ASBG's submission is a response to the Department of Planning and Environment’s Improving Mine Rehabilitation in NSW Discussion Paper, which sets out the planning requirements for mine, quarry and other extractive industry rehabilitation processes over the life of the activity. ASBG considered it difficult to plan ahead to set the final beneficial reuse of a mining void when community attitudes and future plans for the area are likely to change over say 50 years. Consequently, flexibility to accept changes should be incorporated into the planning process. Rehabilitation should also not be time based, rather based on milestones. New opportunities for void filling and re-engineering can appear in the future where a new nearby mine could use its spoil to fill an older mine's void for a set period. A spoil off-set program was recommended. Such innovative approaches to mine ecology should receive the support of both State and Local Governments and encouraged by the planning system. Removal of duplication of multiple reports to different agencies where the reports contain the same information with a few variations was recommended.
 ASBG Submission on Mine Rehabilitation 2018 | 697 kB |
