After fighting off the AGL CSG project near Gloucester, community group Groundswell Gloucester today reaffirmed its opposition to the proposed Rocky Hill coal mine, as public submissions on the project closed.
Groundswell Gloucester will today hand more than 1,000 community submissions against the project to the Department of Environment and Planning.
Groundswell Gloucester Chair Julie Lyford said, "We’ve shown our strength as a community in standing up for our land and water against coal seam gas and I’m confident we’ll be able to work together to protect our community’s health and tourism industry from this damaging coal mine.
"Community submissions on the Rocky Hill project point out that the proposed mine is less than one kilometre form the Forbesdale residential estate and within five kilometres of Gloucester’s schools, hospital and most of its residents’ homes.
"This is no place for a coal mine. It’s unacceptable for our community to be put at risk of particulate pollution from open-cut mining, which is known to lead to reduced respiratory health and increased death rates in surrounding communities.
"Gloucester is home to a thriving $50 million tourism industry and protecting its sustainability along with the health of our community, is worth far more than the dubious economic claims being made by the mine’s proponents.
"Simply putting conditions on the mine will not be enough to protect our community, which has no reason to trust conditions will be complied with, based on past experience in Gloucester and the Hunter Valley of conditions, such as night-time work hours, being changed.
"The only acceptable outcome is for the state government to reject this damaging project outright," Ms Lyford said.