The following correspondence shows that plans 
are afoot for compromising the ecosystems in the
Wyong area. A massive long wall coal 50m below
the surface just beyond National Park Boundaries
would have devestating consequences on the surface. 
 
Legislative Assembly Hansard,
Tuesday, 26 September 2006, Proof
WALLARAH NO. 2 UNDERGROUND COAL PROJECT
 
Mr JEFF HUNTER (Lake Macquarie) [5.38 p.m.]: Tonight I raise community
concerns about the proposed Wallarah No. 2 underground coal project. In May this year 
Wyong Areas Coal Joint Venture, the company exploring the Wyong area coal reserves, 
announced it was moving forward with a plan to mine an area west of the F3 freeway in 
the Wyong shire. The company said that it would seek approval to extract coal from 
seams between 350 and 650 metres below the surface. 
The coal would be mined over 42
 years from beneath the Dooralong 
Valley and State Forest and brought 
by a four kilometre underground drift 
to the pit top at Tooheys Road near 
the intersection of the Doyalson link 
road and the F3. 
The coal would be moved from the site by rail. 
This  announcement caused a great deal of concern amongst local residents, who subsequently 
approached me for assistance. 
The area, while currently in the electorate of Wyong, will form part of the redrawn Lake 
Macquarie electorate at the election in March next year.
 
I have received a number of letters from concerned local residents and met with the 
community group fighting the coalmine proposal, the Australian Gas Alliance [AGA]. 
That same group fought the Sydney Gas proposal to extract methane gas from this area. I 
also attended the public meeting held on 27 August at Wyong to discuss the coal 
proposal. Since then I have again met with the AGA and have received its "Submission 
on the Impact of Longwall Coal Mining on the Proclaimed Wyong Water Catchment 
Valleys (Dooralong and Yarramalong Valleys)".
 
Alan Hayes, the AGA spokesperson states in a letter to me:
Dear Jeff
Further to our various conversations and meetings I confirm acknowledgement of your 
support to protect the public water resources drawn from the Wyong Water Catchment.
As you are aware, the Wyong valleys (Dooralong and Yarramalong) account for fifty per 
cent (50%) of the water resource for the entire Central Coast of NSW. They were 
proclaimed as a water catchment area in 1950, gazette number 153 of the Local 
Government Act 1919.
 
Additionally, the Wyong River and Creek, Wyong catchment weir and the 'pump pool' of 
the Mardi dam are located within the horizontal subsidence zone of the proposed coal 
mine project. This horizontal subsidence zone also encroaches on the northern boundary 
of Mardi dam and a portion of the dam itself, which was proclaimed water catchment in 
1987.
 
 
There are also a number of international waders, recorded under the
Australian Government agreements with hina and Japan, whose fragile habitat is entirely 
dependent upon the health of the water catchment river systems, and thirty-three (33) 
endangered or threatened species of flora and fauna with in the catchment valleys.
 
Longwall coal mining not only poses a threat to the water supply, both surface and 
subsurface, it also poses a threat to the habitat of the various endangered and threatened 
species of flora and fauna.
 
To enable yourself to fully understand the disastrous impact that longwall coal mining 
will have upon the water supply and the environment, a precises report is attached, with 
extracted information from a report commissioned by the original lease holders that 
supports the fact that the integrity of the surface and subsurface groundwater systems 
could be compromised.
 
It is interesting to note that a report on the Jilliby Jilliby creek,
 
prepared in 2004 by River Care, in association with Hunter-Central Rivers Catchment 
Management Authority, National Heritage Trust and the Department of Infrastructure, 
Planning and Natural Resources, declared this water system as one of the most pristine in 
New South Wales. This report also condemns the damage that will be caused by the 
impact of longwall coal mining.
 
The letter goes on to say that should I require additional information, the AGA would be 
happy to provide it to me.
 
