EPA to undertake water testing around the Turon River

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will conduct water sampling in the Turon River and its tributaries in the State’s Central Tablelands to provide the community with information about the water quality in the area.

This follows claims that pollutants may have spread from the old Sunny Corner mine into the surrounding waterways.

Testing will take place in the coming weeks at recreational spots near Daylight Creek and Turon River.

The Department of Regional NSW has invested over $1.2 million on remediation work at Sunny Corner Mine which included earthworks aimed at reducing the generation of acid mine drainage that discharges from the underground workings.

Rehabilitation requirements for mines that have ceased operating are generally set out in the planning approval, and monitoring of rehabilitation is primarily overseen by the Resources Regulator, within the Department of Regional NSW.

The EPA will be working with the Department of Regional NSW to conduct sampling of the waterways to increase understanding of the water quality to inform any further remediation works that need to occur. 

Sunny Corner, located on Crown Land, was first mined in the mid-1800s and was abandoned in 1967.