FLASHBACK: A KCCG meeting at Kingaroy Town Hall in August drew an overwhelming vote against Moreton Resources’ proposed Kingaroy Coal Mine project

December 21, 2016

The Kingaroy Concerned Citizens Group has welcomed the inclusion of extra conditions on Moreton Resources’ proposed Kingaroy coal mine.

On Wednesday, the KCCG said the group had made 31 recommendations about the draft Terms Of Reference for the mine’s Environmental Impact Statement in a 127-page submission to the State Government, and appreciated the inclusion of some of these in the final document.

However, the KCCG believes it will need to continue campaigning for extra measures to safeguard community health.

KCCG spokesperson John Dalton said the proposed mine was upwind of Kingaroy and so close to town he thought it would be surprising if the government ever approved it.

“The probability of health impacts from dust in the air and in tank drinking water is considerable,” Mr Dalton said.

“So is the problem of having a mine with chemically unstable overburden in the town’s water supply catchment.”

The KCCG believes the mine would pose such a risk to community health that pre-mining baseline community health data should be included in the Environmental Impact Statement.

“This would be needed in the event that predicted problems with the mine lead to legal action by the local community,” Mr Dalton said.

“Pre-mining health data would be essential information to have in order to prove the anticipated health effects, and we will continue to request this be considered by government.”

Some of the measures the KCCG have asked the EIS to address include:

  1. Dust in drinking water from tanks
  2. Drying of bore water supplies
  3. Loss of valuable cropping land
  4. The stability of soils, contaminants and overburden in the Kingaroy town water catchments
  5. The quality of community engagement by the company
  6. The likely effect of the mine on property prices

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One Response to "KCCG Welcomes Tougher Mine EIS"

  1. I do not like that the mine will take good agricultural land. However, much of the South Burnett’s agricultural land is currently under-utilised. The loss of 600ha (6sqkm) of land is by no means desirable, yet when a considerable portion of that land is planted eucalyptus, not top quality agricultural land you just can’t make a clear completely unbiased decision (if your for or against the mine).

    I feel so much for landowners that will lose land, I have friends that have lost land in other projects, but if the company offers suitable compensation it at least dampens the pain.

    All I really want to see is a railway from Acland near Oakey to Theebine near Gympie. It could go through the South Burnett, allowing freight trains a quicker route to the Port of Gladstone. However, Moreton Resources does need to undertake a rigorous Environmental Impact Statement, and if approved still has a long way to go. The economic impact will also be enormous, 500 new jobs in the mine and on the railway (not including construction).

    The project boundary is also 5km out of town (from the nearest residences in Kingaroy), which is not far (as an asthmatic I have my concerns about dust), yet the mine is still outside of the Mining Restricted Area surrounding Kingaroy and Taabinga Village. Ultimately the results of the Environmental Impact Statement will carry the biggest verdict: if we get a mine or not.

    I think that the community needs further information from Moreton Resources, the Department of State Development and opposition to make their own completely unbiased opinion. Remember that it can be easy to just say no, when you have not got 100% of the facts; projects will evolve all the time.

    Reply

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