Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697642982632.pdf (Australia)
Judith Leslie Inquiry into the rehabilitation of mining and resources projects as it relates to Commonwealth responsibilities NOTES ON NUMBERED POINTS TERMS OF REFERENCE The only personal experience I have is of The Hunter Valley and Central Rivers area.

However, this area carries the bulk of NSW coal-mining activity and the inaction of government in maintaining and monitoring mining activity.

v. Conditions of Approval is lamentable.

1.


Properly rehabilitating the devastation wrought by open-cut mining is obviously enormous and the Bonds required totally inadequate.

This leads to a Corporate mind-set that truly adequate rehabilitation is “too onerous and costly” a view that is then supported by The NSW Planning Department.

2.

Many(most) mining companies are tardy in rehabilitation activity and this is condoned by inadequate oversight.
Commonly mines dump more spoil over areas “signed-off” as “rehabilitated.

3.

Bonds are totally inadequate to meet the need to rehabilitate thus when companies leave devastation it is generally allowed to remain to spare the public purse.

4.

Environmental damage is obvious and worsened by the cancelling of “like-for-like” offsets when critical habitat is destroyed.

Open-cut mines left unrehabilitated contribute greatly to dust pollution of air with consequence to human health.

5.
5.

Mines are allowed to be abandoned without rehabilitation if deemed under “Care and Maintenance” with the same consequences as above “Care and Maintenance” is a used as a means of side-stepping rehabilitation responsibility and condoned by NSW Planning.

6.

As outlined above many mines use “C&M” as avoidance.
More critically during the original DA process companies have stated to meet their obligations would be so costly as to make the project ‘uneconomic’ and NSW Planning instead of deeming the project “uneconomic and thus unable to proceed” has allowed the proponent to proceed by deleting the obligation.

7.

Changing the need for “like-for-like” offsets is resulting in the extinction of unique flora and fauna.

8.
8.

The same workforce that despoils the land and creates final voids by placing overburden on huge piles (180m) could be employed to move that spoil and return the land more closely to its’ original form.

Rehabilitated sites could then be used for renewable energy projects utilising wind and solar.

(With silicon storage in development by “1414” a South Australian Company.

9.

Australia is the only country that allows for final voids and has no regulation or policy for their future.
There is much talk of examples of voids being transformed to water features but this is in countries where; • Voids are MUCH smaller • There is much higher rainfall and lower temperatures thus, voids may equilibrate relatively quickly.

• Voids in Australia are allowed to be created so deep that they interfere with ground-water and alluvial water and the time predicted to be taken will ensure any water is highly toxic.

10.
10.

Conditions of Consent should ensure rehabilitation and restoration of landform close to the original is an absolute requirement.

Coal-mining and coal power is not cheap if it leaves a legacy of landscape devastation and species extinction.

Rehabilitation of mining and resources projects as it relates to Commonwealth responsibilitiesSubmission 33 11.

For too long the hypothesis that coal is “cheap” has been fostered by allowing proponents to avoid the costs of repairing the damage they cause.
In NSW, around 2.5% of all government revenue comes from coal royalties.

Many(most) companies utilise complex off-shore tax haven to minimise or avoid tax thus the reward (royalties to NSW coffers) is far outweighed by what would be the real cost of rehabilitation particularly that of “final voids” (currently 30 in The Hunter) This amounts to “Profitless Prosperity” and only serves the needs of the Corporations.
Equally in today’s changed energy climate there are more potential “jobs” in renewable energy manufacture and generation than mining.

This has been proved the case in USA.

FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE POINTS RIGOROUS AND PROPER REHABILITATION SHOULD BE COSTED INTO EVERY MINING PROJECT.

Rehabilitation of mining and resources projects as it relates to Commonwealth responsibilitiesSubmission 33