Clarence Colliery Pty Ltd has been ordered to pay $815,000 in fines and penalties after being convicted of five environmental offences linked to discharges of untreated mine water into the Wollangambe River, near the Blue Mountains National Park.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) successfully prosecuted the company for all charges under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act). This followed guilty pleas relating to pollution incidents from its coal mine near Lithgow on 20-21 December 2023 and 5-6 April 2024.
The court handed down a $543,500 fine and ordered the company to pay the EPA’s legal and investigation costs of around $185,000. Clarence also has to contribute an additional $86,500 towards rehabilitation works for Long Swamp near Lithgow, overseen by Local Land Services.
NSW EPA CEO Tony Chappel said the outcome in the Land and Environment Court is one of the largest secured by the regulator.
“This is a substantial penalty, and it should serve as a warning that pollution comes at a cost – not only to the environment and communities, but to licence holders who break the law,” Mr Chappel said.
“Sediment and coal material entering waterways has the potential to cause serious environmental harm. This runoff contained elevated levels of nickel and zinc and should not have been released into the environment. All mine operators are responsible for ensuring robust systems are in place to prevent this from happening.
“In this case, the company not only allowed large volumes of turbid, contaminated water to overflow into the Wollangambe River, but it also failed to properly test its pollution incident response plan and comply with a prevention notice. That is simply not good enough.
“Those obligations exist to protect the environment and the community – they are not optional. When licence holders cut corners or fall short of their responsibilities, we will take strong enforcement action. This prosecution is a clear example of that.”
The offences include two for water pollution, one licence breach, one prevention notice breach, and one failure to test its Pollution Incident Response Management Plan (PIRMP) for 269 days. This is the first penalty in history for non-compliance with the PIRMP testing requirements.
The company (a subsidiary of Centennial Coal Company Pty Ltd) must also publish notices in nominated newspapers, on Centennial Coal’s website and on its LinkedIn page.
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