Helensburgh mine fined for Royal National Park creek pollution

Metropolitan Collieries at Helensburgh has been fined for allowing contaminated water to leak into Camp Gully Creek. Photo: Peabody.

Helensburgh’s Metropolitan Collieries has been fined and ordered to pay costs after admitting that contaminated water was discharged into a creek flowing into the Royal National Park.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) took action against the company over two incidents in September and October 2022, where water contaminated with coal fines and sediment was discharged into Camp Gully Creek. The creek flows into the Hacking River system and the Royal National Park.

The company pleaded guilty in the NSW Land and Environment Court to water pollution and licence breach offences, and was fined more than $196,000. The company was also ordered to pay the EPA’s legal and investigation costs of $304,806.

The EPA said Metropolitan Collieries failed to maintain a water storage dam called Turkeys Nest Dam at the mine site near Helensburgh, which meant it was unable to cope with additional rainfall, resulting in the dam overflowing with coal-laden water.

NSW EPA executive director operations Jason Gordon said the discharges were unacceptable.

“Metropolitan Collieries allowed coal sediment to build up in the dam and to block the inlet to the pump, which prevented water being pumped to the water treatment plant. This caused the dam to overflow,” he said.

“We expect much stronger environmental performance from all our licensees, especially when their activities neighbour our beautiful national parks. The EPA will continue to hold polluters to account.

“We required that the company cleaned up the affected area immediately and made sure it was completed.”

The company must pay $150,000 of the fine to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to fund a water quality and environmental monitoring program in the Royal National Park and Garawarra State Conservation Area.

In May 2023, the EPA imposed tougher conditions on Metropolitan Collieries’ environment protection licence and issued two penalty notices totalling $30,000 for a separate alleged water pollution incident in late 2022.