THE dust monitoring situation in the Namoi Valley will be looked at as part of a state-wide clean air plan, NSW Environment Minister Mark Speakman says.
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The community has raised concerns about the accuracy of the four stations monitoring the air quality around the region’s mines.
The stations are run by mining companies Whitehaven Coal and Idemitsu, however there are calls for the government to take over.
Mr Speakman said the Clean Air for NSW plan will look at air monitoring across NSW. “Looking at what is happening in the Namoi Valley will be part of that,” Mr Speakman said.
“We’re looking at what we might do in the future as part of a state-wide strategy.”
Mr Speakman said one option was to replicate the system in the Hunter Valley, where the EPA monitors air pollution around the area’s mines.
“Again, we have to approach that on a state wide basis, work out where our greatest priorities are, then consider what, if anything, further we do in the Namoi Valley,” he said. The plan should be finalised next year.
