Lock the Gate alleges out of date data used in application to reopen mine

Australian Pacific Coal purchased the underground mine, which has been in care and maintenance since 2006, from Anglo American in 2016.

The Independent Planning Commission previously rejected a proposal to reopen the mine to extract six million tonnes of coal a year until 2027 because of concerns about the project's economic viability.

The commission is presently considering a modified application to reopen the mine.

But the renewed push to reopen the mine has come under fire from Lock the Gate, which says that it uses an air quality assessment taken in 2014 as the base year for background air pollution in the district.

The group argues that the 2014 data does not take into account the impact of the nearby Mount Pleasant mine which began operating in late 2016.

"Average annual coarse (PM10) dust levels in Aberdeen in the last two years were several points higher than they were in 2014, and last year they exceeded the national standard," Lock the Gate Alliance NSW spokesperson Georgina Woods said.

"The Hunter is already suffering from coal dust levels that exceed the national standard and the health of the population is being negatively impacted as a result."

Lock the Gate also criticised the company for failing to address how the carbon emissions produced from the extension - 113.8 million tonnes, including downstream emissions, over the life of the project - would impact the climate, both locally and globally.

"The terrifying and destructive fires of earlier this year are still fresh in people's minds," Ms Woods said.

"Australian Pacific Coal not only wants to add fuel to future fires through this extension, but it barely even acknowledges that it is doing so.

"The Independent Planning Commission must reject the Dartbrook extension due to the unacceptable impact it will have on people's health and the environment."

Australian Pacific Coal was approached for comment.

The Hunter Valley's 14 air pollution monitoring stations recorded multiple exceedances of the national standard for coarse and fine particle pollution in 2019.

The worsening air quality was the subject of a meeting attended by doctors and community members in Singleton late last year.

Singleton GP Bob Vickers said he had observed a strong relationship between air pollution and respiratory illness in Singleton and Muswellbrook.

"There is no safe level of exposure to particle pollution," he said.

"In the Hunter Valley, 90 per cent of coarse particle pollution (PM10) comes from open cut coal mines. The mines, mining vehicles and power stations are also major sources of fine particle pollution."

More than 30 doctors signed a joint letter in September 2018 calling on ministers for health and the environment to take action to improve air quality in the region.

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