Shire sends extraction concerns to water authority

THE Surf Coast Shire council has endorsed a letter to the water authority expressing concerns about Alcoa’s proposal to extract groundwater in Anglesea and discharge it into the void of the town’s former coal mine.

Alcoa has an existing permit to extract 4,000 megalitres of groundwater a year from the Upper Eastern View Formation aquifer to support mining operations under a licence issued by Southern Rural Water (SRW).

The company recently applied to SRW to decrease the volume to 1,500 megalitres a year and change the use so the water can be discharged into the mine void over a period of 10 years.

In 2021, Alcoa ran a six-month groundwater pumping test as part of a plan to eventually have the mine void at least half full with water to not only meet the requirements of Alcoa’s Anglesea Mine Rehabilitation and Closure Plan but also the ambitions of Eden Project Anglesea. Alcoa unsuccessfully applied in March 2022 to extend that trial for another six months.

At their meeting on Tuesday last week, a majority of councillors supported a motion that acknowledged “community concerns about the health of the Anglesea River and its catchment and possible causal links with historical and existing groundwater extraction from the aquifer”.

The motion also endorsed a submission to SRW by shire chief executive officer Robyn Seymour that further details the shire’s concerns, including:

• The cumulative impact of ground water extraction over many years, the changing state of the Anglesea catchment and the resulting impact on the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the community
• The lack of thorough exploration of alternative options for rehabilitation of the mine site with a view to the best environmental and social outcomes for the Anglesea community, and
• Decisions regarding the extraction of groundwater into the future in the absence of thorough data and evidence-based agreements about causal relationships of the extraction and the health of the catchment in the past, present and future.

Speaking at the council meeting, Cr Libby Stapleton said the submission to SRW was “critically important” to the council and for the community.

“It’s not a new issue, but it has reached a critical juncture.”

She said the submission restated the council’s 2022 position that it did not support extraction unless it was proven not to have a detrimental impact on the Anglesea River or its catchment.

“The only benefit I’m aware of in Alcoa’s application is that the mine void would fill in 10 years with groundwater extraction versus 26 years to fill the mine void naturally, relying on rainfall and inflow from the catchment.

“Given that we know the water body will be too acidic for any community use, I can’t see how this faster fill offers any real benefit, particularly in light of the risks it brings.

“Rapidly filling the mine pit is not a necessity. It is just Alcoa’s preference.”

SRW has not yet confirmed the date for a submissions hearing but says it is likely to occur next month.