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Media Releases |
Media Release - Minister's Office Sydney: 24 June 2009 SAFETY AND LOCAL AMENITY PARAMOUNT AS TRUCK EXTENSION APPROVED The NSW Government has approved an extension of truck delivery hours and coal haulage for Port Kembla Coal Terminal, delivering a boost to investment and securing jobs in the Illawarra.
NSW Planning Minister, Kristina Keneally said the extension of truck delivery hours and coal haulage to the Port Kembla Coal Terminal came after a detailed assessment of the existing restrictions.
“The existing restrictions on delivery hours were introduced more than 25 years ago, at a time when the local transport infrastructure was very different from what it is today,” Ms Keneally said.
“This approval will initially allow up to 7.5 million tonnes of coal per annum to be delivered by road to the terminal 24 hours a day.
“However, this may be increased to 10 million tonnes over time should the company demonstrate to the Director General of the Department of Planning that their environmental performance is acceptable.
“The new delivery hours and coal haulage amounts will bring the terminal in line with other nearby industries. They are necessary for a forecast increase in regional coal production.
“The increased truck movements will be spread across a greater period generally resulting in fewer trucks on the road at any one time, especially during the morning and afternoon peak periods.”
Local Member for Wollongong Noreen Hay said she is pleased the amenity and protection of the local community was a major consideration in assessing this proposal.
“I am very happy with the conditions imposed on the company requiring them to address noise, traffic and road safety concerns,” Ms Hay said.
“Amongst other things, the company will be required to implement a ‘Drivers Code of Conduct’, including mandatory safety and noise mitigation training for all drivers which is good news for the local community.
“The code includes measures to manage speed limits, compression braking, load covering and queuing on local roads, and provides for incident management, reporting and compliance monitoring.
“There will also be measures to ensure the code is enforced, which will ensure the haulage of coal by road in the Illawarra is done in a safe, manageable and considerate manner.”
Ms Keneally said the approval will not result in any changes to on-site infrastructure at The Port Kembla Coal Terminal.
“There will be no changes to infrastructure for stacking, reclaiming or ship loading of coal or the size and operation of coal stockpiles, which provides employment for 123 people,” Ms Keneally said.
“It’s also important to note this approval does not allow for any mine that exports coal through the terminal to increase their operations. Any such proposals will require separate planning approval.”
Other conditions imposed include:
• Preparation and implementation of a Water Monitoring Program to include wastewater assessment criteria and a monitoring protocol for evaluating compliance; • Preparation of a Landscape Management Plan in consultation with Wollongong City Council, providing details of screening trees to be planted; and • Ongoing monitoring of waste production and implementation of necessary measures to minimise waste on-site.
“This approval, however, requires the restriction for coal delivered from the Gujarat NRE colliery at South Bulli be maintained.”
Ms Keneally said there is an obvious preference for coal and bulk products to be railed to Port Kembla Coal Terminal however not all coal mines have access to rail infrastructure in order to do this.
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