Category Archives: SOMR Activities

SOMR Update January 2024

In January 2013, more than 100 Macleay Valley residents gathered at the Bellbrook Hotel to find out about the water contamination from antimony mines in the catchment. Soon after, SOMR was formed and incorporated. Ever since, the group has focussed on issues of contamination from past and present mining as well as other impacts on the economic, health and recreational lives of communities down-stream. In pursuing this focus, SOMR has forged links with various Government, research, legislative and industry bodies and has become a reasoned voice keeping the community informed.

11 years on, the most relevant issues are

  • Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro
  • Hillgrove Mine
  • Upper Catchment – New England and Armidale Regional Council area
  • Gravel Extraction at Turners Flat
  • SOMR Information Forum in March 2024
  • Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers

For more details click here

Oven Mountain EIS – submissions by 16 October 2023

Updated 10-10-2023

The EIS documents for Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Energy Storage are now on Exhibition as Critical State Significant Infrastructure by the Department of Planning and Environment.

https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/projects/oven-mountain-pumped-hydro-energy-storage

An exhibition process allows any individual or organisation to have their say about a proposed development.

The application, environmental impact statement, and accompanying documents are on exhibition from Tuesday 19 September 2023 until Monday 16 October 2023.

This means that there is not much time to scrutinise and respond to the extensive material.  Supported by State and Federal subsidies of approx 12 million dollars, it took the proponents several years to prepare and the Department of Planning and Environment six months to exhibit the documents. The public now has less than four weeks to write submissions. 

To assist you, SOMR has prepared a Guide to writing Submissions to the OMPHS DA for your consideration.

Click links for the Submission Template, Summary and Detail Issues and SOMR’s current Broad Conclusions. 

We have not yet been able to read, absorb and respond to the full DA & EIS with 27 technical Appendices (some 9000 pages in all) please regard the documents as ‘Preliminary’.