The Bylong coal project is dead, so what's next for the valley?

Mining company KEPCO has lost in its final avenue of appeal to establish a coal mine in the Bylong Valley.

In a short response to the Mudgee Guardian, the mining giant said: 'KEPCO is disappointed with the High Court's decision to dismiss the special leave application. KEPCO will now take some time to consider its next steps'.

It is the final chapter in a drawn-out story that began in 2010 and turned the once vibrant Bylong community in a shadow of its former self, heralded as a victory in the David v Goliath battle against the South Korean Government-owned company and the residents and farmers who have fought for more than a decade.

Bylong Farmer and Bylong Valley Protection Alliance (BVPA) president Phil Kennedy said he doesn't see the company resubmitting another proposal. Phillip Kennedy is one of the remaining few farmers left in the Bylong area, having called Bylong home for roughly four years.

KEPCO still owns a lease to explore the area for coal. The company could technically draw up a fresh proposal and put it to the Department of Planning though it appears unlikely.

"The air doesn't change, the water doesn't change, the soil doesn't change," Phil said.

"I don't think they'll reapply because - there's been too many coal mines knocked back. We've got targets to reach by 2030. We can't do that if we start new coal mines all the time. So we've probably seen the last few coal mines already opened up, and those days could be behind us.

He did not mine words on the subject of KEPCO's future in Bylong.

"KEPCO needs to eat some humble pie, pack its bags, and leave.

"KEPCO must not submit a revised project, it must not delay, it must only sell its land back to the farming families of Australia and leave the Bylong Valley for good."

The decision in the High Court follows a long history of defeats for the Korean Government owned corporation, whose plan for a coal mine in the valley was first rejected by the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) in 2019.

Nic Clyde from the Lock the Gate Alliance said the future of the Bylong Valley rests firmly in KEPCO's hands.

"The idea that you could come back to the drawing board with a fresh Greenfield mine proposal - I think it's pretty unlikely. And I would imagine even KEPCO now will see the writing's on the wall. I think the farmers have won," he said.

"The question mark now is - there's a huge opportunity with that land. Building a coal mine was was not the preferred use of the land that the IPC identified. They said, 'look this is some of the best soil in the country'. There's good tourism potential on the edge of the World Heritage area. And there's so much interest in Australia in regenerative agriculture.

"There's an incredible story that could unfold, but there's one Extremely important player in that story KEPCO who to-date have not wanted to come to the party. So the ball is really in their court."

The Independent Planning Commission (IPC) rejected KEPCO's planned greenfield coal mine due to a number of factors including the impact it would have had on water, farming country, and the climate.

That decision was subsequently upheld by the NSW Land and Environment Court, and the Court of Appeal.

The IPC ruling at the time prompted Mid-Western Regional Council Mayor Des Kennedy to pen an op-ed in September 2019 calling for an 'end to the uncertainty'.

"The project proposed by KEPCO provides our communities with a 25-year pipeline of jobs and long-term economic and social benefits," Cr Kennedy said at the time.

"The closure of the Kandos Cement Works, the Charbon mine, quarry and all those other businesses which supplied these major operations have forced locals to look elsewhere."

KEPCO proposed to run the open cut and underground mine complex for 25 years and mine up to 6.5 million tonnes of coal per year for use in the domestic Korean energy market.

In 2019 the South Korean Government put a question mark under the strategic case for the mine proposal with new plans to significantly cut coal-fired power use over the next two decades because of serious air pollution concerns and to reduce carbon emissions.

"The Bylong case shows that the people will stand up for their rights to a healthy environment," said Dongjae Oh, a researcher at Seoul-based Solutions for Our Climate.

"As South Korea's largest utility, KEPCO must transform Korea's outdated energy market towards 100 per cent renewables because the future of coal is stranded.

"Besides coal, Korea is one of the largest financiers of oil and gas in the world," added Oh. "To avoid further stranded asset risk, South Korean companies and financial institutions must learn their lesson from the Bylong coal project and exit from fossil fuels."

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