Hunter Community groups want the State Government to immediately implement four recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into coal ash reuse as part of a push to protect human health and the environment as well as provide a boost to the economy.
The Public Works committee, which held the inquiry last October, issued 16 recommendations. The government must respond to the committee's report by September 22.
About 200 million tonnes of coal ash waste is currently dumped in unlined sites across NSW, with more than half of the material stored in the Hunter and Central Coast.
A new paper by Environmental Justice Australia outlines a blueprint for the implementation of four of the key recommendations.
They are: that NSW Health immediately undertake an epidemiological assessment of the health of residents near coal ash dams, that the Environment Protection Authority commission a comprehensive and independent assessment of the environmental impacts of coal ash dams, that the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment establish a coal ash reuse taskforce to lead development of a strategy to achieve at least 80 percent reuse of coal ash by 2022 and the newly established coal ash reuse taskforce inquire into and review regulations affecting coal ash reuse.
"It's critical that the NSW government doesn't squander this opportunity to adopt the inquiry recommendations in full, and ensure they are implemented in a way that results in better environmental outcomes and builds community confidence in how coal ash is managed," Environmental Justice Australia lawyer Jocelyn McGarity said.
"The inquiry found that to date, the government has shown a complete disregard for the health of its citizens, and government responses to environmental concerns has been 'frustrating'.
Wangi resident Bruce Derkenne said it was essential that communities were not left with environmental and health problems following the closure of the Eraring and Vales Point power stations.
"Our communities, who have been generating coal-fired power for NSW for decades, also bear the health and environmental impacts that come along with that. We have long been concerned about the contamination of our air and waterways from toxic and poorly managed coal ash dumps," he said.
"Every time a south-westerly blows you can see the toxic dry ash blowing off the uncovered dumps towards people's homes. We have a right to know what the health impacts are from breathing in that muck."
The NSW EPA also gave an undertaking to investigate the potential environmental impacts of coal-ash waste dumps in Lake Macquarie.
The site-specific environmental and operational circumstances of each power station will be considered as part of the review.
It follows a recent review of air emissions monitoring data and licensing requirements for all coal fired power stations in NSW, tightening emission limits and strengthening monitoring and reporting requirements.
