The Southern Highlands Coal Action Group has denied comments made by mining company Hume Coal suggesting it has misled residents in its fight against the company's proposed mine at Sutton Forest.
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Hume Coal said on Tuesday the group had conducted a "fear campaign" by erroneously linking the company's proposed underground coalmine to controversial coal seam gas extraction.
"SHCAG Pty Ltd have spent the last three years telling the local community the Southern Highlands was at risk from CSG extraction and blurring the lines between CSG and coalmining to keep their campaign in the headlines," project director Greig Duncan said.
However, SHCAG technical adviser Alan Lindsay said the group had never claimed the two forms of mining were the same.
"We're perplexed as to why they're accusing us of this - they know very well we are against underground coalmining which would disturb the aquifer," he said. "The two things are entirely separate, we've always considered them to be separate."
Recently, the Illawarra Mercury reported that due to new state government legislation, CSG mining was unlikely to occur in the southern part of the Southern Highlands.
SHCAG will host a presentation on Tuesday at 6pm at the Moss Vale Services Club discussing what it says are the potential impacts of the Hume Coal project on the underground aquifer.
