“Doctors for the Environment see a clear interconnection between environmental health and human health. That’s why its good to have laws that aim to protect drinking water quality, which have pleasingly been upheld in the court,” he said.

“The interpretation and application of those laws should not be eroded by industrial lobbying.” 

Springvale Mine’s  2015 approval to continue and expand operations is being challenged in the Land and Environment Court, as the Court of Appeal found the mine would not have a ‘neutral of beneficial’ impact on Sydney’s water supply as required by NSW planning laws. 

Mine waters pumped through the Springvale Delta Water Scheme into the Upper Coxs River Catchment are highly saline, currently contributing to 30 per cent of the salt load in the catchment. A report commissioned by Centennial Coal found mine water released at discharge points (before mixing with river water) exceeded trigger values for pH, salinity, nitrogen, phosphorus, bicarbonate alkalinity and bromide. 

Dr Stiles said it was difficult to link specific chemical irregularities with particular health issues. 

“However, we do have to aim for fairly clean quality guidelines because clean drinking water is a very basic element of human health. In countries where water quality is compromised it becomes one strand of human illness,” Dr Stiles said. 

The doctor, who practices at Bowenfels Medical Practice and the Upper Mountains Medical Centre said he was particularly concerned with the “pattern of behaviour” of industry in the region when it came to environmental protection. 

“I am aware of the challenges the court case poses for the state’s electricity supply but Centennial have known about the regulatory requirements for at least two years and now that time is up they are requesting for urgent special processes to be put in place,” he said. 

“If they were honorable corporate citizens they would have already had plans in place to meet the laws before PAC said you need to have a desalination plant.”

“I think they are making a big song about the position they are in but its there own position, the PAC allowed them to keep polluting the Coxs River for two years and they’ve done nothing to address it.”

Centennial Coal and Energy Australia sought to build a water treatment facility to comply with PAC consent conditions to reduce waste water salinity by more than half by 2019. The treatment facility, approved earlier this year, would remove the need for any waste water to enter the Coxs River but would not be complete until 2019.

Included in the PAC approval for the facility was a waiver of the 2015 consent condition to reduce salinity by a third by June of this year.