Centennial bite the bullet

 Centennial bite the bullet
By LEN ASHWORTH Nov 29,2012, 4 a.m.

IN another disturbing development for the all important local mining industry the western field’s biggest operator, Centennial Coal, has announced a suspension of production at its newest mine, Airly.

The Airly mine, near Capertee, has been operating for only a few months.

It is now to be placed on care and maintenance with inevitable job losses.

Centennial will also stop production at its Mannering mine on the central coast.

A spokesperson for Centennial said yesterday the company was seeking to deploy as many of the displaced miners as possible.

The company has rejected reports from some media outlets yesterday that as many as 100 miners would lose their jobs.

General Manager External Affairs Katie Brassil emphasised an anticipated 40 job losses were anticipated ‘spread across the entire group, not just from Airly or Mannering’.

New capital expenditure is also being put on hold but Ms Brassil said that an expansion project at Angus Place and the coal loader extension at Wallerawang will not be affected and will go ahead as planned.

In a prepared statement released on Tuesday evening Centennial Coal said:

LIKE most other companies in the mining industry Centennial Coal (Centennial) has been reviewing its mining operations in response to the recent significant decrease in the US dollar price of export thermal coal over the past few months combined with the high Australian dollar.

The industry is suffering from record high production costs, a result of the resources boom-driven competition for scarce resources increasing wages and other input costs, but also the impost of increased government processes and charges.

As a result of this review, capital expenditure on a number of projects has been deferred, which will impact some positions across the group, and regretfully Centennial has decided to place both Mannering (Lake Macquarie) and Airly Mine’s (Western Coalfields) on ‘care and maintenance’ commencing January 2013.

“The decision to place these two mines on ‘care and maintenance’ has not been taken lightly,” Centennial’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Bracken said.

“Both mines have struggled to make a positive contribution in their own right not only through the lower coal price but a combination of difficult mining conditions, poor coal quality and, in the case of Airly, transport costs have hindered the viability of these mines.

“In the current market, their losses can no longer be absorbed without negatively impacting the group’s overall performance,” Mr Bracken said.

“Centennial will redeploy the majority of these employees to neighbouring sites across the group minimising redundancies to about 40,” he said.

While on ‘care and maintenance’ both mines will continue to meet safety and environmental regulations, studies and approvals currently under way will be progressed and the sites appropriately maintained to enable a reopening when market conditions improve.

Centennial are not the only mining company with major disruptions, head to page three in today's Lithgow Mercury to see how Coalpac staff have been effected by government indecision.

Posted for Guy

Better Planning Network - Workshop

Better Planning Network
      Media Release

PO Box 989 Lane Cove NSW 1595 Email: betterplanningnetwork@gmail.com Website: betterplanningnetwork.good.do  
                    An affiliation of more than 100 community groups

Workshop Calls for More Community Rights in Planning

Better Planning Network participants in a workshop with senior officers of the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure have called for the community to have mandated rights to participate in and challenge planning and/or development decisions.
 
“This was a positive and productive workshop,” said Corinne Fisher of the Better Planning Network. 

“The Departmental staff undertook to present a summary of the issues raised to the Minister so that he is aware of community views before the White Paper is finalised. On the other hand, there is no commitment to implement our suggestions.”
 
Better Planning Network representatives were adamant that Ecologically Sustainable Development should be the driving factor and prime objective of the new Act. They also argued that State Planning objectives should include conservation of biodiversity, protection of prime agricultural land, heritage protection and promotion of community wellbeing.
 
“These issues are fundamental to good planning,” said Ms Fisher. “They must go hand in hand with open, transparent and accountable decision-making at all levels of planning and development. All decisions should be open to scrutiny and should be accompanied by written explanations of how and why they were made.”
 
Participants also pointed out that if the community is to participate meaningfully in the strategic planning phase, as the government has claimed, there must be sufficient resources and time to enable genuine and meaningful dialogue. This will require professional facilitators.
 
