Hello you magnificent people!

Apologies for the lack of updates. A minor dose of Covid intervened but we are all healthy and back on track now. 

Thank you to all of you who continue to support us and those of you who have recently joined our fight to resist this massive open-cut lead mine! We are now only a cat's whisker short of 3,000 supporters!

The Federal Environment Minister, The Hon. Tanya Plibersek, will soon make an assessment of the Bowdens project. The project needs her sign-off and approval because of the impacts it will have on listed threatened species and communities under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).

This is an opportunity for us, but we need to act fast. 

We are asking all our supporters to please take 5 minutes over the weekend to email Minister Plibersek, outlining why she shouldn't give this project approval under the EPBC Act.

How to do it:

Email address: Minister.Plibersek@dcceew.gov.au 

Subject: Concerns re. assessment of Bowdens Silver Project (2018/8372)

Points you could include:

I am concerned that the NSW Government's assessment:

• Completely fails to identify and assess impacts to key Endangered Ecological Communities in relation to the EPBC Act 1999 (Cth), in particular the Montane Peatlands and Swamps EEC.
• Fails to adequately assess impacts to Koalas in the area associated with removal of 139.59ha of known Core Koala Habitat, and the removal of 182.27 ha of important Regent Honeyeater habitat including Box Gum Woodland.
• Fails to assess the social impact associated with routine blood lead level testing of local community and in particular primary school children, or of elevated blood lead levels.

There has been a failure by the NSW Government to meet the assessment requirements under the Bilateral Agreement EPBC 2018/8372, and I urge the Commonwealth not to rely on this when considering approval of the project. 

...

Please feel free to add anything else you like. Some of the highly concerning environmental impacts of the mine can be seen below.

The Bowdens project will involve:

• Clearing of 139.59 ha of known core Koala habitat.
• Clearing of 182.27 ha of important Regent Honeyeater habitat including Box-Gum Woodland. 
• Clearing of 180 ha of NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 listed Box-Gum Woodland of which 146 ha meets the legal classification of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) critically endangered ‘Box-Gum Woodland’. Fragmentation and degradation of remaining Box-Gum Woodland.
  Impacts to at least 13 threatened species that are listed in NSW as ‘ecosystem credit’ species.
• Impacts to at least six threatened species that are listed in NSW as ‘species credit’ species.
• Accumulation of cyanide-bearing waste in the Tailings Storage Facility posing a risk for any fauna which comes into contact with such waste, either directly in the Facility or in contaminated water that has seeped from the Facility.

Thank you so much for your help. We could not continue to fight effectively without your support, and we appreciate all you can do for us. Please keep spreading the word! Our voice must be heard if we are to make the change we need!