And a community meeting at Araluen has voted overwhelmingly for an independent inquiry into the Dargues Reef mine and ore-processing plan.

In the Eurobodalla, Coastwatchers spokeswoman Sheila Monahan said the NSW Government Office of Water did not support Cortona Resources Ltd’s assessment due to “inadequate information and a lack of certainty of the impacts of the mine on groundwater, surface run off and flow in nearby creeks”.

“This water runs into the Deua River, which in turn supplies 75 per cent of our shire’s drinking water,” Ms Monahan said.

“The refusal confirms that the concerns raised by the Coastwatchers Association in our submission to the Department of Planning at the end of October were well founded.

“We warned that the need to safeguard the water supply and its quality to the upper Deua River was not adequately addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

“There was also no evidence that groundwater and surface water would be protected from contamination by the mine operations.”

A recent meeting of concerned landowners and farmers from the Majors Creek and Araluen areas called for an independent inquiry.

Meeting at the Araluen Hotel, residents and farmers said they feared waterways, groundwater and wells could be contaminated by xanthates and other chemicals if the mine went ahead.

Ms Monahan said submissions from Eurobodalla Shire Council, the NSW Environment Department and the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority highlighted water quality concerns.

“Around 1000 public submissions have been received by the Department of Planning, most of which object to the proposal,” she said.

“Unfortunately strong opposition for good reason does not mean that the proposal for this gold mine will be refused by the Minister. We all need to be vigilant as this DA progresses. A reliable uncontaminated water supply for Eurobodalla could depend on it.”