[Forum] I write in response to Cr Troy Marquart’s comments on the Wallarah 2 Coal Mine, published in edition 488, calling the Council’s opposition to the coal mine “environment crap”.
The Wallarah 2 project has been on the Council’s agenda for over a decade.
While I was on Wyong Council, we debated, had briefings, received reports and got community feedback regarding this project.
From the start, Council has always been opposed to this project. The community doesn’t want it either. The major issues which were of concern was the real threat that the mine would endanger our water supply, the coal dust at the mine head, mine subsidence and the number of workers that could be possibility employed through the 457 Visa scheme, (workers from overseas) not our own locals.
During briefings to the Estuary Management Committee, a question was asked about mining under the Wyong River to which the company representative stated, to the best of my recollection, that the mine would stop 500m from the river. When questioned about the zone of influence in relation to mine subsidence, stopping the cut 500m short of the river’s edge gave no guarantees that if this section was to subside it would not affect the riverbed.
This means that if the river bed was to subside, it could potentially severely effect the Central Coast’s main water source. This was just one of the reasons Council never favored the mine. There was never any guarantees from the mines parent company Kores (Korean-based) that if the riverbed was to subside and effect our water that they would fix the problem.
Also, there were never any offers of royalties to be paid to the Council for taking this resource from under us and shipping it off to Korea.
There are other issues and concerns about this mine.
Email, 20 Feb 2020
Carl Veugen, Umina