SYDNEY, Feb 5 2021 – Greenpeace welcomes the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission’s (IPC) decision to reject South32’s bid to expand its Dendrobium coal mine into the Avon and Cordeaux reservoirs. [1]The IPC knocked back the bid saying the mine would have risked “long term irreversible damage to the water catchment”.
“The Independent Planning Commission’s decision to block the expansion of a coal mine is clearly the right move but it is deeply troubling that this insane proposal came so close to becoming a reality,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific spokesperson Martin Zavan said.
“This dangerous project would have risked contaminating a major source of drinking water for tens of thousands of Sydney residents, as well as contributed to the ongoing climate crisis.”
“Coal is the number one driver of climate change, which turbocharged the 2019-20 bushfires which destroyed so much of the land that Australian wildlife call home in NSW. This project would have further exacerbated the climate crisis and put more pressure on our precious wildlife.
“Thankfully the IPC has made the right decision to prioritise Sydneysiders’ drinking water over the declining profits of coal mining companies.”
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Contact
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Communications Campaigner, Martin Zavan
0424 295 422