A final public environmental report for the project went on public display this month, which will be available until September 5.

A modification to the project’s consent condition, which is under consideration by the NSW government, was lodged by Coal & Allied in May 2010.

Changes would include a two-year extension of the life of the development consent until December 31, 2022.

Approval for the open-cut mine was granted in 1997, however the mine has never begun operation.

A draft public environmental report was exhibited earlier this year and attracted one submission from Muswellbrook Shire Council.

The council’s submission challenged Coal & Allied’s claim the project would have substantial social-economic benefits locally.

The council said while there may be benefits at a state or regional level, the assumption of local benefits was false.

The council’s submission also pointed out that there was already very low unemployment in the Upper Hunter region and a tight labour market, which it described as “over-heated”.

It said one consequence of an insufficient labour force was “the depletion of trade qualified persons providing domestic trade services”.

Demand on water and land was also a concern.

“House prices and the cost of living in Muswellbrook, Denman, Aberdeen and Scone have risen markedly in the last few years,” the submission said.

“The urban land use conflict with coal mining also needs further examination.

“Muswellbrook’s residential growth is substantially constrained by coal mining development and associated rail infrastructure.”

The council also called for an assessment of cumulative open-cut coal mining impacts and the effect of offset strategies before the project modification was approved.

The Mt Pleasant mine site is adjacent to Coal & Allied’s Bengalla mine, about four kilometres north-west of Muswellbrook.

The company also wants approval to install a new conveyor and service corridor between Mt Pleasant and Bengalla mines so Mt Pleasant can use Bengalla’s rail facilities instead of building its own.

The mine has approval for production of 197 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal over 21 years.

The maximum annual rate of production would be 10.5 million tonnes.

The company says the mine would create about 700 jobs during construction and 300 during operation.