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Bylong Valley coal project exhausts all legal avenues
A South Korean mining company that was seeking to establish an open-cut coal mine in Australia’s Bylong Valley has lost its bid to appeal to the High Court, which effectively ends its legal avenues to challenge the 2019 decision to scrap the project.
Naomi Neilson
Several years after the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) found that KEPCO’s Bylong Coal Project was contrary to the principles of ecologically sustainable development, the South Korean mining company was refused leave to appeal the decision in the High Court based on written submissions only.
The Environmental Defenders Office (EDO), lawyers for BVPA, said that had the project gone ahead, it would have generated over 200 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, making it “an affront to global efforts to limit climate change”. South Korea had made strong commitments to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Managing lawyer Rana Koroglu commented: “We could not be more delighted for our clients, the Bylong Valley Protection Alliance, who have dedicated years of their lives to challenging this destructive and inappropriate coal mine proposal.”
Ms Koroglu added that the IPC’s decision was based on evidence and science, including about problematic greenhouse gas emissions. The decision was tested to its limits, but the IPC decision was upheld during every attempt to appeal.
“It means that IPC can be assured that an evidence-based decision to reject these kinds of destructive fossil fuel projects in the future is legally supported,” she added.
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
