The Muswellbrook community is bracing for the massive expansion of Mt Pleasant coal mine after the Land and Environment Court upheld the approval for the 444Mt project by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) in September 2022. [1]
MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project is destined to make the mine one of the largest open-cut projects in NSW.
The IPC approval allows MACH to extract 21Mt/y of coal up to 2048, 22 years longer than the previous approval, which expires in 2026. Over the life of the project, the company would extract 444Mt of coal that when burned would add 870 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere.
The Optimisation Project also threatens a rare, recently discovered species of lizard (the Hunter Valley Delma), and will degrade air quality for residents of Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter, which already has some of the worst air pollution in Australia.
Local environment group, DAMS HEG Inc [2], represented by the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), launched legal proceedings in December 2022 to overturn the IPC approval, arguing the commission had failed to adequately consider the climate, biodiversity and air quality/health impacts of the project.
Today Justice Robson dismissed DAMS HEG’s application, upholding the IPC’s 2022 approval.
Justice Robson said while the case was brought in the “utmost public interest” and that there was “no doubt that the continuation of coal mining will contribute to the global total of greenhouse gas concentrations which affects the climate system and causes climate change impacts” the court could not review the merits of the mine itself, only whether the decision to approve it was made lawfully.
DAMS HEG Treasurer Tony Lonergan said: “The court’s decision today is not only extremely disappointing, but also a devastating blow to anyone who cares about a safe climate.
“What could be more important than protecting our unique natural heritage and biodiversity or ensuring we can breathe clean air in Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter.
“The continuation of coal mining in NSW prioritises the private interests of a few over the impacts of climate change on the NSW environment and the future of our children and grandchildren.
“Our planning laws are clearly not climate ready if projects as harmful as the Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project are allowed to proceed.
“Addressing global warming means cutting our greenhouse gas emissions. Political parties have to face reality. Do you want to address this existential problem or not? Stop pretending.
“While today’s decision is a setback, it will not deter DAMS HEG from continuing our fight for environmental justice in our region and beyond.”
DAMS HEG challenged IPC’s approval on several grounds, including the failure to adequately consider:
- the impact of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions on the NSW environment,
- the newly discovered lizard, Delma vescolineata; and
- the project’s impact on the already problematic air pollution in Muswellbrook and the Upper Hunter and the increased health risks to these communities.
REFERENCES
[2] DAMS HEG is the Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group Inc.
MEDIA CONTACT: James Tremain | 0419 272 254
BACKGROUND
About the Mount Pleasant coal mine expansion
Approval to develop the Mount Pleasant coal mine was granted to Rio Tinto by the NSW Planning Minister in 1999. The mine was sold to Mach Energy in 2016, and the mine constructed in 2018 (modification 4). The consent has been modified five times, in 2011, 2017, twice in 2018, and most recently in September 2022.
The Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project, the expansion approved by the Independent Planning Commission in September 2022, allows for a doubling of production to 21MT/yr of coal until 2048, which is a total of around 444 Mt of ROM coal over the life of the project.
If the IPC approval were to stand, Mount Pleasant Coal Mine would become one of the largest open-cut coal mines in NSW.
About the DAMS HEG Inc
Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group Inc is a local community organisation concerned about the environmental, social and economic impacts of continuing and prolonging coal mining in the Upper Hunter. It provides a community voice to industry and all levels of government in defence of the natural environment, in the interests of human health and wellbeing, and the protection of biodiversity.
About the Hunter Valley Delma
The Hunter Valley Delma (Delma vescolineata) was first discovered in 2012 and confirmed as a distinct species in 2022. It only occurs in the Hunter Valley and Liverpool Plains of NSW.
