The NSW Government is waving through coal projects that will be responsible for hundreds of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution without independent determination.
A Lock the Gate analysis, based on publicly available data provided by coal companies themselves, reveals nine of the at least 17 coal mine expansions planned for NSW are avoiding Independent Planning Commission scrutiny because companies are submitting them as “modifications”.
That means they are determined internally by the Planning Department, rather with the additional scrutiny and public hearing the IPC affords.
This “modification” assessment pathway is only supposed to be used to make changes that don’t substantially alter the development in question, like upgrades to a water treatment plant, or minor road realignments, for example.
But the nine examples highlighted in the table below show how this modification pathway is allowing some coal companies to dig entirely new pits, while others are digging deeper, and for longer.
Of the nine modifications, four have provided their estimated greenhouse gas emissions figures. These four projects would be responsible for a whopping 324 million tonnes of life cycle CO2-e emissions. That’s almost two and a half times the volume of emissions NSW produced in 2019 - from just four coal mines that aren’t subject to independent scrutiny.
Lock the Gate Alliance NSW Coordinator Nic Clyde said, “It is unacceptable for the NSW Planning Department to make decisions about such massive coal mine expansions without the transparency and community engagement that the Independent Planning Commission affords.
“Before it was elected, NSW Labor committed to assessing coal projects independently. Lock the Gate’s analysis shows that for half of the new coal expansions being proposed, that’s not happening.
“It’s also difficult to see how the NSW Minns Government can make good on its new emissions reduction targets while simultaneously waving through new polluting coal expansions and extensions.
“We’re really concerned that big coal companies are using the modification loophole to incrementally expand coal mines when larger expansions were previously rejected by the IPC, or where they face unwavering community opposition. This is the expansion of the coal mining sector by stealth - it’s a bonafide coal mod con on the NSW public.
“The International Energy Agency has warned that no new fossil fuel projects or expansions can be built if the world is to maintain a safe climate. For these new coal projects to be sneaking through the system without independent scrutiny and transparency is an insult to NSW communities who are already grappling with the impacts of climate change.”
ENDS
Case studies:
These coal mine modifications do more harm than just the emissions they release - their direct impacts can be catastrophic for local communities and the environment.
For example:
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Idemitsu’s Boggabri Modification 8, approved by the department earlier this year, would dig deeper into the water table, draining up to 712 million litres of groundwater each year.
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Tahmoor South, which only recently received IPC approval to massively expand operations and continue mining for an extra decade, has just lodged a modification request. If approved, it would allow Tahmoor Coal to mine an entirely new longwall, bringing mining closer to a waterway and native bushland, and extending the life of the project beyond the IPC approved closure date.
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MACH Energy has an existing approval for a large expansion at its Mt Pleasant coal mine, but that project is currently being challenged in court on two fronts - part of the LIving Wonders legal case Federally and also by the local community in the NSW Land and Environment Court. Apparently fearing it will lose those case/s, MACH has lodged a modification application for an expansion that is about half the size of the projects before the courts, but which will still mine an additional 57 million tonnes of coal.
The coal projects escaping independent scrutiny*:
|
Project |
Status |
Coal to be mined as part of modification |
Total emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) where available |
|
State Government approved. Awaiting Federal Government assessment. |
|||
|
Undergoing state government assessment. |
|||
|
Undergoing state government assessment. |
|||
|
Community Consultation Committee minutes from last year show the company is “preparing a modification (MOD 8) to extend mining out till 2029. |
If current rates of mining continue, 4.5 million tonnes over three years. |
NA |
|
|
In the early stages of preparing a modification report after the IPC rejected its planned expansion. |
|||
|
In the early stages of preparing a modification report. |
NA, however Metropolitan produced 1.9MT of ROM coal in 2019. |
NA |
|
|
Preparing a modification report. At the same time, Mount Pleasant wants to massively expand its operations, however it faces legal challenges on two fronts. |
57 million tonnes of additional coal (total 142 million tonnes). The contested expansion would permit the mining of 192 million tonnes overall. |
NA |
|
|
Preparing a modification report. |
Unclear. Currently authorised to mine up to 4 million tonnes per annum. |
NA |
|
|
Preparing a modification report |
NA |
NA |
*Wollongong Coal recently announced plans to close its Russell Vale Colliery, however previously indicated it wished to proceed with a “modification 2” expansion. We have not included this project in the above, given the company’s recent public statements.