PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The New South Wales Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) this week gave its backing for the proposed Terminal 4 (T4) project, at Port Waratah.
The T4 project would add an additional 70-million tonnes a year of coal export capacity at the port, with the project to be built in stages, according to demand.
The PAC’s approval was subject to a number of conditions to prevent or limit environmental impacts. These included air quality and meteorological monitoring, a biodiversity offset strategy, soil and water quality management and various other management plans.
While the project had initially been scheduled to come on stream this year, coal handling facility Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) in 2012 warned that the project had been pushed back to mid-2017.
PWCS welcomed the PAC’s approval, with CEO Hennie du Plooy saying it marked a significant milestone for the T4 project and the local coal industry.
“The world has changed since we originally lodged the application for T4 in 2010 and the need for extra coal export capacity is not so immediate,” he noted.
“Despite this, planning certainty will allow the industry to respond in good time if additional capacity is required.”
He noted that the PAC’s determination also provided the community with certainty about the conditions that would apply to a development.
The project would now be reviewed by the Commonwealth government under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, specifically in relation to its impact on ecology.