Much has changed on the Hunter Valley coal front over the past few years, the figures speak for themselves.

The New South Wales Government earned $1.227 billion in coal royalties paid by Hunter Valley coal companies in the 2008/09 financial year.

Ten years ago that figure was a mere $197.03million.

In 2000 67 million tonnes of coal was produced from Hunter Valley Coal Mines

In 2007/08 that figure almost doubled to 112 million tonnes.

In that same period an additional 15.4 million tonnes of coal headed to the export market.

Back in 2000 there were 26 open cut and underground coal mines in operation. Five less exist for 2007/08 but the operations of today are far bigger. Some operations have brought multiple mines into the one operation so a fairer measurement is the hectares under mining.

That measurement is not easily found because of the underground operations.

And the mining isn’t about to stop or slow down any time soon.

There are two new proposed mines in the Hunter Valley which include Blakefield South at Beltana near Muswellbrook and Mount Pleasant adjacent to Bengalla also at Muswellbrook.

There are five proposed expansions of existing mines according to 2009 coal Industry Profile.

There are currently seven mines under construction. This includes Mangoola mine 10km from Denman, Glennies Creek and Mt Arthur underground.

Back in 1990 coal mining in the Hunter Valley provided 4,400 direct jobs. That figure almost doubled for 2007/08 to 8,384.

As at June 30, 2009, the Hunter Valley coal industry employed approximately 7,200 people in open cut mines alone.

According to a spokesperson from Industry and Investment New South Wales, the mining industry provides jobs to rural and regional communities, directly supporting an estimated 17,000 jobs in New South Wales.

Besides the money and the jobs, there is the fact that Australia is increasingly dependent on coal for energy supply.

“Coal keeps the lights on, it keeps computers going, it helps keep us cool in summer and warm in winter,” the spokesperson said.

A massive 90 per cent of the total electricity needs of New South Wales are met with locally mined thermal coal.

No coal - no lights.

No coal - no $1.227 billion in coal royalties.

No coal - no 17,000 jobs and the rest.

It is a fact understood well locally.

It is why Singleton’s economy survived last year’s global economic crisis barely touched.

But with all this cash and coal comes a growing environmental movement calling on environmental and health studies.

A request for a cumulative impact study to ascertain the overall effect of the combination of the power and mining industry has been mooted as far back as the 1990s.

A call for a health study has gained momentum in recent months with the formation of the Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group.

As yet requests for the cumulative impact study, appropriate dust compound monitoring and a health study remained unanswered.

History of the Hunter’s coal fields

THICK coal seams exposed in cliff faces near the mouth of the Hunter River caused a great deal of excitement with the first European visitors to the region.

From 1798 enterprising ships’ captains called at the river mouth to cut out coal for sale in Sydney, the sailors doubling as labourers to hew out the coal.

This early trade was lucrative enough for Governor King to declare Crown ownership of the coal and issue licences to mine the area.

It is widely accepted that rough hewn coal from Newcastle was among the first exports from New South Wales.

It was recorded that by 1805 some 1250 tonnes of coal were mined and 84 tonnes valued at just 45 pounds, was shipped from Newcastle.

As far back as 1875 coal was produced from the Rixs Creek Colliery near Rixs Creek, about five kilometres north-west of Singleton.

Records show that, in that year, two men produced 500 tonnes of coal from that colliery.

The annual Report of the Department of Mines for 1880 shows that three collieries - Rixs Creek, Singleton Coal Mining Company and Longworth’s Mine were in operation.

In that year the 39 men employed at these collieries produced 6,753 tonnes of coal.

That’s a far cry from the billion dollar coal industry of 2010 but goes to show Singleton has produced coal over a very long period of time.

It was from 1971 that the real wealth of this precious resource started to be recognised.

A wave of investment from this time resulted in large-scale open cut coal mines in Singleton.

This investment has been ongoing sparking economic growth, prosperity, domestic and residential development since.

Close proximity to the coal fields was catalyst for the construction of Liddell Power Station in the early 1970s and Bayswater Power Station in the 1980s.

The NSW Planning Minsiter Tony Kelly gave concept approval for a third power station near the existing Liddel and Bayswater in March this year.

Bayswater B is a 2000 megawatt power station powered by either coal or natural gas.

Still no response for health study request

THE Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group was formed on November 11, 2008.

The group is a mix of Singleton residents who stepped forward after a public meeting of some 300 people decided it needed answers on air quality and human health.

That group has met on numerous occasions.

Exactly a year after the group formed, a 42-page submission had been prepared by the committee putting out an urgent call for an independent scientific study to ascertain the relative health status of Singleton residents and the risk imposed by poor air quality.

The submission formally asks the State Government to immediately commission independent studies to assess the relative health and health risks of the residents of Singleton Shire against other rural shires and State averages; and establish continuous, real-time equipment to monitor and report on the concentrations of all toxic pollutants in the air to which residents are exposed.

The group identified 37 known pollutants from the National Pollutants Inventory.

The group wants to know the levels of these pollutants and if they are having an impact on human health.

The group is acting on behalf of the 300 people who made the effort to attend that meeting back in 2008.

The State Government was given the submission in November 2009 and did not even acknowledge that they had received it until mid March after wider media attention.

Sydney Morning Herald journalist Jennie Curtin this week reported the Hunter Valley as being one of the State’s most polluted areas because of the number of coal-based activities here.

“Singleton is one of the worst towns, surrounded by at least seven mines which together produce more than 18 million kilograms of dust, 7.4 kilograms of nitrogen oxides and 4.9 million kilograms of carbon monoxide in the 2008/09 year.”

The Singleton group understands and accepts coal mining is a fact of life.

What they want is a moratorium on new mining projects until there is a better understanding of the impact such large scale coal mining and power production is having on human health.

A health study will do exactly that.

Debate is not new

July 2007

Cr Paul Nichols calls for a round table discussion with the mining industry and State Government to address dust issues. Still hasn’t happened.

October 2007

Cr Paul Nichols said the social impact of mining on rural villages such as Camberwell and Jerrys Plains was just as important an issue as pollution.

July 2008

A public meeting addressed by Drs Barry Thomas and Tuan Au calls on Singleton Council to hold a health forum. That forum has not taken place.

October 2008

Mine Watch NSW launches a petition calling for a health study.

November 2008

Newcastle University academics speak at a public meeting raising health concerns, especially among children.

November 2008

Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group is formed.

December 2008

State Government announces impact study for Camberwell.

January 2009

Hunter Environment Lobby pushes to have one of the Hunter’s two dust monitors moved to the Upper Hunter.

March 2009

Department of Environment, Climate Change and water says no to dust monitor relocation.

March 2009

Dr Tuan Au, fed up with waiting for the State Government to launch a full health study of the impacts of air pollution, begins his own study.

April 2009

State Government begins a cumulative impact study on Camberwell and promises to have results June or July 2009. Results still haven’t been released.

August 2009

Clean Air Society of Australia workshop in Singleton says the dust in the air is impacting health.

October 2009

State Government announces air quality network but community says it falls short of what is needed. It is not the dust, it is what is in the dust.

November 2009

Singleton Shire Healthy Environment Group send submission requesting health study to State Government - still no response.

December 2009

World dust expert Dr Dick Van Steenis tells a public meeting in Singleton that air quality is severely compromised in the Hunter Valley because of coal fuelled power generation.

2010

Wider media attention takes up the debate.