Showing Uncanny Ability To Ignore Everything, NSW Gov Pitching New Coal Developments NW Of Sydney

Farmers and activists in NSW’s Bylong Valley say they are concerned about the damage to water quality and prime agricultural land in the area if development of two coalfields is given the green light by the state government.

The NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro, has confirmed to locals Guardian Australia’s report in October that the state’s powerful advisory body for strategic release has recommended opening up for development two coalfields in the area: Wollar and Hawkins-Rumker.

Consideration of the new areas comes after NSW’s Independent Planning Commission rejected Korean company Kepco’s proposal to build a $260m coalmine in the valley at nearby Mudgee because it threatened groundwater and farming, in addition to failing to do enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions. The fate of the IPC is now in the balance, with a review of its role under way following a furious campaign against it by the mining lobby and the Daily Telegraph.

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However, local residents are concerned about a lack of clarity about the size and shape of the nearby Hawkins-Rumker field – a name which has previously attached to vast 830 sq km area stretching north from near the town of Rylstone that was drilled by the government in 2015. The area under consideration now is “smaller”, Barilaro’s spokeswoman said. “It’s a huge map and they won’t come out and define anything,” a local farmer, Phil Kennedy, told Guardian Australia. Kennedy, who has just been elected president of the Bylong Valley Progress Association, runs sheep and beef cattle on a 1,200ha property that at its southern end falls within the Hawkins-Rumker area set out on a map published by the state government in 2015.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/11/farmers-in-nsws-bylong-valley-fear-for-water-and-prime-land-if-coalfields-developed