BHP Billiton has dropped plans to mine coal under the Dharawal State Conservation Area in the northern Illawarra, saying the company had listened to concerns from environmentalists and the community.
The mining giant's subsidiary Illawarra Coal had planned to continue the life of its Bulli Seam mines by extending long-wall mining west of the Appin Mine and east of the West Cliff operation.
The plan forecast a 30-year extension of the mines' lives, creating 1170 jobs at the peak of construction and continuing the jobs of about 870 people who work at the mines.
But Illawarra Coal yesterday revealed it had submitted an amended proposal for mining of the Bulli Seam, removing five large mining areas near the Woronora River, Cataract River, O'Hares Creek and the 226 swamps that feed the rivers.
The area excluded from the plan is about one-third of the original area and removes all mining near the Dharawal State Conservation Area.
Illawarra Coal general manager of sustainable development and external affairs John Brannon said the area excluded held about 100 million tonnes of coal but the company wanted to "get the balance right".
"We decided there was concern in the community about our ability to mine sustainably in this area," he said.
"If you look at the concerns people have been expressing about the project, they've been related to the upper Georges River and the swamps that feed the Georges River.
"We recognise there are concerns people have about that. We will go away and do some further studies in those areas ... with a view to assuring people we can mine there without undue impact on the environment."
Mr Brannon said the company was not giving up on the five areas but they have been put on hold indefinitely, with no timeline about when a new application would be submitted.
Despite the major exclusions, Mr Brannon said the project would still extend the mines' lives by 30 years, create just as many jobs and generate $1.6 billion in revenue over the period. He said this was possible because more of the resource to the west had been "proved up" as good quality coal. The peak of 1170 jobs will come in about 2015.
Mr Brannon said he hoped the revised plan would result in a "smooth transition to approval" but the changes had not been demanded by the government for approval.
"It was our approach to the government," he said. "It wasn't requested of us; we took that decision of our own volition."
The decision will be seen as a victory for groups that opposed the mine expansion on environmental grounds, including the Rivers SOS alliance. Those who opposed it argued the underground mining would cause "catastrophic damage" to the water systems in the area.
The revised application, in the form of a Preferred Project Report, has been submitted to the NSW Planning Department.
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