Decision details

Moved by Councillor Phelps, seconded by Councillor Miller –

It is resolved that Council submit the following motion for consideration at the next Local Government NSW Annual Conference:

It is resolved that:

(A)        Local Government NSW note:

(i)          the NSW Government has recently granted planning approvals for an expansion of coal mining operations under Woronora reservoir, one of Sydney’s key drinking water catchments;

(ii)         the new expansion will see new coal faces established under the Woronora dam, which supplies drinking water to Sydney. Up to three new underground coal faces will be established at the mine, with two of them running below the dam’s water storage;

(iii)        this decision to allow coal mining under the Woronora reservoir poses a direct threat to the drinking water of hundreds of thousands of Sydneysiders;

(iv)       mining activities under the reservoir could compromise the integrity of the water storages, potentially leading to leakages, and flow on environmental damage to the surrounding water table and the quality of drinking water supplies; and

(v)         the full impacts of the underground mining operations will not be known for several decades, and changes in the geological structures below the dam could continue well after the final coal has been extracted from the site; and

(B)        Local Government NSW:

(i)          oppose the approval of long-wall coal mines under Sydney's drinking catchments;

(ii)         lobby the NSW Government against the issue of long-wall mining approvals under Woronora reservoir, and other mines which have the potential to risk contaminating Sydney's drinking water supply; and

(iii)        oppose the approval of any mines which have the potential to contaminate drinking water supply of any community in New South Wales.

The motion was carried on the following show of hands:

Ayes (8)          The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Scully, Scott, Thalis, Phelps and Chung

Noes (1)          Councillor Forster

Motion carried.

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