Residents ‘not advised’ of mining under town

Press, 18 December 1985, Page 8

Residents ‘not advised’ of mining under town

PA Wellington The Huntly East coalmine was extended beneath Huntly township without formal advice to residents, according to an environmental assessment report released yesterday. The expansion led to ground subsidence in several properties, which the mine’s operators, State Coal Mines, initially denied responsibility for, the report said. The report was commissioned by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Marshall, and the Minister of

Energy, Mr Tizard. It was prepared by a four-member panel chaired by the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Ken Piddington. It said that nowhere in the 1974 environmental impact report on the mine was it suggested that mining would extend under Huntly Borough. However, by 1979 bord and pillar mining had apparently extended under the township. “It is not exactly clear what communications took e between State Coal and Huntly Borough Council regarding notifica-

tion of this extension to the mine,” the report said. No new report was prepared to cover the extended mine area.

“It appears that individuals living in the affected area were not formally advised of the extension to the mine, though they may well have been aware of some change in the mining strategy.”

Subsequent subsidence of properties — including an Electricity Department hostel — caused “considerable local concern and outrage.”