A breach of mining approval conditions has cost Boggabri Coal more than $100,000, with the Land and Environment Court supporting findings by Department of Planning and Environment inspectors.
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Boggabri Coal pleaded guilty to stockpiling about 90,000 cubic metres of excavated material from its nearby open cut coal mine at an unauthorised location, a disused quarry site outside the mine’s boundary.
The court imposed an $82,500 fine and ordered the company to pay the department's legal costs of $38,000.
“Environmental conditions are imposed on mines for good reasons and we won’t tolerate mining companies ignoring them,” a department spokesperson said.
“The community expects us to watch mines closely and step in as soon as we see the rules being broken and that’s exactly what’s happened here.
“The court’s decision can give people confidence in the department’s ability to make mining companies play by the rules.”
Boggabri Coal has applied for a modification for its project approvals to get permission to temporarily store excavated material at the quarry. The modification was approved with strict conditions after detailed environmental assessment by the department.