Nature Conservation Council
The NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has substantiated reports from the Gardens of Stone Alliance finding huge spikes in pollutants from coal mining entering a local creek at the headwaters of Sydney's drinking water catchment and Blue Mountains World Heritage area.
A clean up notice issued on Friday January, 23 requires coal miner Centennial to trial alternatives to dumping dirty mine water into Cooks Dam from today.
Gardens of Stone Alliance campaigner, Steph Lentz said:
"Cooks Dam, situated adjacent to the Mt Piper power station ash dump, has been a source of significant saline and heavy metal pollution (including arsenic, nickel, zinc that are toxic to aquatic life). For many years the dam has degraded Wangcol Creek, through discharges via Licensed Discharge Point 1, directly harming the health of the upper Coxs River.
"The toxic discharges would make life all but impossible for most aquatic animals.
"Gardens of Stone Alliance welcomes this move by the EPA but much more needs to be done. A 2019 NSW Department of Planning and Environment assessment report stated that water flowing from LDP001 was 'unsuitable for discharge to Wangcol Creek'."
Nature Conservation Council of NSW spokesperson, Jacqui Mills said:
"Time is up for Centennial Coal. They need to stop treating the headwaters of Sydney's drinking water catchment as a dumping ground and find solutions to the large volumes of polluted wastewater generated by their coal operations.
"Their proposals to dump even larger volumes of toxic water on Sydney's doorstep must also be rejected.
"In addition to today's cease to pollute deadline, we need the EPA to set a deadline for stronger regulatory action following this trial and to set and enforce salinity and discharge limits at Licensed Discharge Point 1."
Lithgow Environment Group spokesperson, Julie Favell, said:
"Toxic brine entering groundwater from EnergyAustralia's Mount Piper power station's ash dump must also be addressed.
"The Gardens of Stone region needs greater protection, not more toxic pollution.
Western Sydney University water pollution expert Dr Ian Wright has described this discharge point into Wangcol Creek (LDP001) as "the most poorly regulated waste discharge point in the whole of the Sydney Basin."
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