About Us

First CCA meeting at Dora Creek Workers

Our Origins

In March 2019, Lake Macquarie and Central Coast residents formed the Coal-Ash Community Alliance.

Many who attended the first meetings convened in Dora Creek and Morrissett, voiced for the first time long-running concerns and questions about the ash dumps on the lake, ranging from curiosity about the dead trees lining Ruttleys Road to more serious fears over the ecosystem impacts, ash dam management, regulation and planning, as well as community health concerns in the wake of decades of power station operation.

The Out of the Ashes: water pollution and Lake Macquarie’s ageing coal-fired power stations report prepared by the Hunter Community Environment Centre summarizing their investigation into water pollution impacts from coal-ash waste was released in February 2019, revealing the potential environmental impacts of coal-ash left to accumulate on Lake Macquarie’s shores.

The same month the Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation camp was abruptly closed due to risk posed by the Eraring ash dump in the event of an earthquake

The loss of Myuna Bay was the final straw which catalysed the formation of the alliance and the campaign to #CleanUpCoalAsh.

Ever since, the CCA and its members have held conversations, community events, public meetings, market stalls and picnics to spread awareness of the impacts of ash waste on water, land, air and community. The CCA have written letters, made submissions and sought meetings with the NSW Government, including Members of Parliament, Ministers and the NSW Environment Protection Authority to foster transparency and accountability on ash waste pollution reduction, recycling and remediation.

Notably, members of the alliance supplied key evidence to the Upper House Inquiry into coal-ash waste remediation (Costs of remediation of sites containing coal-ash repositories) conducted across 2020-21.

Members of the alliance are represented on Community Consultative Committees for both Eraring and Vales Point power stations.

2023 Update

In their July 2023 Newsletter, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW shone their Member Spotlight on us - read it here

About Lake Macquarie’s coal-ash pollution problem

Coal-ash waste in NSW

Coal-ash is the by-product of thermal coal comprised of silicon and aluminium, as well as concentrations of heavy metals and metalloids like arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, manganese, nickel, lead, selenium, zinc and more.

Coal-ash dumps in NSW are unlined and do not meet best practice standards for coal-ash containment, which stipulates that an impermeable membrane or lining to prevent heavy-metal leachate be used.

In NSW, about 3.4 Mt of ash is dumped annually, and on the shores of Lake Macquarie, two of the largest coal-fired power stations in Australia, Vales Point and Eraring have dumped an estimated 100 million tonnes of waste combined.

 Coal-ash & contamination

Many heavy metals are known carcinogens and adverse health impacts from exposure to both humans and animals are well-documented. The presence of heavy metals in the aquatic environment is of major concern because of the tendency to bio-accumulate in animals and plants.

Numerous studies have documented the environmental pollution stemming from coal-fired power stations:

Baseline Contamination Assessments

  • Comprehensive contamination assessments of all five NSW coal-fired power stations and ash dumps were commissioned by the NSW Government in 2012 before privatisation of the power stations. The assessments “…concluded that the concentrations of metals identified in soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater at the sites were considered likely to represent a potential risk to human health and/or the environment.” In 2020, these assessments were made public through the Upper House inquiry into ash waste remediation and were reviewed by the Hunter Community Environment Centre in Out of the Ashes 2.

C&R risk assessment and advice for metal concentrations in seafood from Lake Macquarie, NSW

  • Office of Environment and Heritage documents obtained under Freedom of Information law in 2020 warn that consumption of Mud Crab and Blue Swimmer Crab from Lake Macquarie can result in exposure to cadmium, and the consumption of fin-fish can result in exposure to selenium, particularly among children.

The Risk Assessment suggests people should not eat any mud crab due to high cadmium concentrations, and people, particularly children should limit their consumption of most seafood from the Lake. · The OEH study found elevated concentrations of arsenic, copper, and zinc in many the fish and invertebrates caught from the Lake.

Regulation & monitoring

Lake Macquarie’s coal-fired power stations are regulated by the NSW EPA through Environmental Protection Licences (EPLs). Through these licences, the EPA sets terms and parameters for pollution monitoring, reduction and mitigation.

Vales Point, EPL761
Eraring, EPL1429

While the EPA require operators to monitor for some heavy metal pollutants, limits on these pollutants are only in place for a select few heavy metals, salinity and temperature. Furthermore, the limits in place do not align the limits recommended by international water quality guidelines for Australia and New Zealand.