Coal mining giants Glencore and Yancoal have withdrawn plans to create the largest coal mining project ever proposed in NSW from consideration under federal environment law following mounting pressure from local communities and government departments.
The Hunter Valley Operations Optimisation Project near Singleton was facing a legal challenge brought by the Hunter Environment Lobby, which argued the project's climate impacts on the Great Barrier Reef had not been considered.
The proposal would have extended the life of two mines on either side of the Hunter River by up to 25 years - HVO North would have ran until 2050 and HVO South until 2045.
It would have extracted 400 million tonnes of coal, which when burned would have added 1.16 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent to the atmosphere. The figure represents more than Australia's total annual emissions.
NSW Government agencies slammed the project for the vast amounts of greenhouse gas, particularly methane, that it would have produced.
An Environment Protection Authority submission said projected emissions from the project in the mid-2040s meant other parts of the state's economy would have to make deeper emissions cuts if the state was to meet its net zero emissions targets by 2050.
Hunter Valley Operations has indicated it will submit a revised plan for the project.
The Hunter Environment Lobby, represented by the Environmental Defenders Office, sought to overturn a federal decision that allowed the project to move to the next stage in the federal environmental approval process.
However, this week, before the case could be heard by the Federal Court, Hunter Valley Operations announced it was withdrawing the application and would submit an amended plan.
Consequently, Hunter Environment Lobby's legal action has been discontinued.
"We are delighted that HVO has walked away without a fight, but we know they'll be back," Hunter Environment Lobby spokeswoman Jan Davis said.
"And when they are, we'll be waiting for them."
She said it was unclear what changes would be made to the revised plans.
"However, we do know that there is nothing they can do that change the basic fact that coal mining is pumping billions of tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, which is driving catastrophic changes to our climate and more extreme weather," Ms Davis said.
HVO general manager Dave Foster said the company would continue to progress the proposed mine extension project.
"The NSW Government has requested more detailed information as part of its assessment of our proposal. We are undertaking additional modelling and mine planning to provide this information," he said.
"In view of this, we have withdrawn our EPBC application to the Australian Government until we can supply this information and consider any impact on the referrals under the EPBC Act."
HVO would also seek a short-term extension of time from the NSW Government to allow ongoing mining within the currently approved area.
"This will give the NSW and Australian governments more time to complete their assessments of the HVO Continuation Project. It is also necessary to safeguard jobs for our workforce and give certainty to our contractors, community partners, and the businesses that rely on us for work in the region," Mr Foster said.
Hunter Renewal spokesman Steve Phillips said HVO's decision to withdraw its current plans was a reminder that the world was shifting away from coal and communities needed support to prepare for the structural changes that would follow.
"Here in the Hunter, our communities have been calling for a region-wide plan for our economy and our landscape post-coal for years, and this is becoming more and more urgent but has still not been done," he said.
"We're asking the NSW Government to urgently release the millions of dollars it is sitting on in Royalties for Rejuvenation Funds to rapidly accelerate new economic opportunities and support workers in the Hunter region."
Earlier this month Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved MACH Energy's Mount Pleasant Optimisation Project, Ashton Coal Operations' Ravensworth Underground Mine and Whitehaven Coal's Narrabri Underground Mine Stage 3 Extension Project.
It is estimated the three projects would lock in about 1.5 billion tonnes of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions - more than three times Australia's total annual emissions.
Lock the Gate Alliance spokeswoman Carmel Flint said global mining giants should not be able to recklessly endanger the climate.
She said the "monster" HVO project would have shifted the responsibility for action on climate onto other sectors of the economy, including agriculture and manufacturing, and made insurance premiums even more expensive.
"The withdrawal of the federal referral underscores that this was an ill-conceived project from the outset," she said.
