Wollar Initial Suitability Assessment Advice to the Allocation Steering Committee for Coal November 2020 NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment | dpie.nsw.gov.au Published by NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment dpie.nsw.gov.au Title: Wollar Initial Suitability Assessment Advice to the Allocation Steering Committee for Coal Cover Image: Landscape within the Wollar study area, courtesy of EMM Consulting © State of New South Wales through Department of Planning, Industry and Environment 2020. You may copy, distribute, display, download and otherwise freely deal with this publication for any purpose, provided that you attribute the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment as the owner. However, you must obtain permission if you wish to charge others for access to the publication (other than at cost); include the publication in advertising or a product for sale; modify the publication; or republish the publication on a website. You may freely link to the publication on a departmental website. Disclaimer: The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing (November 2020) and may not be accurate, current or complete. The State of New South Wales (including the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment), the author and the publisher take no responsibility, and will accept no liability, for the accuracy, currency, reliability or correctness of any information included in the document (including material provided by third parties). Readers should make their own inquiries and rely on their own advice when making decisions related to material contained in this publication. Wollar Initial Suitability Assessment Executive Summary The NSW Government is considering whether to release an area for coal exploration approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Mudgee in the Mid-Western region of NSW. This area is estimated to have a coal resource of approximately 250 million tonnes. Prior to a decision on whether or not to release the area (either wholly or in part) for exploration under the Mining Act 1992, the Minister with responsibility for the Mining Act 1992 (the Deputy Premier) must first obtain advice from the Allocation Steering Committee for Coal (ASCC). In giving this advice, the ASCC must consider the strategic and economic importance of the coal resource and relevant environmental, social and economic matters associated with the extraction of the resource, should it be approved. This Initial Suitability Assessment (ISA) has been prepared by the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (the Department) to assist the ASCC in regard to the consideration of environmental, social and economic matters relating to the potential release of this area for coal exploration and/or production. If the Deputy Premier (and subsequently the NSW Cabinet) elects to proceed with inviting applications for exploration in the release area, any exploration licence would be granted under the Mining Act 1992. Any future proposed coal mining project would be subject to a detailed merit assessment under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, including formal community consultation. This ISA has considered general development scenarios that could flow from the release of the area for coal exploration, and identified the key issues associated with exploration and development of the resource by open cut mining methods. In preparing this ISA, the Department has visited the area, reviewed existing Government data sources and consulted with local and State Government agencies. Based on this assessment, the Department has not identified any fundamental environmental, social or economic constraints or barriers that would preclude the release of this area for coal exploration and/or production. To this end, the Department notes that: • almost all the land in the area is owned by mining companies and there are only a small number of privately owned residences that are not tenanted by mine workers; • mining is a significant socio-economic contributor to the region and the release of the area is likely to extend the benefits of mining in the region and the State as a whole; • the resource is strategically significant and would support ongoing export and local electricity generation as identified in the NSW Government’s Strategic Statement on Coal Exploration and Mining; • any greenhouse gas emissions associated with extraction and development of the coal resource are likely to occur irrespective of the weather the area is released as there will continue to be a demand for coal export and domestic electricity generation for the next few decades; • groundwater and surface water resources are not widely used in the area and are not highly productive; • agricultural land within the area is not highly productive and is used mainly for grazing purposes; • there is good access to the area by the existing road and rail network; and NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment | 2 Wollar Initial Suitability Assessment • impacts on significant Aboriginal Heritage sites, including a ceremonial and dreaming site, sites with art and grinding groove sites, are likely to be avoidable. While coal exploration and/or production activities would undoubtedly result in a range of residual impacts in the potential release area, the Department has concluded that the existing regulatory and planning framework is sufficiently robust to protect areas of high significant, and to ensure that any impacts associated with coal exploration and/or production comply with Government policies, guidelines and standards and are appropriately minimised and managed. If the area is released for exploration, the Department has identified several issues that require further consideration and should be considered in any exploration or development assessment process. These issues include: • the need to avoid, minimise and offset any impacts on EEC’s and threatened species, including Regent Honeyeater habitat, in accordance with the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme; • the need to avoid and manage impacts to the heritage and biodiversity conservation values of the adjoining Goulburn River National Park; • the need to manage potential impacts to surface water quality and flow regimes, particularly within the Goulburn River; • the need for open and transparent communication with the Wollar community so they can plan for the implications of any future development; • the need to avoid impacts on significant Aboriginal Heritage sites as part of any exploration (i.e. the ceremonial and dreaming site, sites with art and grinding groove sites); and • the need to consider any cumulative harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage as a result of any mining development in consultation with the Aboriginal community, including measures that could be implemented to mitigate any cumulative impacts (e.g. measures that would preserve or enhance the knowledge of aboriginal heritage values in the region). With these measures in place, the Department considers the proposed area is suitable for release for coal exploration. NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment | 3 Wollar Initial Suitability Assessment Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 2 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Competitive Allocation Pathway for Coal ...................................................................................... 5 1.2 Initial Suitability Assessment ......................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Potential Release Area ................................................................................................................. 6 2. Overview of the Coal Resource .............................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Coal Resource Potential ............................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Previous Exploration ..................................................................................................................... 7 2.3 Development Scenarios ................................................................................................................ 8 3. Strategic Planning Context ..................................................................................................................... 9 3.1 Regional and Sub-Regional Context ............................................................................................. 9 3.2 Wollar Village .............................................................................................................................. 10 3.3 Western Coalfield ........................................................................................................................ 10 3.4 Study Area .................................................................................................................................. 12 3.5 Central West and Orana Regional Plan ...................................................................................... 12 3.6 Strategic Statement on Coal Exploration and Mining ................................................................. 12 3.7 Climate Change Policy Framework