The submission outlines the principal concerns about the coalmine,including: likely water
 contamination; potential loss of aquifers and water catchment river systems; and the 
potential loss of 50 per cent of our drinking water catchment. It lists in detail the concerns 
of the local community. I have forwarded this submission to the Minister for Planning, 
Frank Sartor, and the Minister for the Environment, Bob Debus, and the Minister for 
Water Utilities, David Campbell, and asked for meetings with them so that members of a 
delegation from the AGA can put their case and their concerns about this proposed 
coalmine. I share many of the concerns raised by the AGA and the valley communities. I 
do not support any proposal that will threaten the water supplies of the Central Coast. I 
look forward to meeting in coming weeks with Ministers Sartor, Debus and Campbell 
and the AGA. I also look forward to a meeting on Thursday with the Minister for the 
Central Coast, the Hon. Grant McBride, so that we can raise the local community's 
concerns.
 
 
Mr GRANT McBRIDE (The Entrance—Minister for Gaming and Racing, and Minister 
for the Central Coast) [5.44 p.m.], in reply: I commend the honourable member for Lake 
Macquarie for his active involvement in this issue and his commitment to pursuing the 
interests of the Australian Gas Alliance and the broader community. He is not yet the 
member for that area, but he has made a strong commitment to resolving this issue. A 
number of people who live in Jilliby Jilliby and the Dooralong and Yarramalong valleys 
have told me that they are pleased about his commitment and his active pursuit to stop 
long wall coalmining in the area. This is a big issue, but there is a bigger issue with 
water.
 
Alan Hayes, accompanied by the honourable member for Lake Macquarie, will be 
meeting with me at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday. The plan is to ensure that the local area and 
the local community are protected from any negative consequences that may result from 
long-wall mining. During the Legislative Council's budget estimates committee hearing 
on Friday 1 September, I publicly opposed any mining proposal that would impact 
negatively on the region's precious water supply. In reply to a question, I said:
 
I give a commitment that, as to long wall mining in the Dooralong and
Yarramalong Valleys, I will not accept any proposal that will have a
negative effect on the water catchment or the people of that area.
I am pleased to support the private member's statement of the honourable member for 
Lake Macquarie's. As the Minister for the Central Coast, I will be working with the 
honourable member and other members from that area to ensure that water and its 
sustainability for the Central Coast are of paramount concern in the consideration of any 
issues relating to the local catchment. I again congratulate the honourable member for his 
interest in this area. We will be working together to ensure that we achieve the best 
outcome for the people of the Central Coast. 
http://www.cpa.org.au/garchve06/1278cult.html
The Guardian 21 June, 2006
Culture and Life
by Rob Gowland
Over the hills and far away
 
My wife and I were tickled pink the other day to receive a personal
computer-generated letter from our local State MP. He wasn’t anyone I 
was familiar with, nor was he anyone we had ever voted for (heck, we 
didn’t even know anyone who had voted for him).
 
 
He wasn’t our MP because of an election, but because of a 
redistribution — a singularly undemocratic way to be assigned a 
parliamentary representative.
 
 
We live in the Dooralong Valley on the NSW Central Coast. Together with 
the adjacent Yarramalong Valley, our area provides half the water 
catchment for Wyong and the Central Coast (a not unimportant matter in 
this time of continuous drought).
 
 
 
Last year the residents had to wage a determined struggle to prevent 
the area being subjected to intensive drilling for coal seam methane 
extraction.
 
If it had gone ahead, the hundreds of wells planned would have had a
catastrophic effect on the water supply for the Central Coast of NSW.
 
Now the South Korean-government-owned mining giant Kores (pronounced 
Kor-es) wants to build a huge coal mine under the valleys, with all the 
consequences of land subsidence, damage to the aquifer and disruption 
of the water catchment.
 
 
Last time, the valley residents were supported by Wyong Council, but 
now,thanks to a remarkably convenient redistribution, the two valleys 
have been severed from Wyong (their local urban centre) and shifted 
into the Lake Macquarie electoral area, which is literally "over the 
hills and far away" from the affairs of Wyong.
 
 
They are now part of an electorate largely comprising communities 
dependent on coal mining for a living.
 
 
No doubt it’s just a coincidence and has nothing to do with the 
influence of the mining lobby in Macquarie St.
 
