Documents on NSW State Planning , legislation, coal seam gas mining, and method of CSG mining - fracturing (fracking),media links and links to CSG action groups
USA Gas exploration and the damage of Hydraulic Fracking have resulted
in GASLAND
- a chilling and award winnng documentary by Josh Fox -GasLand Screening Locations
Following
changes made to the Mining Act 1992 in association with the passage of
Part 3A of the EP&A Act, project approvals and development
consents
may now address certain matters which previously could only be covered
by conditions of a mining lease. These matters are:
-rehabilitation
of land during or after mining; - preparation of
land for
mining; - mining methods; - safety measures; and
-
security deposits regarding performance in these matters.
It
is therefore important to note that, since July 2005, the Minister for
Planning has had power to include conditions in project approvals
relating to rehabilitation of land affected by mining.
The Mining
Act 1992 permits that underground mining may take place under a mining
lease which does not extend all the way to the surface of the land.
Most underground mining of coal in the Southern Coalfield takes place
on subsurface mining leases, which do not extend to the land surface.
The usual exception to this rule is the land around the surface
facilities associated with the mine, where a surface mining lease is
also obtained. However, coal miners need access to the surface of land
for a variety of reasons, the most important of which is prospecting
(ie exploration). The Mining Act 1992 permits prospecting operations
(including exploration drilling and seismic surveys) to take place
above a subsurface lease with the consent of the landholder, with
notice to the Director-General of DPI and subject to any security
deposit the Director-General may require. The other principal means by
which a coal mine operator may gain access to the surface to conduct
exploration is to obtain an exploration licence under the Mining Act
1992. Certain additional rights and responsibilities flow from holding
an exploration licence, including the requirement to enter into an
access arrangement with any affected landholder. All current
exploration licences for coal within the Southern Coalfield are shown
on Map 3. Following the partial expiry in August 2007 of transitional
provisions associated with passage of Part 3A of the EP&A Act,
mines which need to establish significant new surface works above a
subsurface mining lease (eg construction of a new ventilation shaft),
will need to seek project approval under Part 3A of the EP&A
Act.
They may also require the grant of a mining lease for ‘mining purposes’
under the Mining Act 1992.10
