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The owner of a coal mine closed amid flooding concerns in Victoria's east is set to present an option to the state government on how to fix the issue.
Key points:
- The Yallourn power station supplies almost a quarter of the state's electricity
- Emergency works to divert river water away from the mine are being planned amid concerns the mine could flood
- Concerns have been raised about the oversight of the mine, which flooded in 2012 and 2007
Yesterday the government declared a state energy emergency after the Yallourn power station and coal mine, in the Latrobe Valley, was damaged in floods brought on by last week's massive storm.
The state of emergency means the course of the Morwell River, currently diverted through the mine, can be changed without the usual planning and regulatory approvals.
Mine operator Energy Australia has admitted there are significant cracks in the mine wall, putting it at risk of flooding.
The company is seeking to divert water to ease pressure on the wall.
The mine was closed for more than six weeks in 2012 because of flooding and in 2007 the mine wall collapsed into the Latrobe River.
Both incidents were the subjects of government inquiries.
Wall fix could take months
Spokeswoman Liz Wescott said Energy Australia was most worried about the vertical cracks in the mine wall near the Morwell River.
She said the company was working with geotechnical experts and government regulators to find a solution, which could take "weeks to months to implement".
"We are working with the government carefully on looking at ways we can move the river so we can divert it around the area of concern," she said.
But she declined to say what options were on the table.
One solution could be to divert the Morwell River into the now closed Hazelwood mine pit, which environmentalist say could come with the risk of groundwater contamination.
History repeating
Friends of Latrobe Water spokeswoman Tracey Anton blamed Victorian mining regulator Earth Resources for the crisis.
She questioned the regulator's role in allowing Energy Australia to mine so close to the Morwell River diversion wall, which she said could have caused the problem.
"There's a lack of oversight, so we are in the situation now because of greed to get as much coal [as possible]," she said.
"That was the same thing that happened in 2007 … we are in the same situation again.
Ms Anton was concerned about where the river would be diverted to and whether there could be emergency water releases into the nearby Latrobe River.
"There are toxic contaminants in that water that come with any mixing of the coal, and that happened in 2012," she said.
Earth Resources has been contacted for comment.
'Very serious issue'
Steve Dodd from the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union said the situation at Yallourn, which normally provided about one quarter of the state's electricity, was a "very, very serious issue".
"It's really important that we get assurity about the stability of the mine so that [workers] can go back in there and start generating power again," he said.
Mr Dodd said workers were still being paid.
"There's nothing indefinite about that though — they're still being paid at this point in time, we're not talking stand-downs or anything like that, but who knows how the situation develops," he said.
"We'd hate to see it prematurely close."