Media Release: SBCT Thursday 7th August, 2014 SBCT Questions The Veracity Of New Hope Water Recycling Claims. Activist Group SBCT has today questioned the veracity of New Hope Coals water recycling claims, made in a advertisement published in yesterdays Toowoomba Chronicle. The Advert reads: At New Acland we understand that water is a valuable resource and why its important to use it wisely. Thats why we only use recycled waste water, purchased from the Toowoomba Regional Council, in our mining and processing operations. The only bore water we use at the mines is for human consumption. Water recycling....for the future. SBCT spokesperson John Gordon, a former wastewater engineer for the Qld Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said the New Hope claims were a PR exercise in picking cherries, to try and allay public fears about the mine using excessive water and drawing down local bores. This advert is yet again typical spin, from a cowboy outfit seeking social licence, in its desperate bid to gain State Government approval for its revised Stage 3 mine. SBCT maintains that before the company sought EIS approval for its controversial New Acland Stage 3, it regularly drew water from its Balgowan bore allocation, says Gordon We reckon if Stage 3 gets the go ahead New Hope will be back to their old tricks and sucking the life out of Great Artesian Basin (GAB) resources. They claim theyll use 8.9 GL of water per year in their Stage 3 operations. That is nearly 9 billion litres for washing coal and suppressing dust, all this while 80% of Queensland is Drought Declared and some farmers can no longer water their stock. 3.3 GL will come from Wetalla wastewater. Which leaves a 5.6 GL shortfall to make up - some of that comprising reverse osmosis salty backwater from Oakey. Whats disturbing is SBCT believes 8.9 Gigalitres is guesswork. Even by New Hopes own estimates there will be a 20-30 metre bore draw down for up to 7km from their operations for 100 years to come. How many more farms will that close before this mine ends? There has been anecdotal evidence of farmers bores drying up when New Hope run their bore pumps. Weve been advised there have been farmers complaining at New Hope community meetings. New Hope is ever deceitful, says Gordon. Their water claims might be right now, ie for the moment, but they were false up until recently, when the company about-faced and put on its good behaviour Sunday best suit and applied for its new Stage 3. Our over-arching concern is that their water licences and allocations are not even policed by the State Government. Their water figures are rubbery. But the Government wont touch them, such is their sacred cow status. Its amazing what $700 000 can buy you. In a word...F A V O U R. The people wholl find out the hard way will be farmers who one day wake up to their water bores pumping air. -end- Attachments 1. IMG_201; New Hope Advert - Toowoomba Chronicle (6th Aug) 2. Alan Jones 2GB audio - 6th Aug Links ABC Lateline 9th May - Farmers Accuse Qld Government of Favouring Generous Coal Company abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4001991.htm
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:11:07 +0000
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