A couple’s lives have been ‘ruined’ after a huge mining project expanded next door to what they hoped was their ‘forever home’.
Annette and Shane Morgan bought a peaceful quarter acre block in Menangle, 90km south-west of Sydney spending their time and money turning the two bedroom cottage into a charming four bedroom home.
They raised a family amid the rolling green hills and to them it was their own little slice of paradise – until mining company South32 started construction on two ventilation shafts and other surface infrastructure.
Now, the Morgans said, trucks thunder past their front door, dust covers everything, the noise is unbearable and they can’t even drink their own water.
However, South32 said there was no formal objection from the Morgans and that they had been consulted.
NSW couple Annette and Shane Morgan (pictured) said their lives have been ‘ruined’ by a huge mining project next door to what they hoped was their forever home
‘Shane and I spend hours in tears because we just don’t know what’s gonna happen and we put so much effort into it and, and they just don’t care,’ Ms Morgan told A Current Affair.
The couple say they have to breathe the dust, bathe in it and drink it.
They use tank water and say the dust from the mine settles on their roof and gets into their water supply.
Local independent councillor Judith Hannan is furious about what’s happened to them.
‘These people have lived here for a long time and all of a sudden they’ve been invaded by dust and their view’s gone,’ Ms Hannan said.
The mining project involves building a large entrance to the coal seam below, which will feature car parks, buildings, a heliport and two huge ventilation shafts.
But South32 sees the situation differently.
‘The mine ventilation infrastructure is critical for continued safe underground operations in an approved area of our Appin Mine,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
It supports ‘significant ongoing employment and investment for local communities,’ they added.
Trucks thunder past the Morgans’ front door, dust covers everything, the noise is unbearable and they can’t drink their own water, which they say is due to the mine (pictured) next door
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As well as the dust and air, there is also the noise the Morgans say comes from the motors that keep the pumps working.
Mr Morgan said they are going to be hearing that noise ‘all night long, 24/7, 365 days a year.’
South32 said that before getting NSW government approval for the project, it ‘undertook significant engagement with local residents over a number of years … including with Mr Shane Morgan and Mrs Annette Morgan, and listened to their feedback.
‘This process was important to us and we made changes to the project design in response,’ the spokesperson said.
But the Morgans say their environment is dusty and very noisy.
‘When you’re at the front, you can’t talk to people, you can’t hear each other,’ Ms Morgan said. ‘You’ve got to stay inside and keep all the windows closed.’
South32, though, said that during the assessment and approvals process, there was ‘no formal objection’ to the plans from Mr and Mrs Morgan.
‘We have met with them to discuss the project on a number of occasions from 2020 and have maintained contact with Mr and Mrs Morgan since the start of construction,’ the company spokesperson said.
‘To date, there have been no breaches of regulations at the site relating to noise or dust.’
The Morgans are not anti-mining but they said this has broken them mentally and financially and that if they tried to sell, no one would now want to buy their home.
The Morgans have found support for their cause from local independent councillor Judith Hannan (pictured)
But Councillor Hannan said there is a way out.
‘Do the right thing before you destroy people, people that have lived here for a long time, comfortably,’ she said.
‘Buy them out appropriately and let them get on with their lives.’
However, Daily Mail Australia understands that as the project is operating under the environmental approval conditions set by the NSW Government, the Morgans’ property does not meet the criteria for acquisition.