Among the points raised at the workshop were:

•  There must be no direct employment relationship between developers and private certifiers

• The system should encourage a collaborative relationship between developers and community for code-assessable projects

• Community members must have the right to comment on site-specific and local development issues including building design, overshadowing and social amenity

• The community must have the same rights to challenge planning/development decisions as those granted to developers.

For more information contact: Corinne Fisher 0421 831 889
19th November 2012

The Obeid Family unravels

More incriminating details are emerging as the ICAC continues its inquiry into the shady deals done over the Bylong Valley coal resource. Former mining minister Ian Mcdonald was alleged to have given inside information on a government tender for exploration licences in 2008 around the same time he would've been looking at the resource of the Ilford/Running Stream area.
Read more here:
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/witness-tells-of-obeid-approach-before-hearing-20121127-2a5ux.html

Obeid Friend Lying His Head Off at ICAC

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is probing into the dodgy deals that went on between former MP Eddie Obeid and his mates over land grabs in the Bylong Valley. Read on to see how crooked these guys are being shown up to be.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/16/15/01/obeid-friend-lying-his-head-off-icac-told

Environmental Defenders Workshop

Gardens of Stone Video

Some clever people have made a short video about the threat to the Gardens of Stone National Park which is part of the World Heritage Listed Greater Blue Mountains National Park. They liken it's pending destruction as akin to blowing up that other Heritage listed monument the sydney Opera House.

You can view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7pSlaoSRHg

COMMUNITY RIGHTS IN PLANNING

The RSWUA along with other community action groups has now joined the Better Planning Network which advocates for more community rights in government planning processes. 

At a recent workshop  with senior officers of the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, participants called for the community to have mandated rights to participate in and challenge planning and/or development decisions.

“This was a positive and productive workshop,” said Corinne Fisher of the Better Planning Network. “The Departmental staff undertook to present a summary of the issues raised to the Minister so that he is aware of community views before the White Paper is finalised. On the other hand, there is no commitment to implement our suggestions.”

Better Planning Network representatives were adamant that Ecologically Sustainable Development should be the driving factor and prime objective of the new Act. They also argued that State Planning objectives should include conservation of biodiversity, protection of prime agricultural land, heritage protection and promotion of community wellbeing.

“These issues are fundamental to good planning,” said Ms Fisher. “They must go hand in hand with open, transparent and accountable decision-making at all levels of planning and development. All decisions should be open to scrutiny and should be accompanied by written explanations of how and why they were made.”

Participants also pointed out that if the community is to participate meaningfully in the strategic planning phase, as the government has claimed, there must be sufficient resources and time to enable genuine and meaningful dialogue. This will require professional facilitators.

Among the points raised at the workshop were:

·        - There must be no direct employment relationship between developers and private certifiers

·        - The system should encourage a collaborative relationship between developers and community for code-assessable projects

·         - Community members must have the right to comment on site-specific and local development issues including building design, overshadowing and social amenity

·         -  The community must have the same rights to challenge planning/development decisions as those granted to developers.

Best article to explain CSG

John Williams Scientific Services Pty Ltd recently prepared a report for The Australian Council of Environmental Deans and Directors. 

The report is titled An analysis of coal seam gas production and natural resource management in Australia: Issues and ways forward.

Both a precis and a full report are available to download: [ Download Precis ] [ Download Full Report ]

Ref: Capertee Valley Alliance Inc. blog

FARMERS “PISSED OFF” WITH MINING COMPANY

8.11.12

At a recent meeting of the Running Stream Water Users Association, Mitchell Clapham, the Mudgee district council chairman of the NSW Farmers Association expressed dismay over negotiations being conducted by Centennial Coal with farmers in the Ilford/Running Stream area.

“To be blunt, I feel pissed off!” he told Association members during an address last Sunday at the Running Stream Hall; “It raises my eyebrows, the things they put in their compensation schedule then argue it’s not compensable.”

Mr Clapham was referring to an item in the coal company’s Access Agreement about landholders’ time which is listed in the mining company’s compensation schedule yet, under Section 262 of the Mining Act, is not considered to be something “real or tangible”.

