Monday's Independent Planning Commission (IPC) public meeting to determine the future of Rix's Creek open cut is sure to include some scathing comments from community members and groups on the ability of the Department of Planning to assess major mining projects.
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With registration to speak at the meeting, to be held at the Civic Centre from 10:00am, closing today a letter was sent by Howard Reed, director Coal and Quarries, Energy and Resource Assessments to the IPC on July 23 stating:
I write to advise you that the Department has identified an inadequacy in the Bloomfield Group's assessment of air quality impacts resulting from the Rix's Creek Continuation of Mining Project.
The air quality impact assessments provided to date in respect of the Project have not considered a number of sensitive receivers. The Department has discussed this matter with Mr Geoff Moore, of the Bloomfield Group, and the company has committed to provide an addendum report which will focus on potential impacts to each of these receivers as soon as practicable, which it expects will not be before 9 August.
I will write to you again when that information is received and I can commit to a timeline to provide an addendum to the Department's assessment report currently under consideration by the Commission. Kind regards,
Howard Reed Director Coal & Quarries
The Department's final assessment report on the project was published in June 2019 - giving it a tick of approval but nearly a month later a major component of any mining project its air quality assessment is now called 'inadequate'.
The IPC told the Singleton Argus once the new air assessment report was made available anyone in the community would have seven days to comment on the report.
However, Deidre Olofsson who was planning to make a submission to the IPC meeting on Monday, told the Argus as the addendum report or assessment report for air quality will not be available until August 9, 2019, this clearly disadvantages the general public and other departments to make clear judgement of the material.
Therefore she has requested that the IPC provide an for extension of time to make a submission related to air quality and also the assessment report by the Department should be considered at the end of September 2019.
Rix's Creek mine is owned and operated by the Bloomfield Group who are seeking extend the life of by 21 years and extract a further 25 million tonnes of coal.
Bloomfield state the project will provide employment for 255 full time employees and 44 full time equivalent contractors and produce net wages of $21 million injected into the Hunter community annually.
Louise Nichols
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
From cattle to coal. Once a specialist agriculture writer today its about community, in particular, the Upper Hunter. I have lived and worked in the region for more than 30 years. Land use issues and the future direction of our region. But you cannot take ag out of the picture - our food and how we grow it is the basis of all life. Covering the Hunter and Mid North Coast rural issues is now part of my role with ACM.
