Gippsland farmers angered by plans to turn Hazlewood coal mine into a huge lake

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 100 years ago, coal fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley have been keeping Victoria’s lights on. But as the state moves away from coal and the stations shut down, questions are being asked about what to do with the empty pits. Mining companies want to fill them with water, but some locals say it will hurt communities downstream.

Transcript

00:02For decades, Hazelwood was the powerhouse of the Latrobe Valley.

00:06It closed in 2017.

00:09Now its owners want to completely fill the mine pit with water, transforming it into

00:14a lake.

00:15While this project is very much novel for Australia, it is not a new concept to fill

00:20a pit with water and turn it into a pit lake.

00:22If successful, the project would set a precedent for neighbouring pits at Yallorn and Loyang

00:27when they're shut down in the next 10 years.

00:31It's a plan backed by the state's former Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner.

00:35The pit lake option makes it possible to actually use the land around the mines to use the water

00:45within the mines productively with a minimum cost of maintenance.

00:51But not everyone is convinced.

00:54Luke Stuckey is a third generation Angus bull breeder who relies on water from the Latrobe

01:00River.

01:00Luke Stuckey is used to just be able to lengthen our seasons and get better productivity through

01:05the tougher times.

01:06A bit of a drought policy as well, we can always have a bit of green grass to keep the

01:09cattle

01:09going.

01:10In the face of a changing climate, he fears any plans to divert river water into the pit

01:16could hurt those downstream.

01:18Luke Stuckey is one of the most important things.

01:25The irrigators' concerns are also shared by environmental advocates.

01:29At a time when we really need to be returning environmental flows to buffer the impact of climate

01:37change and salt inundation in the Gippsland lakes really could spell a death knell for our Gippsland

01:42lakes.

01:43For the next nine years since it's been closed, questions remain about the mine's stability.

01:48The Princess Highway, which runs just along the mine's edge, had previously been closed

01:53after a sinkhole was caused by heavy rain.

01:56And with Morwell's 15,000 residents just opposite the highway, a solution is needed soon.

02:02We need the mines to be stable, we want to get away from active rehabilitation and active

02:07maintenance to passive rehabilitation and passive maintenance.

02:12The company is now awaiting government feedback on its environmental effects statement before

02:17community consultation can begin.

02:19.

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