Pursuant to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act), the approval covers the mine area as well as the infrastructure corridor and rail loadout, and outlines conditions under which the mine should be developed and operated.
During the evaluation of the project, the government considered the potential impacts on threatened species and communities, listed migratory species, and water resources including surface water and groundwater.
Bandanna Energy managing director Michael Gray said that the approval of the project by the Commonwealth Government was another major step towards development of the project.
"Importantly, the Springsure Creek Coal Project was one of the first projects to be assessed by the Commonwealth Government’s Independent Expert Scientific Committee which was established to specifically examine the impacts of coal seam gas and coal mining projects on groundwater."
"That Panel concluded that it was satisfied with the assessment undertaken by Bandanna Energy and its consultants and imposed no further conditions on the development."
During the public notification period, the company received six objections and is currently working to resolve them in the coming weeks. It already received constructive responses from three directly affected landowners.
In November 2013, the Queensland Government approved the project Environmental Impact Statement.
