Clouds clear: Maitland residents finally saw the sun setting last Friday after several days of heavy rain and cloud. The state government announced natural disaster declarations for council areas across the Hunter including Maitland, Dungog, Newcastle and Port Stephens. The declarations unlock financial assistance for those affected by recent flooding.
Image credit: Jane Greig
Homes evacuated: Assessments are continuing on a landslip in New Lambton, which has resulted in more than a dozen homes being evacuated. Emergency services were alerted to a landslip on Friday, which has affected more than 14 properties on Russell Road, Baker Street, Victoria Street and Portland Place. Engineers are assessing the damage.
More beach erosion: Port Stephens MP Kate Washington says she's been in contact with the Reconstruction Authority to see what assistance can be made available to address erosion at Jimmy's Beach. Severe weather last week has led to more erosion along the beachfront and part of the road has again fallen away. Erosion has long been a problem at Jimmy's Beach and locals have called for a permanent solution. Ms Washington says she wants to ensure any help that is available can be accessed.
Record-high dam levels: Dams across the Upper Hunter reached record levels following the heavy rain across the region last week. The Glenbawn Dam near Scone is sitting at about 855 gigalitres, which is 114 per cent of its capacity. Glennies Creek Dam near Singleton reached 112 per cent of its capacity late last week but has now dropped to 106 per cent. Lostock Dam near Gresford also reached almost 115 per cent but has since dropped to 103 per cent and is still spilling.
Appeal over mine approval: An Upper Hunter community group has launched an appeal against a decision to extend one of the largest coal mines in New South Wales. The Independent Planning Commission approved the extension of life for the Mount Pleasant coal mine to 2048 in 2022, which included the approval to extract an additional 444 million tonnes of coal. The Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group is now appealing a Land and Environment Court decision to reject the group's request for a judicial review. President Wendy Wales says the impacts on the climate were not properly considered.
Plans for old coal mine: Plans to extract unused old coal at a mothballed Lake Macquarie mine are gaining momentum. The Newstan mine has been in care and maintenance mode for a decade, but now its owner Centennial Coal wants to access hundreds of thousands of tonnes of washery rejects. The coal will be used to power the Eraring Power Station and would be transported by on-site haulage roads. Last year the state government struck a deal with Origin Energy to keep Eraring operating for an extra two years to 2027.
Pasture dieback warning: Hunter landowners are being warned to monitor their pastures after a condition deadly to some grasses has been found in the region for the first time. Pasture dieback is a condition that kills summer-growing grasses like kikuyu. It has previously only been found in Queensland and northern New South Wales. | 
