Ron Maloney was at the wrong place at the wrong time between noon and 12.30 on Wednesday, November 26.
He was driving along Menangle Road, about two kilometres south of the town, when a violent gust of wind picked up shed loads of sand and dust, causing serious damage to his vehicle.
At that moment, Mr Maloney was next to the Appin Mine ventilation shaft construction site, where, he noted after the incident, the coal company stores, by the side of Menangle Road, large stacks of material, including sand.
“If you remember, we had big storms that day around the area, and I certainly copped a huge one,’’ he told the South West Voice.
“It didn’t look like Appin Mine had been doing the required maintenance of their stockpiles, and that’s why I copped it, and my windscreen was damaged.
“It was so bad; it looked like my windscreen had been sandblasted.’’
Mr Maloney contacted the company, Appin Mine, seeking compensation for the damage to his car, and also alerted the NSW Environment Protection Agency [EPA].
He also asked a smash repair firm in Narellan to give him a quote to fix his windscreen.
The EPA have launched an investigation into his claims that Appin Mine did not maintain the stockpiles along Menangle Road. They have already alerted the company that they are looking into Mr Maloney’s claims.
The smash repair business meanwhile has quoted him $13,000 for the work.
As for Appin Mine, they have denied any responsibility for the incident, but have told Mr Maloney they will co-operate with the EPA’s investigation.
“The Appin Mine Ventilation Shaft site is required to comply with strict air quality and dust management conditions during construction,’’ Appin Mine said in an emailed response to Mr Maloney.
“To ensure this, we operate real-time weather and dust monitoring systems, and our contractors implement dust mitigation measures in accordance with our approved Management Plans and Conditions of Consent.
“In response to your concerns, we reviewed all available information, including monitoring data, site imagery and video footage taken at the time you identified, site logs, and our weather station records.
“We acknowledge that there were strong regional gusty conditions in the area at the time although, our monitoring data showed air quality levels remained within the regulatory criteria and based on the information available we have not been able to find conclusive evidence the material from our site caused the alleged damage to your vehicle.
“Given the outcome of our review, we are not able to accept the claim in relation to the alleged vehicle damage.
“However, we will fully cooperate with any enquiries from the EPA as part of their assessment of your complaint.’’
Naturally, Mr Moloney is not happy with the company’s response.
He has now requested a site visit to look at the camera recordings on that day, and also for a site representative from Appin Mine to inspect the damage.
The company has responded by telling Mr Maloney that until the EPA investigation was completed they won’t comply to his request.