Oakey Coal Alliance v Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water and New Acland Coal

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Queensland Land Court

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

16/05/2023

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Coal mine

REVIEW TYPE

Judicial review

SUMMARY

(Extract from Environmental Defenders Office website)

Oakey Coal Action Alliance, which is committed to saving the groundwater relied on by Darling Downs farmers from the New Acland coal mine, has launched a new legal challenge against the stage 3 expansion. Represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, OCAA is challenging the Queensland Government’s decision to grant an associated water licence to New Acland in the Land Court. OCAA has also sought an undertaking from New Acland Coal that it will not exercise its entitlement under the associated water licence to take or interfere with groundwater until the challenge is decided. This is to prevent New Acland Coal from carrying out any operations, including the mining of coal, that could result in the taking or interference with groundwater, and to ensure no impacts to groundwater occur from those operations prior to the challenge being decided. If New Acland Coal does not provide this undertaking, OCAA will consider bringing an application for a stay to prevent New Acland Coal from acting on the associated water licence.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Environmental Defenders Office website