What’s become of the neighbourhood? Family loses case against open cut mine next door
Neighbours of an open-cut mine who live with superfine coal dust in their homes and yards have lost a court battle they’d hoped might lead to better protections.
The Land and Environment Court has thrown out their case against NSW’s Environment Protection Authority over pollutants from Whitehaven Coal’s Maules Creek Mine in the state’s northwest.
The Maules Creek Community Council had argued the authority failed to properly consider superfine particle pollution called PM2.5 and other air pollutants when it reviewed the mine’s environmental protection licence.
The effect, they said, was that the open-cut mine could continue to operate with no limits on known hazards like PM2.5, which can invade the lungs and cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
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But the court’s chief judge, Justice Brian Preston, dismissed the case on Thursday.
He found there was some evidence the reviewing officer did consider the matters and that the lack of specific references to seven categories of air pollutants, including superfine particles, “does not necessarily establish that the reviewing officer did not consider those air pollutants”.
AAP has sought comment from the Environmental Defenders Office, which represented community council members who’ve lived for years with coal dust in their homes, and covering their gardens and veggie patches.
