Elephant in the room at Westport hearing

For Immediate Release
25/05/2012

An ‘elephant’ will attend a coal mining resource consent hearing in Westport on Monday, representing the climate change concerns environment groups are banned from voicing.

Resource consent commissioners, put in place by the Buller District Council and West Coast Regional Council, directed that submitters not present evidence on climate change at the hearing for the Mt William North mining proposal. This follows a recent Environment Court decision that climate concerns cannot be taken into account on coal mining consents.

“Climate change is going to impact our lives, and our grandchildren’s – we’ll be paying to clean up the mess coal makes of our climate and oceans for thousands of years. Our environmental laws should let us take that into account,” says West Coast Environment Network spokesperson Lynley Hargreaves.

The Environment Court decision not allowing consideration of climate change – focused on new coal mines proposed by Australian company Bathurst Resources and state-owned miner Solid Energy – has now been appealed by West Coast Environment Network and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.

A peaceful rally outside the hearing will include street theatre – coal swept beneath the carpet, under the watchful eye of a ‘climate change’ elephant. “Our groups all wanted to present evidence on climate change, for example that New Zealand is meeting only a fraction of the commitments it has signed up to, but we have been told we are not allowed. Climate change really is the elephant in the room,” says Rosemary Penwarden of Coal Action Network Aotearoa.
“Nearly 150,000 people have signed a ‘No New Coal, No New Oil’ petition calling for moves to a clean economy. This would be a major new coal mine in an ecologically sensitive area – it’s time to say no,” she adds.

Groups being heard at the hearing and supporting the rally include Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand (ECO), Climate Defence Network, Ora Taiao: New Zealand Climate and Health Council, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, West Coast Environment Network, Buller Conservation Group and the Biodiversity Defence Society. There are also a number of individuals from across the South Island submitting in opposition to the mine.

For more information, contact:
Lynley Hargreaves, West Coast Environment Network, 037554227
Rosemary Penwarden, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, 0221856966
Colin Robertson, personal submission, 02102468528

Urgent request for submissions

Kia ora koutou,

Solid Energy have proposed another huge mine on Mt William on the South Island’s West Coast. Submissions close Monday 19th March.

We would really like as many people as possible to submit against the mine because of its climate change impacts (and any other impacts that you wish to cover). We are therefore making this request of all our supporters and urge you to pass it on to others who may be interested as well.

We have included the following information to make it as quick and easy as possible for you to complete a submission:
1. A simple template for the submission
2. Ideas for points to include.
3. Extra information from Lynley Hargreaves of West Coast ENT as well as their draft submission.

You can email your submission to the West Coast Regional Council (info@wcrc.govt.nz) and it also needs to be served on Solid Energy (info@solidenergy.co.nz attn Ruth Bartlett).

Thank you

Coal Action Network Aotearoa

1. Your submission can be very simple. It can just follow this template:

Submission to West Coast Regional Council and Buller District Council:
Mt William North Mining Project
Resource Consent numbers:
RC11181/1-RC11181/10
RC11/132A, RC11/132B

Submission by: [Insert name or organisation here]

Address for service:
[Actual address]
[Phone number/s]
[Email]

1. This submission opposes the whole of the application.

2. [Organisation name or "I"] contend that the proposal will adversely affect the environment in a way that is more than minor. [My /Our] specific concerns include:
- Climate change effects
[-Insert other concerns you have here, e.g. loss of ecosystem, water pollution]

3. [Include a paragraph or more outlining your concerns regarding coal and climate here, in your own words. You may wish to use information from: http://coalactionnetworkaotearoa.wordpress.com/ If you are short of time, you do not need to include this paragraph]

3. [I/We] seek the following decision from the consent authority:
: Decline the application in its entirety

4. We [wish / do not wish] to be heard in support of our submission. To reduce cost and inconvenience to all parties, we ask that the District and Regional council consent hearings be heard together.

[Name, signature, organisation]

2. You may like to include some of the following points:

• Burning and mining coal is the most efficient and fastest way to bring about disastrous climate change
• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) represents the major portion climate changing greenhouse gases.
• Coal emits 29% more CO₂ per unit of energy than oil and 80% more than natural gas. The long term costs of coal seriously outweigh any short term economic benefits.
• Coal mining has serious health implications for workers and locals, including respiratory illness from coal dust.
• Environmental impacts include waterway contamination by toxic levels of heavy minerals such as mercury, aluminium, manganese and zinc, as well as propagation of sulphuric acid called Acid Mine Drainage. This severely degrades water quality and is toxic to aquatic life forms poisoning and smothering them with deposits of heavy minerals.
• Coal mining cannot be seriously considered if New Zealand is to maintain its reputation as ‘clean and green’, nor its commitments to international climate change agreements.

3. Further information from West Coast ENT:

Hello everyone,

Submissions are due on Solid Energy’s proposed Mt William North mine at 5pm this Friday (since extended to Monday 19th). You can email your submission to the West Coast Regional Council (info@wcrc.govt.nz) and it also needs to be served on Solid Energy (info@solidenergy.co.nz attn Ruth Bartlett).

Your submission should state whether you oppose all or part of the resource consents that have been applied for, and whether or not you wish to be heard at the hearing. Usually you include your name, address, email and phone number.

The proposal is adjacent to the planned Happy Valley mine, covers 243ha, and involves about five million tonnes of coal. This is about the same size as the proposed Escarpment Mine on the Denniston Plateau to the south.

If you need more info you can download various documents at the West Coast Regional Council site http://www.wcrc.govt.nz/mtwilliam/application.html

All the best,
Lynley Hargreaves

The West Coast ENT draft submission is here [PDF file].

Escarpment Opencast Coal Mine Proposal, Denniston Plateau, July 2011 update

Please download the July 2011 update about the escarpment opencast coal mine proposal on the Denniston Plateau on the West Coast, and the campaign to stop it: EMP Update 2 _13 July_

It is from the West Coast Environment Network, who can be contacted by e-mailing wcent@riseup.net