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The NSW minerals industry recognises that there is increasing interest and concern in the community about the cumulative impacts of mining in the Upper Hunter. This is why Upper Hunter coal producers have come together to listen to those concerns and to work with the community to develop solutions to some of the challenges.
Most mine operators do a good job communicating with their neighbours and stakeholders but we know that the community sees the benefits and the impacts of the industry as a whole. That's why the industry is shifting its focus beyond the boundaries of individual mines to look at the footprint of the whole industry in the Upper Hunter and its collective impacts.
The NSW Minerals Council (NSWMC) is leading this process on behalf of nine member companies with operations in the Upper Hunter: Anglo American, Ashton Resources, BHP Billiton Mt Arthur Coal, Bloomfield Collieries, Coal & Allied, Muswellbrook Coal, Peabody Energy Australia, Vale Australia - Integra Coal Operations and Xstrata Coal.
We've made solid progress on understanding and beginning to address the community's concerns about mining in the region. The Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue Year End Report 2011 brings together the year's events, the progress on actions and the next steps in 2012.
Importantly this is just the beginning. In 2012 the Dialogue will need to go further, and we look forward to continuing to work together with stakeholders and the community to make real inroads into the cumulative impacts of mining on the Upper Hunter community.
Air Quality Information Session - 15 November 2011
More than 40 people attended a community air quality information session held at the Muswellbrook Council Chambers on 15 November 2011. The session was an opportunity for members of the public to engage with and receive updates on air quality issues from three government departments: NSW Health, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the Department of Planning and Infrastructure Compliance Team. Updates were provided on a range of projects and initiatives currently underway, as well as other work that is planned. Importantly, it was an opportunity for the community to ask questions and raise any concerns.
Presentations made at the Information Session:
Office of Environment and Heritage
Chris Eiser, Manager Atmospheric Science
Mitchell Bennett, Head Regional Operations Unit - Hunter Region, Environment Protection and Regulation
NSW Health
Dr Tony Merritt, Public Health Physician, HNEAHS Public Health Unit
Department of Planning and Infrastructure
Julia Pope, Compliance Officer, Singleton
Integration of Mine Rehabilitation Land Workshop - 16 November 2011
Over 40 Upper Hunter stakeholders attended a workshop on 16 November 2011 to discuss the first steps for developing a new plan to encourage better integration of mine rehabilitation land to provide for the future land needs of the region. NSW Trade and Investment, Division of Resources and Energy presented on the current plan mine rehabilitation integration, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by the development of a new plan. You can find a copy of the NSW Trade and Investment Presentation here.
Workshop participants represented to a broad range of groups including, the NSW Farmers Association, the Hunter Environment Lobby, the Hunter Valley Water Users Association, the Wybong Action Group, the Singleton and Muswellbrook Shire Councils, NSW Trade and Investment and the Office of Environment and Heritage, along with the nine coal producers of the Upper Hunter. The workshop participants provided valuable ideas and feedback on what the plan should set out to achieve and how it should be developed in consultation with the community.
The independent workshop facilitator prepared a report that was validated by three of the workshop participants. You can read the report here. The report will inform the development of a draft framework for the development of the plan, which will be finalised in consultation with the community.
Outcomes of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue Stakeholder Workshop - 1 July 2011
During the first half of 2011 the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue has focussed on listening to the concerns of the community about the impacts of mining on the Upper Hunter. We’ve done this through a survey of stakeholders, one-on-one meetings with stakeholder groups and community information evenings in Singleton, Muswellbrook and Denman.
On 1 July the region’s community and environment groups, representatives of business and agriculture, the nine coal producers, as well as representatives of local government and state government agencies, attended a workshop in Singleton to start working on actions to address the top priorities identified by the communities.
Workshop participants generated ideas on the five topics which have emerged as through the Dialogue as the primary concerns: water; social impacts; rehabilitation and land management; land use conflicts and dust, air quality and health.
All of the ideas and proposed actions are captured in the Stakeholder Workshop Report. This report has been drafted by the workshop facilitators, the Australian Centre for Corporate Social responsibility and reviewed by three of the community members who participated in the workshop and the NSWMC.
NSWMC has also prepared a document called Next Steps, which sets out how the ideas from the workshop can be progressed. This document also provides background information about the ideas. We'll update this letter as the ideas are developed and actions progressed. One of the first actions to be completed was a letter from the NSW Minerals Council to the NSW Government supporting direct consultation with the community (not just stakeholder groups) on the development of the Strategic Regional Land Use Plan for the Upper Hunter region.
Planning is well underway for the Air Quality Information Session, to be held in Muswellbrook on Tuesday 15 November 2011, and the Land Use Planning Workshop to be held in Singleton on Wednesday 16 November 2011, which we committed to in the Next Steps document. We will update this page with further information about both events in due course.
The ideas generated at the stakeholder workshop will form the basis for the progress of the Dialogue over the next 12 months and help us to develop a more constructive relationship between the community and the industry.
Community Information Evenings
More than 180 people came along to talk about their concerns with representatives of all nine of the Upper Hunter’s coal mining companies and shared their ideas about how we can work together to develop solutions to some of the challenges. Many people put their in writing and we’ve complied all of the comments which you can read here.
The Stakeholder Surveys
We invited a broad range of stakeholders from across the region to take part our a research project. The research was conducted by Australian Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, an independent social research organisation. A copy of the survey is available here.
Results
The survey highlighted several areas of concern about the impacts of mining in the Upper Hunter including dust, air quality, employment and development. It also highlighted the need for industries, the community and governments to work together to address these issues. This is one of our most important priorities.
We realise that we must consider the footprint of the whole industry in the region and we are committed to acting together to respond to the community's concerns. We are also concerned about the issues raised most by the community. We are listening and we realise that being part of the region's future will mean doing things differently.
Read the Stakeholder Survey here
Read the Industry Response here
How can I be involved?
To receive information about UHMD events, sign up to our mailing list by emailing miningdialogue@nswmin.com.au
For more information about the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, contact Amber Beesley on 02 9274 1400 or miningdialogue@nswmin.com.au
Any media enquiries should be directed to the NSW Minerals Council media team on 02 9274 1400.
The Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue does not replace existing relationships between individual mines and their neighbours or stakeholders. Existing communication channels and community engagement will continue on a mine-by-mine basis. Any mine specific issue should be directed to the relevant mine.
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