Update on coal mine proposals May 2025
Coal mine proposals in the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area are legend and complex.
Coal mine proposals in the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area are legend and complex.
The Gardens of Stone Alliance is campaigning to stop coal mining pollution in the Lithgow region and protect the waterways the flow into Sydney’s drinking water catchment.
LITHGOW, NSW – Wilderness Australia has hit out at the New South Wales Government’s plans to allow private resort developments within the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area, labelling the proposal a betrayal of the region’s internationally significant geoheritage.
MEDIA RELEASE
Toxic pollution in Sydney’s drinking water catchment surges far beyond approved limits
11th December 2025
The environmental impact assessment for walking tracks and other visitor facilities are failing to adequately protect threatened species and environmental assets. The assessment for the Lost City track in the Gardens of Stone State Conservation Area estimated a potential 15% loss of a threatened plant population. This impact didn't trigger public exhibition or further environmental assessment and points to a fundamental flaw in the existing regulations.
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE – GARDENS OF STONE ALLIANCE
Unity ticket calls to halt Blue Mountains coal destruction
11 August 2025
Problem #1 - the approved no discharge design no longer works: A $250 million water treatment plant, commissioned in 2019, faces critical issues. It was designed to be a no-discharge scheme, meaning treated waste was meant to be released as water vapor into the atmosphere through the Mt Piper Power Plant's condensers. However, the plant often operates at much reduced capacity or idles due to the rise of green energy sources, reducing by many megalitres a day the plant’s need for coolant water.
Conservation groups are calling for a moratorium on a swarm of Centennial Coal proposals that would reintroduce mine waste discharges to the upper Coxs River catchment as current waste management is becoming overwhelmed. You can help by writing a short e-letter to Premier Chris Minns.