Authorities have given the nod for a major mining extension to proceed.
The New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment recently recommended Idemitsu Australia’s Boggabri Coal Mine Modification 8 Project.
“The department considers that the project (incorporating the modification) would not result in significant impacts to groundwater resources, subject to implementation of the mitigation measures proposed by Boggabri Coal,” it said in a report obtained by Australian Community Media.
“The department considers that the benefits of the modification outweigh its residual costs and that the modification be approved, subject to the recommended amendments to the consent.”
The expansion involves increasing the approved maximum depth of mining to the Templemore Coal Seam and associated mine plan amendments to recover an further 61.6 million tonnes of run of mine coal within the currently approved mine disturbance boundary. This is promised to sustain the operation for another six years until the end of 2039.
Lock the Gate Alliance claimed the project avoided so-called independent approval processes through classifying it as a “modification”. This arguably removed the requirement for an Independent Planning Commission decision.
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