Bulga Milbrodale Progress Association Inc v Minister for Planning and Infrastructure and Warkworth Mining Ltd
COURT OR TRIBUNAL
New South Wales Land and Environment Court
DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)
20/08/2012
LITIGATION TYPE
Project Approval - Mitigation
SUBJECT MATTER
Coal mine
REVIEW TYPE
Merits review
SUMMARY
This case considered an appeal made by a local action group, against an extension project, granted in relation to the Warkworth open cut coal mine. The proposed extension carried significant economic value (an increase of some 18 million tons of coal per year). However, it also brought mining operations closer to Bulga village, and included mining operations located in a biodiversity offset, designed to both preserve habitat for threatened flora and fauna, and act as a buffer between the village and mining operations. Other concerns included increased dust, noise and general pollution. The Court upheld the appeal, disallowing the project permit. The Court concluded that the significant and unacceptable impacts on biological diversity, and social impacts on the village of Bulga, outweighed the substantial economic benefits of the increased mining operations.
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