Marulan gas power station: submissions close 12 November

Why we are sharing this

We are a different campaign about a different project, but the issues overlap: gas generation, air quality, water, cumulative impacts on regional communities and whether the planning system is keeping up. Marulan residents have been generous in sharing what they know and are asking for solidarity.

What is proposed

According to the community group's summary of EnergyAustralia's Modification Report:

• Generating capacity would rise from 800MW to about 1.43GW, using up to four open-cycle gas turbines. The group notes the largest gas-fired power station operating in Australia today is 800MW.
• The project area would double from 130 to 255 hectares.
• Diesel would be added as a backup fuel, with about 13 megalitres of diesel storage on site.
• Operational water demand would rise from about 14 to 130 megalitres a year, and the group says the water source has not been confirmed.
• A temporary accommodation facility for up to 400 workers, a gas compression station and a gas storage pipeline of about 20km are also proposed.
• EnergyAustralia expects a decision in 2027.

These are the community group's reading of the company's documents. Please read the exhibited documents on the Planning Portal for the project itself.

What residents are worried about

The Marulan and District Action Group raises concerns about:

• Cumulative impact of several large projects in the Marulan, Brayton and Canyonleigh area sharing the same roads.
• Construction traffic.
• Air quality and diesel firing.
• Water sourcing from the Wollondilly River in the Sydney drinking water catchment.
• Bushfire, flooding and emergency access.
• Threatened species and ecological communities.
• The temporary workforce.
• Noise, lighting and rural amenity.
• Whether a modification is the right pathway for a project of this scale.

The group's 7-page summary sets out each of these with its sources.

How to make a submission

The project has been lodged as three separate applications. To have your say on the whole project, the organisers ask that you make a submission on each of the three. Your submission should be in your own words, because identical submissions are counted as one.

Links are as supplied by the Marulan organisers. If a page does not load, search the Planning Portal for 'Marulan Gas-Fired Power Station'.

What to put in your submission

• Say who you are and where you live.
• State your position clearly.
• Give your reasons in your own words.
• Say what you want, such as refusal or specific conditions.

Be respectful and factual. You can choose not to have your name made public.

A related project, the Regional Quarries Carrick Quarry, is on exhibition until 4 November.

Prepared by the Marulan and District Action Group and shared here with their permission. For help, contact marulananddistrictactiongroup@gmail.com or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18ibh8DARg/.