Apart from spending much of his time dealing with Centennial Coal over access to his own property on Mt Vincent, Mr Clapham has also been involved in the long-running negotiations between the NSW Farmers Association and the NSW Minerals Council over a mining access agreement template for members.

“It’s difficult to negotiate because farmers cannot legally deny access to mining companies but we do need to define what is fair and reasonable compensation”, he said.

Currently there is no legal precedent for compensating a landowner for their time, which can often be considerable. Mr Clapham has had three on-site meetings with Centennial and two external meetings, as well as spending many hours of his valuable time researching and making phone calls about the matter. “If a fitter at a mine can earn $80 to $100 per hour, then I think it’s only fair and reasonable that a farmer’s time is valued at least that much too.”

It is a point that has yet to be tested in a court of law but the Association has vowed to support any members who wish to take the matter to the Land and Environment Court. It also backs Councillor Esme Martens’ stance to make water a compensable loss. Surely this is only fair and reasonable?

RSWUA General Meeting Minutes 4.11.2012 1

 4 November 2012 - GENERAL MEETING MINUTES 

Held at Running Stream Hall 

Meeting commenced  3 pm 

Present: The Committee and 17 members of the Association 

Apologies: There were no apologies recorded 

Item I: Special Resolution – Adoption of Model Constitution 

The motion, recommended by the Committee, 

That Running Stream Water Users Association adopt the Model Constitution prepared by the Dept of Fair Trading to replace the present Rules was unanimously adopted 

The meeting was then addressed by Mitchell Clapham who spoke about access agreements. He gave an update on the latest developments with access agreements, being that Greg and Christine Reeves and Centennial went to mediation to try to get agreement on their access agreement. The arbitrator basically ruled in favour of all that Centennial wanted to have in the document and the Reeves’ requirements were over-ruled. 

In brief, he noted: 

NSW Farmers is not happy with the NSW Government’s draft Strategic Land Use Policy. 

NSW Farmers has also been working for the last 2 years with the Minerals Council to get a template for a standard access agreement drafted. The template has now been launched but NSW Farmers is still very unhappy with it. 

The ‘Denman group’, of which he is a member, has been working with Centennial to try to draft a template for a standard access agreement. So far this has not happened, mainly because of the issue of amount of compensation and minimum standard of road access. Members of the group want to have Mid-Western Regional Council’s minimum standard for gravel roads adopted . (as the minimum standard, but) Centennial contest this, John Sandona verbally saying that their roads would actually need to be above this standard, but then later their legal people saying that standard was excessive. 

Centennial and Greg & Christine Reeves have been to mediation over the Reeves’ access agreement. No proper agreement on compensation was reached at the mediation. It was simply noted that landholders would have to demonstrate a compensable loss for any compensation to be paid. 

The Mining Act provides for compensable loss for farmers in Sections 262 and 263; however it is argued by Centennial that the farmer’s time spent in mediation is not compensable. There are few precedents set in court for compensable loss because most mining agreements are made in mediation or settled on the steps of court, not the courts. Mitchell himself for example has spent at least two full days on negotiations with Centennial relating to his own property and his time spent on this matter is apparently not compensable. He said he would like to be paid at least $100/hr for his time (noting that Centennial‘s legal representatives are probably paid far more than this), but Centennial laywers point out that the landholders time is not listed in the Act as a compensable item . Only things real and tangible are compensable does not acknowledge his time as a compensable loss. 

As the meditation failed, both parties then put in a written submission to the Aribitrator. The Reeves did theirs on their own while Centennial had their legal team put together an 11 page document 

RSWUA General Meeting Minutes 4.11.2012 2 

pointing out that the Arbitrator was constrained by what was in the Mining Act, plus another 80 pages of examples of previous cases 

Mitchell feels that Centennial is playing hardball and is not going to compensate people properly at all, despite what they have said verbally and generally about paying all compensable losses. He said he feels they have not treated the Reeves or the other members of the Denman group with respect and decency. He also 

The bottom line is that the landholder does not have much negotiating power at all. 

The meeting finished at 4.30 pm. 

