The hydro alternative to Government's $80m+ mining cleanup bill

An aerial view of the Stockton Plateau on the West Coast. (Image: Google Earth)

Tue, 18 Feb 2025

A long-term alternative fix for the Stockton Plateau’s $83 million acid runoff problem is still on the table if the Government wants to run with it.Hydro Developments Limited (HDL) has long been working on a hydro scheme at the West Coast site that would trap and dilute the acid waste from over a century of coal mining. Current treatment methods are costing the Government millions of dollars each year.But HDL director John Easther acknowledged that if it is ever to be implemented, it would need full buy-in from the Government, coal miners...

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