Only two out of more than 250 submissions in response to the Morrison Government’s Kurri Kurri gas fired power plant supported the project, evidence Lock the Gate says shows there is near universal opposition to the polluting and uneconomic gas-fired flop.
The EIS for the project also came in for heavy criticism from the NSW Environment Protection Authority in its submission, which said it had not met the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements.
The breakdown of submissions in response to proponent Snowy Hydro’s Environmental Impact Statement for the facility was:
221 public submissions: 217 objections, three comments, and one supportive submission.
26 organisation submissions: 24 objections, one comment, and one supportive submission.
10 public authority submissions: all of which were comments.
Lock the Gate Alliance NSW spokesperson Georgina Woods said, “The overwhelming number of submissions opposed to the Morrison Government's foolish Kurri Kurri gas plant demonstrates that the public has seen through the political spin and rejects this project.
“No one wants this gas-fired failure.
“The NSW EPA in particular notes the poor standard of the plant’s environmental impact statement, stating it does not ‘adequately assess the potential impacts to air quality and noise’.”
“This is unforgivable in the Hunter Valley, where unacceptable air quality is already a serious problem due to the presence of many open cut coal mines.
“In fact, as the EPA also points out, Snowy Hydro has not conducted an ozone and inter-regional transport assessment, despite the proposed plant expected to emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), pollutants that form ozone by reacting with heat and sunlight.
“It’s also frankly bizarre Snowy Hydro has said the existing background noise amenity is urban, instead of accurately describing it as rural-residential and farmland.
“It is clear this dog’s breakfast of an EIS was rushed through in order to back-up the Morrison Government's ill-considered announcement of $600M in public funding for the project.”