PAC waiting for risk assessment plan

The issue at the core of Wollongong Coal's failure to get its mine expansion plans approved is not a small matter - it concerns the risk that mining under sensitive areas could drain the whole drinking water catchment.

The Mercury has confirmed that the potential danger of mining underneath the water catchment, and close to Cataract Dam, is the reason the Planning Department is still demanding more information from Wollongong Coal about its expansion plans.

Several government agencies have raised concerns about the issue of "connectivity" - subsidence causing previously mined areas to sink under a large body of water, which could then flow down through the escarpment.

They were also concerned about whether the mine entrance could be sealed off "if there is leakage into the mine" from the water body.

And they have told the miner it must provide precise location information on the Corrimal Fault line, which runs through the escarpment and which could carry water. The likelihood of massive drainage is not high, but the potential for such catastrophic consequences caused the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) and the Planning Department to insist the science was certain.

Wollongong Coal was told five months ago it needed to submit an "integrated risk assessment" that dealt with connectivity, but it has not done so. The issue was described by mine proponents this week as "red tape" as they complained about delays in approvals.

The PAC this week referred the Mercury to its review of the Russell Vale proposal, completed in April, which said several agencies were "consistently critical" of the plan.

"At that time the commission found that 'the likelihood of the proposed mine causing a significant detrimental impact on the Sydney water catchment water quantity or quality is low, however, the consequence, if such an event did occur, could be substantial and irreversible'," the commission said.

It concluded that it might be possible for an expansion plan to be approved "if all the additional information identified in this review report provides a greater level of confidence for the protection of the water quality and quantity in the Sydney catchment area and satisfies all the other issues identified in this review".

On Friday, the company will meet planning officials to discuss what is required. Wollongong Coal has recently put together a panel of experts to do the integrated risk assessment.

The Planning Department confirmed it was still waiting for the required information.

"As recommended by the PAC, Wollongong Coal has been undertaking an Integrated Risk Assessment of the project, focusing particularly on subsidence and water," a spokeswoman said. "The final Risk Assessment Report and Risk Register are yet to be provided to the department."

Wollongong Coal did not respond to requests for comment.