The resource consent hearing for Solid Energy's proposed new Mt William North mine kicked off in Westport today, with Solid Energy at pains to show the differences to Bathurst Resources' Escarpment Mine proposal.
Solid Energy plans to mine about 5 million tonnes of coal over about 12 years on a 243ha site.
The plan was "broadly comparable'' to Bathurst's proposed 200ha Escarpment Mine on the Denniston Plateau, but there were some significant differences, said Solid Energy lawyer Mark Christensen.
The major difference was the Mt William North Mine had been gazetted as a State Coal Reserve in the 1980s and specifically excluded from surrounding land administered by the Department of Conservation, (DOC), said Mr Christensen.
The Mt William site was "effectively zoned for mining'', whereas the Escarpment Mine on public conservation land was not, he said.
DOC had not asked to be heard on this application, but had submitted a number of conditions, all of which Solid Energy had accepted.
The proposal would also promote efficient use of Stockton mine's existing infrastructure, with no need to build a new water treatment plant or facilities, or truck coal off the site, Mr Christensen said.
Solid Energy had already spent $80m on water quality improvement. The planned Lower St Pats (LSP) reservoir would continue this work, including the remediation of water affected by historic mining.
The LSP reservoir would be able to treat all current, historic and future acid water and sedimentation from both the Cypress mining area and Mt William North.
An investigation led by Dr Gary Bramley into the extent of the Brunner Coal Measures on the Stockton and Denniston Plateaus showed that of the original 10,311ha of coal measure vegetation on the plateaus, 7742ha or 75 per cent was left.
Mining Mt William would reduce it by a further 1.6 per cent or about 130ha - less than the 2 per cent threshold of acceptability.
Even if Solid Energy chose to mine all of the coal measures in its Upper Waimangaroa mining permit area, close to two thirds of the current coal measure vegetation would be left intact, Mr Christensen said.
Commission chair John Lumsden opened the hearing by confirming that he would follow the recent Environment Court decision excluding climate change evidence at Resource Management Act hearings.
The decision had confirmed his beliefs that considering the downstream effects of any RMA decisions, not just coal, was opening a up "Pandora's Box''.
The decision is being appealed.
- By Keira Stephenson of the Westport News
