MINUTES OF THE DURALIE COAL COMMUNITY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday 10 th October 2012

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE DURALIE COAL COMMUNITY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING Wednesday 10 th October 2012 Attendees: Margaret MacDonald-Hill CCC Chair Rod Williams CCC Member Donald Carroll CCC Member Tony Tersteeg CCC Member Lisa Schiff Great Lakes Council Cr Karen Hutchinson Great Lakes Council Mike Smith Duralie Coal Pty Ltd (DCPL) Tony Dwyer Duralie Coal Pty Ltd (DCPL) Rachael Windrum Duralie Coal Pty Ltd (DCPL) Peter Cribb DCPL Consultant Gerard Tuckerman Great Lakes Council - Guest Speaker 1. Welcome and Apologies: The meeting was opened at 1:05pm. The Chair confirmed that the meeting was being recorded and welcomed members, as well as guest speaker Mr Gerard Tuckerman, Manager of Natural Systems for Great Lakes Council. It was agreed that Item 4a) (Business Arising from Previous Minutes) be brought forward to allow Mr Tuckerman to present to the committee. Mr Tuckerman gave a presentation to the CCC of the Great Lakes Council s work in catchment management, particularly the Karuah River Catchment. Mr Tuckerman advised that the health status of the Karuah River catchment would be reported on 26 th November Great Lakes Council will provide a copy of the report to the Chair. Mr Tuckerman was excused from the meeting at 2:03pm. Action Item 1: Great Lakes Council to provide a copy of the report of health status of Karuah River Catchment to the CCC Chair. (Great Lakes Council receives funding via the Duralie Extension Project Approval for the Karuah Catchment Management Program.) A copy of the presentation was provided to members with the minutes. Apologies: Mr Eastoe, Mr Fisher-Webster. 2. Declaration of Pecuniary and Non-Pecuniary Interest The Chair declared that she is the independent Chair appointed by the Director-General of the Department of Planning & Infrastructure, is a member of the Mine Subsidence Board, the Minister s Arbitration Panel and Chair of Ministerial AGL Hunter CCCC and of the Camden Gas Project CCC. Mr Williams declared that he was a member of the AGL Gloucester CCC. 3. Confirmation of Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes were confirmed with one amendment; Page 2, Item 7.b) insertion of wording 'the manner in which the' after the words Mr Eastoe had queried. Moved: Mr Williams; Seconded: Mr Carroll 4. Business Arising from Previous Minutes: Action Items: 1 from Feb meeting, carried over: Completed. Mr Tuckerman presented to the committee. 1. Completed. The Chair wrote to the former Chair of the committee, referenced in Item Completed. Correspondence items now noted in Agendas. Page 1 of 5

2 3. Completed. Monitoring data in Environmental Monitoring Report presented accordingly. By correspondence, Mr Eastoe extended his appreciation to the company for this and confirmed that he was not querying the results, but the company s presentation of them. 4. Completed. Correspondence sent to CCC members prior to meeting and DCPL advised that the approved Management Plans are available at DCPL advised that the Management Plans that Mr Eastoe noted as (l) to (o) in his proposed motion 2 (refer correspondence received 13/09/12) were required under previous consents. All current, approved plans required under the current consent, are available at 5. DCPL reported that the Company has encouraged staff at the operation to join the Rural Fire Service (RFS), however no additional staff have joined the RFS since the last CCC meeting. The Chair advised that Mr Eastoe had requested quarterly feedback be provided on this matter; DCPL agreed. 6. DCPL outlined the various methods the company uses to disseminate information to the community, such as CCC meetings; CCC minutes on company website; CCC member communications with residents; advertising in local newspapers; one-to-one consultation; consultation with particular residents for a particular purpose (as a group or one-to-one), websites; information flyers and Community Information Sessions where relevant to particular projects. Mr Tersteeg noted the delay before CCC meeting minutes are posted on the company website (only confirmed minutes are currently uploaded to the website). It was agreed that in the future, the minutes would be circulated to members for comment before being uploaded to the website in draft form. Action Item 2: Draft minutes to be circulated to members within 2 weeks of each meeting; members to make comments for changes within 2 days before DCPL uploads CCC minutes to the Duralie Coal website. Ms Schiff commended DCPL on its community liaison, based on the communication Council receives about DCPL s mining operations. Mr Tersteeg enquired about community consultation that might occur after an Environmental Impact Statement is lodged. DCPL advised that the style of consultation at that time is likely to be similar to what recently occurred following lodgement of the Preliminary Environmental Assessment for the Stratford Extension Project, such as Community Information Sessions, letterbox flyers, oneto-one consultations, etc. Mr Williams recommended that information be provided when required to advise of matters that the community might be interested in, such as the proposed visual screen. Additional Items: a) General Business Item 6b) from June meeting and in correspondence received by the Chair 13/09/12, Mr Eastoe proposed a motion that DCPL and the Duralie CCC develop an application for the 2013 NSW Minerals Council s Environment and Community Excellence Award. DCPL advised that the Company recognises the benefit in putting forward a project for the Award, but believed that an application would be better made in the future, when outcomes/achievements of projects can be better presented. Page 2 of 5

