Sample Letter: re Coal Mining on the Liverpool Plains.

Hon Phil Costa
Minister for Water
NSW Parliament Sydney       

(Date)2009.

Dear  Minister,

Re :  Mining and underground water in NSW

We are very concerned about the current situation of underground water in NSW.

As Minister for water it is your responsibility to safeguard water supplies , above and below ground.

Australian inland rivers are recharged by underground streams. The research on the volume, replenishment and source of much of this underground water is very limited, so how can you allow mining licences when the effect of mining on water in certain areas  is unknown. There are already  problems with the Sydney catchment, due to long wall mining in the Woronora dam catchment.

Proposed coal mining on the Liverpool Plains threatens one of the few drought-proof, rich agricultural areas in Eastern Australia and an important recharge area for the Murray-Darling catchment.

The recent selling of further licences for artesian water adds to the potential loss of an essential water supply for western NSW. Water in the great Artesian basin may be 1,000,000 years old: it is not going to be replaced at the  current  rate of use, especially since BHP-Billiton’s  Olympic Dam is removing large volumes  which  will affect the NSW artesian supplies.

You have a difficult task, safeguarding our future.

It looks as if the coal miners are wanting to maximize their profits and expand coal, at a time when climate change and excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are calling for urgent action to reduce carbon emissions.

Urgent action regarding climate change should support your work in safeguarding underground water. Environmental impact studies for mining schemes  should be done properly, independently of the companies concerned  and taken into account before  mining licences are given.  This is not your ministerial responsibility but your consent should be obtained.

Yours sincerely  

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