N.B. There is a town and village forum to be held at Ilford Hall at 1 pm on Wednesday 14 November by the Mid-Western Regional Council. Members are encouraged to attend and to put any concerns (whether related to the proposed mine at Running Stream or other concerns) to the council representatives. Please note that we have been advised that  if people dont turn up, then Ilford will be dropped as a forum venue.

Inglenook CCC Minutes

The RSWUA objects to the term 'Inglenook' being used by Centennial Coal in relation to our lands. The renaming of the Ilford/Running Stream/Clandulla area is a crude way of appropriating our country for foreign-owned commercial interests and we see it as an affront.

Nevertheless, that is the name which will appear on the coal company's reports referring to our heartland.

Here are the latest minutes from the Community Consultative Committee meeting for your information.

 Minutes of Inglenook Exploration Project Community Consultative Committee Meeting 

Date and time: Thursday 18/10/2012, 9:30am 

Location:InglenookProjectOffice,"SpringPark",RunningStream Present  Margaret MacDonald-Hill (MMH)  Sarah Jardine (SJ)  Esme Martens (EM)  Jolieske Lips (JL) Neva Lilley (NL)  Mitchell Clapham  Beau Preston (BP) John Sandona (JS)  Greg Banning (GB)  Pam Chadwick
Welcome and Introduction	The Chair opened the formal meeting at 9:30am and thanked all attendees for their participation and introduced Greg Banning, Regional Projects and Technical Support Manager.
Declarations of Interest	MMH noted her position as Independent Chair appointed by the Minister for Energy & Resources. She is also a Member of the Mine Subsidence Board & Minister’s Arbitration Panel.  EM as owner of mineral rights in relation to the Inglenook EL, member of Charbon CCC.  NL’s family as owners of mineral rights in relation to the Inglenook EL.  The Chair introduced Greg Banning to the committee members as a new Centennial Coal representative of the committee due to organisational changes in Centennial Coal.
Confirmation of previous minutes	The minutes were confirmed as a true record by NL and seconded by MC.
Business arising	BP delivered a presentation on the Carbon Tax and made available hard copies of the presentation to those in attendance at the meeting.  JS responded to NL’s previous enquiry about the disinfection of water bores. JS explained that the disinfection of water bores by the application of chlorine in a borehole is only a legal requirement for the cleaning of production bores for drinking water. Production bores for drinking water are not included in the Inglenook Exploration Project.The appplication of chlorine in a borehole on the project is by exception and as required to properly clean water monitoring boreholes of drilling additives that cannot be removed by conventional flushing techniques with water. Water monitoring borehole cleaning, including the application of chlorine, is implemented by the drilling crew under the constant supervision of the project hydrogeologist. During the cleaning process the hydrogeologist measures for balanced acidity/alkalinity, electrical conductivity and colour of the water flushing from the hole. The hydrogeologist determines the borehole is clean once the readings have stabilised and the water flushing from the hole is visually clear. Water monitoring equipment is then installed in the cleaned borehole.

HEALTH AND SOCIAL HARMS OF COAL MINING IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Coal dust causes serious health problems in communities located near open cut coal mines. That same dust pollutes rain water supplies causing yet more health problems. And then there is the impact of mining on people's mental health.

There have been many studies worldwide which have made many more alarming health 'discoveries' but no comparable comprehensive medical research has been undertaken or published here in Australia, which is a gross oversight considering we are the world's largest exporter of coal.

But now we have a report compiled by the Health and Sustainability Unit at Sydney University, commissioned by the melbourne-based Beyond Zero Emissions group. BZE is an independent, not-for-profit, volunteer-run organisation looking at ways in which Australia can kick the carbon habit and go coal turkey.

The purpose of the report is to provide an objective overview of the available international and local evidence from the health and medical literature about the health effects and social justice impacts of coal mining on local communities and to discuss and relate these issues to the Hunter Region of New South Wales. It provides a stark warning for our own community in the push to transition it from a farming-based economy to one centered on coal mining.



Here is a link to the report:

http://media.beyondzeroemissions.org/coal_health_Report_FINAL.pdf

Cobbora Coal Project

RSWUA opposes the Cobbora Coal Project and urges you to write a submission to the NSW Department of Planning voicing your concerns. 

