KEPCO Open Letter

Can you help us get the ear of the KEPCO CEO? We're calling on him to sell the land back for agriculture so our community can rebuild. Will you join us?

Phill Kennedy, President, Bylong Valley Protection Alliance

Dear Cheong Seung-il, CEO, KEPCO,

Today the NSW Court of Appeal ruled against KEPCO on appeal which means that the proposed Bylong coal project cannot proceed.

We, the undersigned, are calling on you to respond by relinquishing the exploration lease for the project and selling the land back to agricultural interests. We can see no valid basis for KEPCO to continue with the project.

The Bylong proposal is beset by severe environmental, social and economic risks. There is fierce and widespread opposition to the project in Australia and both of KEPCO’s legal challenges have failed.

It is also a legacy project planned and conceived many years ago that now has no place given the energy transformation that is underway.

South Korea’s new electricity plan - finalised in December 2020 - will see thermal coal consumption drop by almost 19 million tonnes per annum by 2030. The Bylong coal project is inconsistent with this Green New Deal that is underway.

We note that KEPCO has advised the Korean Government that they have recently had an offer for purchase of the land from agricultural interests.

In order to avoid sinking yet more large sums of money into a stranded asset that will besmirch KEPCO’s reputation, we encourage you to relinquish the exploration lease and enable the land to be returned to agriculture and nature conservation.

Regenerative agriculture and carbon farming at Bylong would provide a global climate benefit that would be a credit to KEPCO.

Please act now to relinquish the exploration lease and enable the local community to rebuild around a new, clean future.

Will you sign?

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Showing 30 reactions

Lesley Manwaring signed 2021-09-17 09:47:58 +1000

Bylong should be kept for farm land and nothing else
Peter Monaghan signed 2021-09-17 09:46:39 +1000

First step to rebuilding the Bylong community is to get General Store open and serving the best coffee in town.
Andrew Little signed 2021-09-17 09:37:37 +1000
judy Monaghan signed 2021-09-17 09:35:33 +1000

Please allow the community of Bylong to rebuild.
Lorraine Ross signed 2021-09-17 09:17:56 +1000

Please allow our farmers to gain their land back. It’s an important farm area to our region and country.
Maree Gardner signed 2021-09-17 08:59:25 +1000
James Sweetman signed 2021-09-17 08:41:53 +1000
Julie Sweetman signed 2021-09-17 08:18:57 +1000
Wendy Wright signed 2021-09-17 08:13:15 +1000
Peter Brown signed 2021-09-17 07:51:23 +1000
Jenny Loughlin signed 2021-09-17 07:50:21 +1000
James Nutting signed 2021-09-17 07:38:41 +1000

Please let the farmers produce food.
Sarah V signed 2021-09-17 07:33:42 +1000
Lois O'Connor signed 2021-09-17 07:25:04 +1000
Jacqueline Holmes signed 2021-09-17 07:19:37 +1000
Helen Barnett signed 2021-09-17 07:08:55 +1000
Tim Cheetham signed 2021-09-17 07:04:18 +1000
David Evans signed 2021-09-17 06:59:17 +1000
Louise Mcdonald signed 2021-09-17 06:58:50 +1000
Prue Robertson signed 2021-09-17 06:49:02 +1000
Ross McKinney signed 2021-09-17 06:38:40 +1000

So destructive to present & future generations. Some how, we must stop these ‘cash cows ‘ influencing decision makers!
Nola Richmond signed 2021-09-17 06:31:58 +1000
Jason Robinson signed 2021-09-17 06:11:28 +1000
carl heydon signed 2021-09-17 05:52:35 +1000
Katarina Landerstedt signed 2021-09-17 04:15:18 +1000
Charlie Begg signed 2021-09-17 00:02:04 +1000

As a sheep and cattle farmer myself – I fully support returning the land in the bylong valley to the local farmers.

I have driven the Bylong valley road as my brother lives at Orange NSW and I live on the farm at the top of the Hunter valley of NSW. The Bylong valley is amazing agricultural country that should be used to produce food and fibre to help feed and clothe a growing world population.

I have long been seriously concerned about effects of digging massive holes in the ground to mine for an increasingly out dated product like coal. The mining process can and has ripped underground acquifures that supply farmers with water especially during long droughts like many on the east coast have have just seen. This removes a farmers water supply and puts it in the lowest point – the coal mine.

Which the coal company then has to pay to pump or truck out the water, while the farmer has no water. As per this link –

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/environment/sustainability/water-spat-at-werris-creek-coal-mine-fans-farmers-fears-about-shenhua-super-pit-20151023-gkh4ml.html

I am also seriously concerned about the effects of man made climate change which coal mining has a negative effect on the environment.

We spent the years 2017 to 2019 hand feeding our sheep and cattle to survive. Yes we decreased our numbers and it’s only now that we are starting to get them back up again. But with the prices so high we can’t afford to buy them. It’s only that we were able to keep some cows during the drought that we are able to breed our way out of the drought.

Coal has lost its social license here in Australia and there is a growing number of people who would like to see the end of coal mining. Despite your likely conservative opinions It’s not coming back.

You have lost how many times and in how many courts ? I think it’s about 3, how many more times do you need to loose before you realise that you have lost? Sinking how much money in the process ???

As for covid – I believe it all started because a Chinese person ate a bat which is not accepted in western cultures. Bats are full of dirty diseases and thus we end up with a global pandemic. I believe the Chinese person ate the bat because that is what he or she could afford to buy. Maybe if farmers could feed the world then we wouldn’t have a global pandemic on.

I urge you to sell the land in the bylong Valley back to the farmers – they need it to help feed and clothe the human race.
ron blankenforth signed 2021-09-16 23:01:13 +1000
Val Wheatley signed 2021-09-16 22:59:22 +1000

I experience immense grief due to the destruction of the environment due to coal but harbour great hope that we can ditch fossil fuels and rejuvenate our land an all can live a sustainable and viable future.
Susan Kilminster signed 2021-09-16 22:50:23 +1000
Lisa Defazio signed 2021-09-16 22:44:03 +1000