Planning for the Future – Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan

Organisations carrying out mining activities in Queensland are legally obligated to rehabilitate the land. In line with this, and as reported in June’s edition of Tieri News, Oaky Creek Coal is in the process of developing a Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan (PRCP).

 We caught up with Joel May, Environment & Community Manager at Oaky Creek Coal to get a status update and learn more about PRCPs.

What is a Progressive Rehabilitation and Closure Plan (PRCP)?

The Environmental Protection Act 1994 requires that all areas disturbed by mining activity must be rehabilitated to a post-mining land use.

A PRCP helps us plan exactly what activities need to be carried out – as well as where and how – in order to successfully rehabilitate the land occupied by the OCC mine and return it to a stable condition.

A ‘stable condition’ means we can demonstrate that the rehabilitated land is:

• Safe: Geotechnical
• Stable: Erosion control
• Non-polluting: Hydrology
• Sustaining: Ecology

 What does a PRCP include?

A PRCP consists of two parts: a Rehabilitation Plan and a PRCP Schedule.

The Rehabilitation Plan includes the following information:

• General information about the mine site and operations
• A project description for the life of mine
• Details of technical studies regarding flooding, groundwater, revegetation, geotechnical stability, water management, etc.
• Proposed post-mining land uses, including analysis and justification
• Information about consultation with relevant members of the community (e.g. local landholders, Government, Traditional Owners, etc.)
• Details of the proposed rehabilitation methods and techniques that will be used

The PRCP Schedule outlines the timing for delivering the rehabilitation.

 When did you start working on the PRCP?

While Glencore has always had progressive closure practices in place as part of the way we do business, formal work on the PRCP began in 2020 through a range of studies examining ecology, landform, hydrology, to name a few. Land rehabilitation is a core part of our business with approximately $10 million spent on average annually. We recently secured sign-off from the Queensland Government on 433 hectares (equivalent to almost 700 football fields) of rehabilitated mined land. Added to the 133 hectares that was signed-off in 2020, that brings our total rehabilitated land at Oaky Creek to 566 hectares! Something we’re immensely proud of.

 What is the latest status of the PRCP?

We’ve been busy undertaking a series of geotechnical, ecological, aquatic, terrestrial and hydrology studies to help understand the current lay of the land. For example, the gradient of the land, the soil conditions, identifying fish, bird and plant species, and testing the water chemistry and quality.

We’ve also held consultation sessions with local landholders, council and State Government, and other relevant members of the local community,  including the Tieri Community Reference Group (CRG), regarding the rehabilitation and closure of the site.

Using the information and findings from our studies, as well as the insights from our community consultations, we were able to provide some initial proposals for Post-Mining Land Use (PMLU) for certain areas to the Department of Environment and Science (DES) for feedback, including grazing land, open woodland and wetland areas.

Their feedback has meant we’ve reclassified some areas of the land. It’s important to note here that regardless of the land classification we must continue our responsibility to rehabilitate lands impacted by our mining activities using best practice environmental management in order to achieve the post mine land aims while minimising risks to the environment.

We’re now in the process of completing the PRCP studies and compiling application documentation for approval.

 When is the PRCP due to be submitted?

Originally the PRCP was due for submission at the end of 2022. This deadline has now been extended to November 2023 to allow time to complete the necessary studies, consultations and assessments.

 Who approves the PRCP?

OCC will submit the PRCP to the DES for regulatory approval. They assess the PRCP to determine whether it meets the legislative requirements in the Environmental Protection Act.

What happens once the PRCP is approved?

If the DES approves the PRCP, they issue the final PRCP Schedule. This is a statutory document that includes time-based milestones that Oaky Creek must comply with for the successful completion of rehabilitation.

How can the community keep up to date with the status of the PRCP?

We have already published articles in previous editions of Tieri News and on www.tieri.com and we’ll continue to do so as things progress.

We also present updates at the quarterly Tieri Community Reference Group (CRG) meetings. We encourage the community to join the Tieri CRG as they are a fantastic way to learn what’s happening in our community and help prioritise and deliver the right projects, in the right places. New stakeholders are always welcome. The next meeting is scheduled for 4pm on Thursday 16 February 2023 at the Tieri Library.