Here is a guide to help with your submission provided by the Mudgee District Environment Group (www.mdeg.org.au).

Submission Guide

Objection to Cobbora Coal Project – (state owned coal mine proposal)

Application No: 10_0001

Deadline:  Friday 16 November 2012

stephen.o'donoghue@planning.nsw.gov.au

Online: http://majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/index.pl?action=view_job&job_id=3695

Address:                   Major Planning Assessments

                                    Department of Planning and Infrastructure

                                    GPO Box 39

                                    Sydney 2001

Label your submission as an objection, include your name, address and contact details

Key Points of Objection:

1.     Cobbora Coal project is inappropriate investment of $3.4b of NSW taxpayers money

2.     The project justification is based on outdated electricity demand and coal price projections

3.     The project will generate additional greenhouse gas emissions, approx 25m tonnes per year, conflicting with State and Federal policy to reduce climate change impacts

4.     The large open cut mine will disturb approx 47km² of land with important high conservation and agricultural value

5.     The project will destroy 1,867ha of significant woodland providing habitat for 39 threatened species, including nationally listed endangered species

6.     The project will destroy significant Aboriginal cultural heritage sites

7.     The NSW Government has purchased 68 of 90 properties in the affected area. The loss of farming community and broadscale food production has not been adequately assessed.

8.     The project will use a large amount of water from the Cudgegong River and compete with the Mudgee wine and tourism industry for water supply during drought conditions

9.     Up to 10 coal trains a day will pass through Gulgong to Ulan, Wollar, Bylong and additional export product could be sent through Mudgee in the future.

Background:

Cobbora Coal project is proposed in central west NSW north-west of Mudgee and Gulgong.

It is a state-owned coal mining project tied to the sale of the power stations. It will lock NSW into coal-fired electricity generation until at least 2036.

The proposal is to mine 20mtpa (million tonnes per annum) to produce 12mtpa of usable coal over 21 years – it is extremely poor quality product with high ash content. The project aims to provide cheap domestic coal to power stations in the Upper Hunter and Central Coast.

The justification for the project is based on incorrect projections of demand for coal-fired electricity over the next 10 years. Demand has dropped significantly since this project was proposed.

The price of black coal on the export market has also dropped below the projections used to justify the need to source cheaper coal for domestic use.

 The mine will cost the NSW tax payer approx $3.4b and will be run at a loss. It is a direct subsidy to power generators in NSW.  The argument for continued coal-fired electricity in comparison to the long-term benefits of renewable energy sources has not been made. Tax payer’s money would be better invested in renewable energy sources.

Towns and properties along the coal chain will be impacted by additional noise and dust from increased coal train movements.

The open cut coal mine has a very large footprint and will cause major environmental impacts on woodland habitat as well as groundwater and surface water sources and loss of at least 79 Aboriginal cultural heritage sites.

The clearing of 1,867ha woodland habitat will impact on species listed for national protection: eg Grassy Box Woodland; endangered and vulnerable plants, including 100% loss of the local population of Tylophora linearis , endangered bird species  including australasian bittern, malleefowl, regent honeyeater, superb parrot; and vulnerable microbat species - southern long-eared bat, large-eared pied bat

Also a large number of threatened woodland birds protected under the NSW Threatened Species Act were recorded in the area of impact - brown treecreeper, diamond firetail, glossy black-cockatoo, grey-crowned babbler, hooded robin, speckled warbler, varied sittella, masked owl, barking owl, powerful owl.

The mine will need to use up to 3,700 ML (million litres) of water per year from surface water and groundwater interception. The use of high security licenced water from the Cudgegong River will threaten the water security of the Mudgee region wine and tourism industries. It could also threaten the long –term security of urban water supply from Windamere Dam.

The cost benefit analysis for the project has not taken into account the social disruption; competition for workforce with other industries, particularly the agricultural industry across western NSW; or the costs of major infrastructure upgrades, particularly rail lines, to accommodate additional coal transport.

For more detailed information go to above web address.