The Planning Assessment Commission meeting that will decide the fate of EnergyAustralia and Centennial Coal’s Springvale Water Treatment Project will take place on Wednesday, May 17, 9am at Lithgow’s Civic Ballroom.
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A pipeline and new water treatment facility at Mount Piper Power Station has been proposed by the companies in order for Springvale Mine to fulfill conditions for its expansion, granted in October 2015. The Department of Planning has recommended the project be approved.
Centennial Coal and EnergyAustralia say the mine cannot fulfill water quality conditions unless the plan to reuse mine water at the power station goes ahead. Centennial Coal has issued a poster claiming 600 jobs are on the line.
“The Springvale Water Treatment Project is a $100 million investment. Without this project there is no Springvale Mine and therefore no fuel for Mt Piper Power Station,” Centennial Coal spokesperson Katie Brassil said.
Mine waters pumped through the Springvale Delta Water Scheme into the Upper Coxs River Catchment currently contribute 30 per cent of the salt load in the catchment. The mine’s current license allows water of a salinity of 1,200 microSiemens per centimetre (μS/cm) to be released, however, consent conditions require this to be reduced to 1000 μS/cm by June 2017.
The conditions also mandate “the elimination of acute and chronic toxicity to aquatic species” by next month.
The development proposes to pump waste water to Mount Piper Power Station to be treated and reused in its cooling system, eliminating the need to release water into the catchment.
Conservationists, such as the Lithgow Environment Group and the Colong Foundation, support the plan, however, during the submission process expressed concerns excess water not used by the station would still be released into the catchment.
The companies have amended their plan so excess water will be stored in Thompsons Creek Reservoir for future use.
“We think our amended proposal, which incorporates the community’s suggestions and responds to feedback around discharging surplus treated water into the catchment, is a strong one,” an EnergyAustralia spokesperson said.
The proposal also includes a request to suspend water quality consent conditions until the facility is complete.
Centennial Coal has stated extension of the pipeline to nearby mine Clarence Colliery, recently in court over river pollution, is not part of their plans.
