Community groups have criticised the NSW government's approval of the Wallarah 2 coal mine on the state's Central Coast.
The mine has been in limbo for more than a decade since a mining application was first lodged in 2006. The then Minister for Planning rejected the application in 2011 due to issues relating to impacts on drinking water.
The $800 million thermal coal mine has stalled a number of times following these early rejections, including when negotiations broke down between its owner, Korean government-owned Kores, and the local Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council over a $300 million land agreement for rail access.
The miner overcame this issue by using an overland conveyor system, rather than a rail system, to transport the coal, bypassing the need to negotiate with local indigenous groups.
Following a series of new applications and operational amendments, the NSW Planning Assessment Commission has given its approval for the mine.
The commission acknowledged the potential impact the mine may have on the Central Coast's drinking water catchment, assessing them as "small and acceptable" to the region.
Australian Coal Alliance campaign director Alan Hayes said this approval puts the drinking water of more than 300,000 people at risk.
"The Wallarah 2 Coal Project is completely unacceptable and completely unwanted, and its approval is a slap in the face for local people who have been fighting it off for over 20 years," Mr Hayes said.
"The state government is more interested in appeasing the coal industry than in the welfare of the Central Coast community. It's sickening."
He said the group will continue to fight the mine's approvals.
"If Wallarah 2 believes that they have beaten us, they are mistaken. We will not go away."
Lock the Gate spokesperson Steve Phillips said the approval demonstrates a broken system.
"This is a risky, unwanted coal mine that threatens the safe drinking water supply for hundreds of thousands of people," Mr Phillips.
"The mine has been knocked back by a previous state government for those very reasons. How is it possible that the mine is now approved? The system is broken."
Former NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell famously stated that a Coalition government would never approve the mine due to its reported impacts on the region's drinking water, and was even photographed wearing t-shirts protesting the mine. However, his government soon approved the project, and faced claims they misled parliament and breached the code of conduct over meetings with lobbyists for the mine.
"The Coalition came to power promising to end mining in sensitive drinking water catchments. They promised to stop this very coal mine - Wallarah 2 - but now they've given the green light," Mr Phillips said.
The Central Coast Council, and local member for the Dobell region Emma McBride, were unavailable for comment at the time of publishing.
Wallarah 2, the operators of the mine, declined to comment on the latest approvals.
The mine plans to operate for up to 28 years, extracting around 5 million tonnes of thermal coal annually.
Water treated at the mine will be returned back into the drinking water catchment.
