US giant Peabody Energy applies to expand mine under Sydney’s water after pollution fine
A multinational polluter which didn’t pay Aussie income tax for a decade wants to to extend their mine under a Sydney suburb’s water supply.
A US mining giant which didn’t pay Aussie income tax for a decade and has been fined for multiple pollution incidents has applied to extend their operation under a Sydney suburb’s water supply.
A senior lecturer in water science described the plan as “crazy” and said it risks the water supply being impacted.
Peabody Energy has an existing license for underground coal mining at their Metropolitan Mine in the suburb of Helensburgh between Sydney and Wollongong. The mine is located underneath the Woronora Reservoir catchment which supplies drinking water to the Sutherland Shire, Helensburgh and Engadine.
The company has requested the government allow it to expand its existing operation with two additional ‘longwalls’ – a type of mining in which a long, narrow coal seam is extracted and the tunnel is then collapsed.
Peabody expects this expansion will allow it to extract 2.8m tonnes of coal from the extra area.
Peabody subsidiary Metropolitan Collieries was sentenced by the Environmental Protection Agency in March to pay nearly $500k over offences in 2022 including coal-laden water overflowing into a nearby creek.
The EPA found coal material on the bank and bed of Camp Gully Creek, a tributary of the Hacking River which flows through Australia’s oldest national park.
Metropolitan Collieries was also ordered to clean up the creek and had its licence reviewed.
Australian government transparency data shows the multinational paid no income tax in Australia in the decade to the 2023 financial year, despite $33bn in income over the period.
A spokesperson for Peabody said the company “abides by all applicable tax rules and regulations where we operate and those include corporate income taxes, production taxes and royalties”.
Associate Professor Ian Wright at Western Sydney University said the company’s practice of longwall mining in Sydney “mobilises a whole array of metals” from the riverbed to the water including barium, strontium, zinc, manganese and aluminium.
“If that gets mobilised, and that’s the sort of thing that happens when levels drop in a drought, that can go into the pipeline and cause drinking water problems,” Dr Wright told news.com.au.
“Water is one of those areas you don’t stuff around with, which is why it is unbelievable to me we have allowed such damaging mine activity in our water catchments.”
“They’re here to make a profit and for them to pay for their environmental (remediation) work by seeking to undermine more of the Woronora catchment – I just think it’s mad.”
Dr Wright has worked as a water scientist for more than 30 years and previously worked at Sydney Water.
A Peabody spokesperson said the Metropolitan Mine is “more than 500 metres underground and uses some of Australia’s narrowest longwall paths to minimise subsidence impacts”.
“Two independent scientific panels have confirmed there is no connective cracking to the surface as a result of mining activities at Metropolitan Mine.”
The company’s license to mine coal in the region remains in place after previous pollution incidents with “several new and strengthened conditions,” an EPA spokesperson said.
“These include tighter requirements for water management, additional monitoring, and improved reporting to ensure greater protection for surrounding waterways,” the spokesperson said.
“Metropolitan Collieries’ licence has been varied on several occasions to address risks identified during the licence review, including requirements for independent water quality audits, requiring works around groundwater seepage, oversight of discharge points, and additional operational controls.”
Sutherland Shire Environment Centre board member Cooper Riach opposed the expansion, as “longwall mining underneath water catchments causes irreparable damage to upland swamp ecosystems”.
“These upland swamps are nature’s water filtration systems, they filter our drinking water,” he told news.com.au.
A spokesperson for Peabody did not respond to specific questions concerning the impact on swamp ecosystems or previous fines for pollution.
An area of 75 square kilometres draining to the Woronora catchment is deemed a Special Area by Water NSW, with public access restricted to picnic areas at Woronora Dam. Though extensive mining is permitted underneath the area, penalties of up to $44,000 apply for those caught bushwalking or camping in the region.
Mr Riach, who was a former Greens candidate for Heathcote, said the community is “alarmed and outraged at the fact that there even is mining underneath our water catchment”.
“I think that a lot of people feel really disheartened at the fact that our governments would let this happen.”
“Do we care more about the safety and the quality of our drinking water supply, or do we care about the short-term profits of an American mining giant?”
Besides applying to expand their existing mine, Peabody Energy has also applied to explore for coal in an adjacent area also in the water catchment.
A spokesperson for NSW Resources said the application “is being assessed in accordance with the relevant guidelines for coal exploration.”
“NSW has a robust regulatory framework which ensures protections are in place for local communities and the local environment.”
“Exploration licences in NSW do not authorise mining. Any proposed exploration activities must comply with NSW’s strict environmental assessment framework for exploration.”
The US-owned company courted headlines in June after locking out about 160 coal miners without pay over a bargaining dispute, and in August terminated a deal to buy five Anglo American coal mines in Queensland.
Originally published as US giant Peabody Energy applies to expand mine under Sydney’s water after pollution fine
