Coalmine wastewater spill south of Sydney turns Royal national park creek to black sludge

A creek running through the Royal national park, south of Sydney, has been hit by a coal wastewater spill that turned its water into thick, black sludge.

The NSW environment minister, James Griffin, said on Tuesday he had sought an urgent briefing from the EPA.

The pollution, which followed heavy rain, occurred after surface water and sediment at the mine site overflowed into Camp Gully Creek, a tributary of the Hacking River.

Sue Higginson, the NSW Greens environment spokesperson, visited later that week.

She walked through forest and past the clear water of the Hacking River towards the confluence where Camp Gully begins.

Walking further up Camp Gully, Higginson said her hands were stained black after picking up rocks from the base of the creek.

Higginson said she would ask the government whether the pollution would further delay plans to reintroduce platypuses to the national park. Those plans were paused in April after flooding across NSW.

A spokesperson for the EPA said the authority was investigating the pollution and had issued the company with a prevention notice that required it to take immediate action to prevent further incidents.

This included improving stormwater management practices and monitoring, increasing stormwater storage capacity, and developing more stringent water quality standards before releasing wastewater from the site.

EPA officers have collected water samples and were conducting further assessments this week to determine the ecological impact on the creek.

A spokesperson for Peabody said 2,500mm of rain fell at the mine site between January and the end of July, nearly double its expected annual rainfall.

The spokesperson said the company was working with the EPA to address the effects of more recent heavy rainfall and had conducted an independent review of surface water management.

They said a program of civil works to improve the management of excess stormwater was under way, and external environmental experts were assessing any damage to waterways and would advise on remediation measures.