On the same day legislation was introduced into Parliament to substantially reform Queensland's mining objection regime, the Land Court recommended approval of Bowen Basin Coal's Meadowbrook Extension of the Lake Vermont Coal Mine. The recommendation was delivered just three weeks and one day after the matter was heard, delivering a significant win for BBC and a glimpse of a potential new direction in the Court's jurisprudence.
Two objectors raised concerns spanning greenhouse gas emissions, terrestrial ecology, water impacts, economic viability, social impacts and human rights.
1. The decision
The Honourable President Stilgoe OAM recommended approval on the conditions agreed between BBC and the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation, with no further conditions imposed. The result is a comprehensive win for BBC.
2. The project
The Meadowbrook Extension will extend the productive life of the Lake Vermont Mine by around 20 years and introduce longwall underground mining alongside a satellite open cut pit. The project will continue to produce high-quality coal predominantly used in steelmaking.
The Court noted that "[t]he Project is an extension of an existing mine. It will use existing infrastructure, an existing workforce and support an existing community."
3. Steelmaking coal
The project produces approximately 89% metallurgical coal. The Court noted that "[i]t will produce high quality coking coal which is vital to the production of steel that will be used in creating infrastructure for developing communities and in the transition to renewable [sic] energy. There is presently, no substitute for the use of metallurgical coal in steel production." The Court also noted BBC's evidence that global demand for steelmaking coal will remain stable in coming decades.
4. Greenhouse gas emissions
This recommendation contains some important observations on greenhouse gas emissions. As to scope 3 emissions, the Court accepted BBC's position that those emissions are the responsibility of the receiving country to account for and regulate. Her Honour stated that "the Paris Agreement's accounting rules are designed to ensure that emissions are counted only once."
The Court acknowledged and "accepted for present purposes" the precedent in Waratah that coal mining 'has the capacity' to limit a human right. However, the Court found that any limit arising from this project are demonstrably justified. The Court accepted that BBC is "subject to the safeguard mechanism and has produced a GHG abatement plan that contains specific, measurable goals. It has already identified a mitigation strategy through the gas drainage proposal."
5. MinterEllison's role
MinterEllison advises BBC on all environmental matters and represented the company throughout the proceeding. The President described BBC's expert evidence as "comprehensive and, so far as is possible in an area replete with technical jargon, easy for a lay person to understand." That evidence was central to the Court's consideration of the objections and ultimately its recommendation.
Indeed, only one objector elected to participate actively in the proceeding, and withdrew from active participation after reviewing most of BBC's evidence. The Court was not silent on this decision, noting that "[p]resumably, the reports triggered the objector’s decision to become inactive. In the face of those reports, the objector could have withdrawn its objections, saving the Court time and the parties much time and expense. Regrettably, that was not to be."
6. What's next
On the same day the Court handed down its recommendation, the Queensland Government introduced legislation proposing substantial reform of the mining objection regime, including ending automatic referral of objections to the Land Court and removing standing for many objectors, including environmental NGOs.
The Lake Vermont recommendation arrives at a significant moment for the future role of the Land Court in Queensland mining approvals.
