Mining company Cadia Holdings Pty Limited has been fined $15,000 by the NSW Environmen Authority (EPA) for failing to conduct continuous air quality monitoring in 2020 and again in 2021 at its central west NSW site.
The company's licence requires continuous air monitoring while the company mines for minerals or carries out mineral processing at the Cadia Valley Operations site.
EPA Acting Executive Director Regulatory Operations Greg Sheehy said that while dust deposition monitoring was conducted appropriately at the site, the need for continual air monitoring should not be ignored.
"Continual air monitoring of dust allows the operator to understand and reduce any potential negative impacts related to air quality," Mr Sheehy said.
"A constant measurement of air quality is not only a licence requirement, it also helps keep the community and surrounding environment safe."
Cadia Holdings advised the EPA that power supply issues were responsible for the failure to continuously monitor dust.
Mr Sheehy said Cadia Holdings had committed to improve its continuous air quality monitoring network by the end of the past financial year, but the work was not yet complete.
The EPA will continue to assess air quality in the area around the mine and monitor the progress of improvements to the company's air quality monitoring network.
The fine of $15,000 is the largest that the EPA can issue under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
Any concerns regarding air quality or dust emissions can be reported to the EPA on 131 555.
All complaints made to the Environment Line are directed to EPA officers in the field, who then target those areas of most concern to the community.
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