Wollongong Coal's controversial plans to extend longwall mining have Planning Assessment Commission approval - albeit by less than the miner requested.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The financially troubled company had requested permission to mine 400 metres of "Longwall 6" at its Russell Vale colliery.
Without the approval, Wollongong Coal said the mine would be forced to close down.
However, the application provoked considerable opposition from a range of groups, including residents, Wollongong City Council, Sydney Water Catchment Authority as well as other government agencies.
Among their objections was concern about allowing longwall mining in a water catchment area.
The Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) acknowledged the concerns but did not consider them significant.
"The commission finds a cautious approach should be adopted given the uncertainty of integrity of the swamps from previous mining ... and the risk of reaching the swamp's tipping point," it said.
With this in mind, the PAC determined that Longwall 6 should be reduced by about 35 metres - to 365 metres.
The PAC also found the proposed longwall was far enough away from Cataract Dam and was "extremely unlikely to have any impact on the dam wall". Any loss of groundwater would not be "significant".
It also noted Wollongong Coal's claims that job losses would result if the longwall was not approved, saying "the credibility of the employment justification for the modification is wearing thin".
Isabel McIntosh, from Protect Sydney's Water Alliance, said the approval was disappointing.
"The subsidence from this longwall very likely will cause significant damage," Ms McIntosh said.
"This new longwall is a high-risk experiment and it certainly should not be taking place in a water catchment that supplies more than 4½ million people.
"There's already been two seams mined above it and now it's going in. Even with a single seam, the longwall subsidence is very difficult to predict, let alone a third seam," Ms McIntosh said.
"So it will definitely have an impact on the hydrology of the area."
Illawarra Residents for Responsible Mining found the PAC's decision to approve the longwall "deeply concerning".
"Sydney is the only city in the world that allows longwall mining in a public water catchment," spokeswoman Kaye Osborn said.
"The overwhelming opposition to the proposal expressed at the PAC hearing has gone unheeded."
Wollongong Coal was contacted for comment.