3 Mr Tersteeg enquired if any community representatives of the CCC would be attending the upcoming NSW Minerals Council Environmental and Community Conference. DCPL confirmed that no Duralie CCC community representatives were attending, and there was discussion regarding the potential for a CCC community member to attend. It was agreed that as the 2012 conference was imminent, the matter would be noted and considered prior to the 2013 NSW Minerals Council Conference. Ensuing discussion occurred regarding the previous allocation of funds to the Duralie CCC by the company, for the purpose of obtaining expert opinion, as required under a previous Development Consent. That funding was utilised to pay for a Duralie CCC Member to attend the NSW Minerals Council Conference on occasions. The current Project Approval does not require funding to the CCC. 5. Correspondence In: 05/07/12: from R. Windrum forwarding closing statement for HCCU 11/07/12: from M. Jacobs regarding disposal of water from AGL 13/07/12: Letter from M. Morris in response to letter 13/09/12: from B. Eastoe with suggestions/motions for meeting Out: 04/07/12: Letter to M. Morris in accordance with CCC action item 6.Company Reports and Overview of Activities 6.a) DCPL presented an overview of the mining operations at Duralie since the last meeting, including works in Clareval and Weismantel pits, dump areas and the powerline corridor dump rehabilitation area. Mr Tersteeg enquired about the plant species being planted in that area and Mr Dwyer provided an adequate summary. 6.b) Environmental Monitoring Report: Mr Carroll enquired whether the level of information provided to the CCC in this report could be reduced; discussion ensued. The Committee concluded that the information as provided should continue. Dust Deposition Monitoring Report - Mr Tersteeg enquired what the copper sludge was, or where it came from. Action Item 3: DCPL to investigate note on Dust Deposition Monitoring Result and advise. Mr Williams enquired about the water balance at the mining operation (such as water storage, volume irrigated) and if this could be advised during each meeting. DCPL advised that over the past 6 weeks, approx 53 megalitres/week has been irrigated. A flow irrigator has been introduced on the active waste dump which has been effective for water management and dust suppression. Auxiliary Dam 1 water level has been reduced to approximately 50%. Overall, water storage is currently between approx 70-75%. Mr Williams enquired about the general wind direction at the operation. DCPL advised that predominant wind direction is NW, with a Southerly deviation at times. Action Item 4: DCPL to include wind rose and water balance information in the CCC Environmental Monitoring Report. Page 3 of 5

4 6.c) Community Complaints & Response: Mr Tersteeg noted that noise complaints were from the South West of the operation and queried if there was a noise monitor located in that direction. DCPL advised that recent works had occurred in the Clareval southern limb which is a new area of the operations (towards the northern extent of the Duralie Mining Lease) and that noise monitoring locations reflect the focus of operations to the north with locations confirmed in the Project Approval. Action Item 5: DCPL to include a 2012 plan showing monitoring locations with draft meeting minutes. As there may have been confusion between noise and blast complaints received from the SSW of Duralie operations, DCPL also advised that the Company engaged a blast specialist to review its blasting practices at Duralie and Stratford, and whilst the blasting practices were excellent and in accordance with best practice, some changes have been made to further reduce overpressure (that causes house windows to rattle), and this to date seems to have been effective. Mr Williams made enquiry about train noise complaints, noting a lack thereof. DCPL advised that complaints about the trains on the railway line have significantly decreased. DCPL also noted that residents may be making complaints to ARTC. Mr Williams asked that the Complaint Summary include a note of the number of train noise complaints received each period. DCPL advised that the Complaint Summary information is a summary of the information and actions taken in response to each complaint. In response to Mr Eastoe s proposed motion (received 13/09/12 in correspondence), DCPL advised that a complainant may not be satisfied with the outcome of an investigation, however the company fully investigates each complaint and aims for continued improvement in reducing effects on residents. The Committee agreed that there would be little value in adding the proposed column to the Summary and affirmed that whilst residents may not be happy with an outcome to their complaint, the company s complaint handling seemed satisfactory. 6.d) Additional Information Community Support Program DCPL advised that the second round of applications closed on 30 th September, and applications are currently being collated for review. DCPL will provide advice to the CCC on the outcome at the next meeting. 7. General Business a) Correspondence from Mr Eastoe proposing motions for this meeting in his absence: The Chair noted that many of the motions were discussed throughout the meeting as appropriate, with the outstanding items being addressed as follows: Proposed Motion 1: The Chair will extend an invitation to Mr Kitto to attend a meeting when available, noting that Mr Kitto is generally extremely busy Action Item 6: The Chair will extend an invitation to the Director of Mining & Industry Projects, NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Mr Kitto, to attend a meeting when he is available. Proposed Motion 2: Further to information provided earlier in the meeting (Action Item 4 from last meeting), and a request within the proposed motion for additional information to be provided prior to each meeting, the CCC agreed that DCPL s provision of information annually in the form of the annual report is adequate, and that there is no requirement for additional reporting of the nature requested. Page 4 of 5

5 Proposed Motion 3: Ms Schiff advised that Council reports annually about funding expenditure, and that quarterly reporting of same is highly improbable. The CCC did not support the proposed motion, agreeing that annual reporting is adequate. Ms Schiff offered to provide the CCC with a report annually, regarding expenditure of the Duralie Coal funding. Proposed Motion 4: Information provided in Item 6.d). Proposed Motion 5: The CCC agreed that it was too late in the year for additional meetings and events. 8. Next Meeting: The next meeting is scheduled to commence at 1pm with a site tour on Thursday 7 th February It is suggested that members bring their diary to next meeting to determine all 2013 meeting dates in advance. Meeting closed at 3:26pm. Summary of Action Items from this Meeting: 1. Great Lakes Council to provide a copy of the report of health status of Karuah River Catchment to the CCC Chair. 2. Draft minutes to be circulated to members within 2 weeks of each meeting; members to make comments for changes within 2 days before DCPL uploads CCC minutes to the Duralie Coal website. 3. DCPL to investigate note on Dust Deposition Monitoring Result and advise. 4. DCPL to include wind rose and water balance information in the CCC Environmental Monitoring Report. 5. DCPL to include an updated map showing noise monitoring locations with draft meeting minutes. 6. The Chair will extend an invitation to the Director of Mining & Industry Projects, NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, Mr Kitto, to attend a meeting when he is available. Page 5 of 5