A New South Wales parliamentary inquiry has heard the former state government denied a family farm was contaminated by mining, despite tests nearby showing cadmium at 50,000 times the permissible level.
Key points:
- Water running through the Grenfell property had a pH the same as "stomach acid", the inquiry heard
- Another Orange-district landholder presented test results showing toxic levels of heavy metals in mud from his roof
- Orange City Council's chief executive has suggested "no-go zones" for mines in parts of NSW
Cath Sullivan and Craig Day have been giving evidence before an upper house committee investigating the current and potential health and environmental impacts of gold, lead, zinc and silver mining.
The inquiry is sitting in Orange, in the state's Central West, as part of its schedule of hearings.
The couple farms near Grenfell and has been reporting concerns about water pollution to government agencies for almost a decade.
Around 10 acres of their property is home to a tailings storage facility (TSF), once operated by the Broula King Gold Mine next door and used to store mining by-products.
The couple told today's hearing about their efforts to alert the NSW Resources Regulator and Environment Protection Authority to leaks and seepage from the tailings storage and a small dam which has been built next to it.
"It's the letter from [former Liberal environment minister] Matt Kean that's probably the biggest concern that says there's no environmental pollution on your property," Mr Day told the inquiry.
"The EPA testing in 2015, at the sources of pollution, showed 50,0000 times the allowable level of cadmium exiting [these storages].
"This has been a disaster."
Ms Sullivan told the inquiry a pipe near the sump dam sometimes overflows.
The inquiry's chair, Greens MLC Amanda Cohen, questioned the couple further about the testing results.
"You're talking about the quality of the water that's running through your property, you said that the pH was measured at 2.2?" she said.
"So 2.2 is consistent with stomach acid and the position of the former NSW government was that you didn't have contamination on your property?"
"That's correct," Ms Sullivan replied.
The farmers told the committee they no longer grew crops or ran livestock due to contamination fears.
"We are unable to farm, we realise we have publicly declared that our land is contaminated and therefore acknowledge that decades of rejuvenating our property have been thwarted by poor mining practice and regulation," Ms Sullivan told the hearing.
'My family is ground zero'
Orange-district landholder Bruce Reynolds gave evidence about his family's experience of dust, which he believes originates from the nearby Cadia gold mine.
"I'll start by identifying my family as ground zero. We were the first to be told not to drink our water, as it contained high levels of heavy metals," Mr Reynolds said.
The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) launched an investigation into Cadia gold mine earlier this year.
It has since pleaded guilty in the Land and Environment Court to breaching dust pollution standards and is due to be sentenced in March next year.
Throughout the course of the EPA's investigation, the mine repeatedly said reports showed there was no link between its ore and the dust.
But Mr Reynolds told the inquiry testing of mud from his roof gutters showed there was a connection.
"I constantly hear that they can't locate a link between the roof, dust and water," he said.
"The copper content in this gutter mud is 12 times the surrounding soil samples, so if it was dust from paddocks, then it should be a twelfth of what it is.
The level of zinc is around 50 times the surrounding paddock level, nickel is 2.5 times the soil level. Cadmium also registers, but it's not registering in the soil samples."
'No go zones'
The Orange City Council also gave evidence.
The chief executive David Waddell said the nearby Cadia gold mine delivered significant economic and social benefits for his community.
He told the hearing the mine supported thousands of jobs and injected hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy.
But Mr Waddell suggested there should be certain parts of regional NSW that should be quarantined from mining.
He referred to recent drilling Fortescue Metals attempted to carry out at Nashdale, which is a rural community to the west of Orange hosting many of the district's vineyards.
"I wonder to the inquiry whether no go zones that might include high quality agricultural areas, wilderness areas, scenic value areas might be a way to stop some of this angst," Mr Waddell said.
The inquiry continues.