SNP drive for opencast coal appals Greens

Published Date: 17 May 2009
By Tom Peterkin, Scottish Political Editor

SCOTLAND has seen a dramatic increase in its opencast mining industry with new research revealing that there are plans to extract at least 12 million tonnes of coal over the next few years.
Environmental campaigners have expressed concerns about the scale of Scotland's opencast mining industry, a technique that scars the landscape and pollutes the atmosphere.Scotland on Sunday can reveal that since the SNP government came into power in May 2007, nine major opencast mines have been approved – operations that will see the excavation of a total of 7.8m tonnes of coal during their lifespans.Another five major projects are awaiting planning approval. If they get the go-ahead, a further 4.6m tonnes of coal will be dug up over the next few years. The 14 new projects are in addition to the 20.8 million tonnes of opencast coal that was already licensed for extraction at December 2006 – before the SNP came to power.The extent of Scotland's opencast mining industry was revealed in a survey conducted by the Green Party.The number of projects approved by ministers has led to the Greens questioning the SNP's commitment to renewable energy sources.The Greens are also concerned about a watering down of planning rules that had once required ministers to be notified about opencast sites of more than 500 hectares. That requirement has now gone, and under rules introduced last month, ministers will not routinely consider any application for opencast applications further than 500 metres from an "existing community or sensitive establishment".The following projects have been approved since May 2007: Greenburn Extensions, East Ayrshire (293,922 tonnes); Muir Dean, Fife (2,275,192 tonnes); Auchencorth, Borders (450,000 tonnes); Samsiston, Dumfries and Galloway (395,480 tonnes); Rigg, Dumfries and Galloway (1,300,000 tonnes); Mossbank Farm Quarry, North Lanarkshire (102,000 tonnes); Blair House, Fife (620,068 tonnes); Mainshill, South Lanarkshire (1,700,000 tonnes) and Skares Rd Extension, East Ayrshire (600,000 tonnes).According to the Greens' research, the following projects are awaiting approval: Dunstonhill, East Ayrshire (1,200,000 tonnes); Headless Cross East, North Lanarkshire, (1,100,000 tonnes); Lanehead, East Ayrshire (400,000 tonnes); Nettly Burn, Fife (470,000 tonnes) and Rusha, West Lothian (1,500,000 tonnes).Patrick Harvie, the Green leader, said: "For the climate, for the landscape and for communities across southern and central Scotland, coal is now simply the problem, and opencast coal is the dirtiest way to get it out of the ground. Deep mines at least provided jobs in large numbers – opencast leaves only scars, landfill sites and pollution. "For communities in Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Fife and across the South of Scotland, the SNP's continued support for coal means ever more open-cast mining in their area, more pollution, more disruption, and more threats to their health." Duncan McLaren, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "Open casting is the most environmentally damaging process conceivable. It creates a large amount of noise and dust and sees diesel emissions being poured into the atmosphere."Many of the mines face opposition locally. At Mainshill, South Lanarkshire, permission has been granted for a Scottish Coal run mine near the Lady Home Hospital near the village of Douglas."This must be the only place in the world where they are putting an opencast mine right next to a hospital," said Lindsay Addison, the vice-chairman of Douglas Community Council."This application is on an area of great landscape value and it will pollute and destroy our community and see the destruction of our landscape." Experts in the coal industry claim that the new mines are needed because a handful of very large mines in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Fife are coming to the end of their natural lives. Coal Authority data for Scotland suggests that current production levels are less than historic averages.Don Nicolson, the chief executive of Scottish Resources Group – the parent company of Scottish Coal – said: "Until renewables can provide a strong, reliable and plentiful volume of energy, then we need to continue to use more traditional sources such as coal."A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Planning policies are firmly in place to ensure opencast coal mining sites are only approved if they are environmentally acceptable or provide local benefits, such as jobs or land improvements. The Scottish Government also strongly supports the development of clean coal and carbon capture technology