Farmers have denounced KEPCO’s attempt to renew its Bylong coal mine exploration licence, more than five years after the multinational’s plans to build a new mine were first rejected following a hard fought community campaign.
Department of Planning records show KEPCO applied to renew its Bylong Valley coal exploration licence on 17 December last year.
The State Government’s mining titles website, MinView, indicates the exploration licence was renewed on January 12 (See below screenshot) however, public comments by departmental spokespeople indicate it is still under assessment.
In 2022, the High Court declined to hear KEPCO’s appeal against the 2019 Independent Planning Commission ruling to refuse the mine.
However, the company refused to relinquish its tenements and still owns many properties in the district totalling around 30,000 acres, including the general store, which has been closed for more than two years.
Bylong Valley farmer Phillip Kennedy said, “KEPCO has ripped the spirit out of the Bylong Valley. Farms bought up by KEPCO covering 30,000 acres that were once owned by local families are now leased to a corporation.
“We’ve got some of the best soils in the state in this valley, underpinned by a healthy, precious water source - an underground aquifer. For KEPCO to threaten this with continued pursuit of coal mining is a national shame.
“The NSW Minns Government can put an end to this sorry saga by refusing KEPCO’s application to renew its coal licence. We’re really hoping it’s not going to side with a multinational coal company and will instead stand with Aussie farmers on this one.”
Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator Nick Clyde said, “This sorry situation really exposes the weaknesses and flaws of the management of coal titles in NSW.
“Coal mining exploration licences should never have been granted at Bylong in the first place - given it is an agricultural foodbowl, surrounded on all sides by stunning mountains and spectacular national parks.
“After KEPCO’s coal mine proposal was rejected emphatically by the Independent Planning Commission, the NSW Land and Environment Court, and then the High Court, their exploration licences should have been immediately extinguished.
“Instead, locals are still living with uncertainty.”
ENDS
