It has been suggested that there be a letter of objection, as a minimum, for any application for either.

The purpose of the report was to recommend the adoption of a policy to guide the shire’s response to applications for exploration and mining licences for coal within the shire boundary. The proposed policy would establish a position of shire objection to such applications.

The recent application to mine coal from the Vasse seam in the Augusta-Margaret River shire and subsequent exploration licences lodged for areas within the Busselton shire had given rise to a need for the council to establish a formal position to guide its response to such applications.

LD Operations’ mining application and the exploration licences lodged on behalf of Western Coal had identified significant community concerns over the potential impact of mining the Vasse coal resource.

The extent of the potential impact was considered to warrant council adopting a position of objection to such applications until those concerns were addressed, if that could be achieved.

It has been recommended the council adopt a stand because the shire was committed to ensuring that the extraction of natural resources within the shire was consistent with the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the area.

The mining of coal was considered to be potentially inconsistent with this objective for a number of reasons.

It could jeopardise the quality and quantity of ground and surface water available in the area required for environmental and other uses.

There was the potential conflict with existing land uses in the region such as tourism, recreation, agriculture and viticulture and significant community concern about proposed coal mining in the region and potential for a coal mine to impact on the character, attraction and quality of life in the region.

The report also expressed concerns about the potential implications, particularly on ground water resources, of any coal seam extraction activity in the shire.