Washpool Coal Mine Project

Project summary
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)
Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Queensland)
Further information

Project summary

Washpool Coal Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aquila Resources Limited, is the proponent for the Washpool Coal Mine project. The project would involve the development of an open cut pit, mining up to 7.2 million tonnes a year (Mt/y) of run-of-mine (ROM) coal to produce approximately 2.6 Mt/y of coking coal for export. The expected life of the project is approximately 15 to 20 years. The project site (mining lease application 80164) is located 260 km west of Rockhampton, 60 km north-east of Emerald and 24 km north-west of Blackwater.

Coal would be mined by truck and electric shovel methods. ROM coal would be processed at an on-site coal handling and preparation plant. Product coal would be moved by road within an infrastructure lease to a rail load-out facility. Coal would then be transported along the existing Peak Downs – Blackwater railway system to the new Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal for shipping to international markets.

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth)

The project is a controlled action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The state’s EIS process has been accredited for the assessment under Part 8 of the EPBC Act in accordance with the Bilateral Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Queensland (2009). The controlling provisions are sections 18 and 18A (listed threatened species and communities).

Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Queensland)

The process for the assessment of this project is as follows:

The terms of reference (TOR) was issued to the proponent on Friday 2 July 2010.

The proponent has now prepared the EIS for the Washpool Coal Mine project. The EIS is currently available for review and anyone may make a submission to the chief executive about the submitted EIS. A copy of the EIS can be inspected at the locations listed below:

Department of Environment and Resource Management
99 Hospital Road
Emerald Q 4720

Aquila Resources Limited
Level 18, 10 Eagle Street
Brisbane Q 4000

Blackwater Library
Community Centre, Wey Street
Blackwater Q 4717

An electronic copy can be obtained from Aquila’s website or by contacting Livia Maiorana on (07) 3229 5630 or email <lmaiorana@aquilaresources.com.au>.

Submissions may be made on the EIS from Monday 9 May 2011 until the close of business on Monday 20 June 2011. Submissions should be addressed to:

The Chief Executive
Attention: The EIS Coordinator, Washpool Coal Mine Project
Environment and Natural Resource Regulation Division
Department of Environment and Resource Management
GPO Box 2454
Brisbane Q 4001

A properly made submission is one that:

is written
is signed by or for each person who made the submission
states the name and address of each signatory
is made to the chief executive
is received on or before the last day of the submission period.

Please note that it is a statutory requirement that all submissions will be forwarded to the proponent so that they may consider them and provide a response to the Department of Environment and Resource Management.