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The Coal Impacts Index is the most comprehensive list of breaches, breakdowns, and pollution events at Australia’s coal fired power stations ever assembled.
The Index uses a variety of data sources to track four main kinds of ‘incidents’ at the 16 coal power stations in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, that make up Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM).
Licence Breaches
Breakdowns
Toxic Air Pollution
Emissions
The NSW EPA alleges that a small leak developed in a coupling on the brine wastewater pipeline that caused brine wastewater to spill from the pipe and enter the Eastern Clean Water Drain which flows into the Final Holding Pond in Wangcol Creek.
The NSW EPA alleges that Energy Australia failed to comply with its licence requirements to undertake monthly water testing, after results for ten of the 37 analytes required to be tested each month were not recorded during August, September and October 2020 at four surface water monitoring locations in Wangcol Creek.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Eraring did not comply with a licence condition when no particulate sample could be collected, because a dust gauge had been smashed.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Eraring did not comply with a licence condition on two occasions when licence limits for pH and TSS (Total Suspended Solids) were exceeded at EPA point 2.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Eraring did not comply with a licence condition in relation to dust emissions from ash dam.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Liddell may not have complied with a licence condition, in relation to fugitive dust from Liddell ash dam.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Vales Point Coal Power Station did not comply with a licence condition, in reference to the allowable energy content for a composite diesel sample taken in Q1 of the 2019/20 reporting period allegedly exceeding the upper limit prescribed.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Vales Point Coal Power Station did not comply with a licence condition on 14 occasions, in reference to allegedly exceeding Total Suspended Solids (TSS) 50mg/L 100 percentile concentration limit.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Bayswater Coal Power Station did not comply with a licence condition, in reference to a hole in the ‘B’ Ravensworth Fly Ash Pipeline. Slurry (consisting of fly ash suspended in water) is released and enters the dry bed of Bayswater Creek.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority alleges Bayswater Coal Power Station did not comply with a licence condition on 7 occasions, in reference to exceedance of the upper pH limit at EPL Point 7.
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The data in the Coal Impacts Index is collated from a number of sources, including government reports and tracking, corporate databases, research reports and self-reported data from power stations. For more information about the individual sources for each of the incidents listed in the index please see the Sources page.