwyn Park,
home of Peter Andrew's land restoration
projects, known as natural sequence farming. [FULL STORY]
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Happy New
'Year of the Farmer'
Happy New Year from the BVPA. 2012 is the Year of the Farmer. Let's make it count!
'Mining In The Bylong Valley' - a video by Hamish Andrews
(Click image to be taken to You Tube)
11 year old Hamish Andrews has produced a simple, touching video about the potential impact of mining in the Bylong Valley on his family's property, 'Tarwyn Park', as a school project. Hamish scripted the video himself, as well as taking most of the photographs. We encourage you to have a look. (Click image above to be taken to YouTube.)
(A big THANK YOU to the John Butler Trio and Phil Stevens at Jarrah Records for permission for Hamish to use JBT's 'Better Than' as his soundtrack.)
© Cathy Wilcox/SMH (used with permission)