After considerable stakeholder review, including public hearings in Wollongong, the mine finally received the department’s approval in late June.

 

The project was the first to be scrutinised by the Planning Assessment Commission.

 

But Rivers SOS challenged the project approval, with the first hearing held yesterday in the state’s Land and Environment Court.

 

A Department of Planning spokesperson said the state government would strongly defend the approval of the mining project.

 

He said the decision by Planning Minister Kristina Keneally followed an extensive assessment process by the department, including technical review by the PAC and two public hearings.

 

“A number of strict conditions were placed on the approval of the project to protect Sydney’s drinking water supply,” he said.

 

Legal firm Maddocks is yet to provide details of the case against the department to ILN.

 

An alliance of environmental and community groups, Rivers SOS is lobbying the NSW government to prevent all mining within a 1km zone of rivers and significant streams.

 

In her June announcement, Keneally told state Parliament the Metropolitan expansion project approval provided protection for the Waratah Rivulet and Eastern Tributary from the impact of subsidence.

 

“It imposes a barrier underneath those important waterways,” she said.

 

“No mining will occur there. The result of this barrier is that 8.6 million tonnes of coal – nearly three years worth – will not be mined and these important waterways will be protected.”

 

Peabody spokesperson Jennifer Morgans previously told ILN the barrier was an environmental pillar which protected the Worona reservoir but also afforded protection to a number of Aboriginal heritage sites, upland swamps and cliff lines in the area.

 

Metropolitan plans to use mine backfill technology to emplace coal washing underground.

 

“If successful in our application, it will eliminate the need to truck waste offsite,” Morgans said.

 

The expansion will see the longwall mine, near Helensburgh, ramp up from 1.5 million tonnes to 3Mt of run-of-mine coal a year from the Bulli seam for 25 years.

 

It is expected 2.8Mt per annum of hard and semi-hard coking coal will be produced for export and domestic markets.

 

Infrastructure development includes an upgrade to the coal handling and processing plant to reach throughput of around 600t per hour.