Thanks to the community raising its voice, Delta Coal’s plan to mine more coal will undergo thorough scrutiny by the NSW Independent Planning Commission!

In December 2022, we asked you to make a submission on Delta Coal’s proposal to expand its Lake Macquarie mine, keeping it open for another two years and extracting an additional 9.5 MILLION TONNES of coal – right next door to the community.

The NSW government received almost 200 submissions on the proposal, including an incredible 134 objections. Almost 90 people used EJA’s online form to lodge an objection – incredible!

Thanks to community input, the NSW body designed to scrutinise potentially damaging projects like this – the Independent Planning Commission – will get involved, and the community will have more opportunities to have a say.

This is a vital milestone, because any major project like this must have all its impacts thoroughly assessed and ensure the community has a voice in the process.

We know Delta’s plans are risky and the information provided so far doesn’t give the community enough information.

An independent expert found Delta hasn’t given important detail about some serious, likely impacts on water, land stability, climate change and the ecology of Lake Macquarie. Our analysis also reveals concerning gaps for how the proposal will impact air quality.

EJA wrote a submission detailing these critical failings, on behalf of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, which you can read here.

The Lake Macquarie community has been standing up to coal corporations for decades. Community voices are crucial to making sure health and environmental risks aren’t ignored in favour of Delta’s profits.

Stay tuned for developments and more opportunities to have your say.