 
A listing from the DEC website
 
Alteration of habitat following subsidence due to
 longwall mining as a key threatening process -
 fact sheet

'Alteration of habitat following subsidence due to longwall mining' has been
listed by the NSW Scientific Committee as a key threatening process 
under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. 
 
 
 
What is longwall mining and how does it cause subsidence? 
 
Longwall mining is an underground coal mining technique which involves 
removing a portion of an underground coal seam. Longwall mining can 
cause the land above the mined-out coal seam to destabilise and collapse
– this is known as subsidence. 
 
The extent of subsidence is influenced by various factors, including the 
width and depth of the longwall mine, topography, the type of overlying 
rock layers, the design of the mine and the location of the mine. These 
factors vary from site to site, so the amount of subsidence - and its 
subsequent impacts - also varies. 
 
What is alteration of habitat? 
 
The specific area or environment in which a plant or animal lives is called 
its habitat. A habitat provides all the basic requirements for survival. 
Alteration of habitat refers to a change in the structure or function of 
habitat, making it potentially unsuitable for the organism to live in. 
Subsidence due to longwall mining has been recognised as causing habitat
alteration. Species and ecological communities that depend on aquatic 
and semi-aquatic habitats are particularly susceptible to the impacts of 
subsidence. 
 
 
Subsidence due to longwall mining can cause deformation of ground 
surfaces as well as cracking of valley floors and creeklines. This can affect
natural water flow regimes and water quality, depending on such factors 
as the width of the crack, riverbed steepness, the riverbed material and 
the presence of organic matter. Subsidence can also destabilise cliff faces.
In turn, these impacts can lead to the alteration of species habitats and 
changes to the ecological function of communities. Effects can be 
temporary or long-term. When water flows are altered, there can be 
permanent effects on the functioning of ecosystems in localised areas, 
which may be exacerbated in drought conditions. 
 
Why list 'alteration of habitat following subsidence due to longwall 
mining' as a key threatening process? 
 
The NSW Scientific Committee in its final determination concluded that 
alteration of habitat following subsidence due to longwall mining: 
 
          adversely affects two or more threatened species, populations or 
ecological communities, or 
 
          could cause species, populations or ecological communities that are
not threatened to become threatened.
 
 

What species, populations and ecological communities are 
particularly affected? 
 
Threatened species and ecological communities are known to occur in 
areas affected by subsidence due to longwall mining, and their habitats are
likely to be altered by subsidence and mining-associated activities. 
Species include the following: 
 
          Blue Mountains water skink 
          giant dragonfly 
          broad-headed snake 
          Epacris hamiltonii 
          eastern pygmy possum 
          giant burrowing frog 
          stuttering frog 
          large-footed myotis. 

Endangered ecological communities identified in the listing include the following: 
          Genowlan Point Allocasuarina nana heathland 
          O'Hares Creek shale forest 
          shale/sandstone transition forest 
          Newnes Plateau shrub swamp in the Sydney Basin Bioregion. 

Subsidence associated with longwall mining can significantly affect the 
water balance of upland or hanging swamps. Even though subsidence may 
be detected within a few months of a mining operation, related changes in 
vegetation can occur over a longer time period. 
 
Mining subsidence can also destabilise slopes and escarpments. Changes 
to cliff line topography can change the availability of roosting sites for 
bats and nest sites for cliff-nesting birds. 
 
What are the implications of the listing? 
 
The Department of Environment and Conservation is required to 
develop strategies for mitigating or managing the adverse effects of this 
threatening process on our native wildlife. The mining industry and wider 
community will be invited to contribute to the development of these 
strategies. 
 
Strategies may include: 
 
          reviewing existing policies, regulatory and non-regulatory regimes 
          preparation of impact assessment guidelines.

A number of actions are currently underway to address the
environmental impacts caused by subsidence. The actions
include the development of subsidence management plans
as required under the Mining Act 1992 (administered by the
Department of Primary Industries). 
 
 
DEC is on the inter-agency committee that reviews these plans. 
 
The effectiveness of these actions will be taken into account when DEC is 
considering the need for a threat abatement plan. 

				
				

					
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