The NSW government has recommended the approval of a coal mine expansion near the Hunter Valley village of Bulga, angering locals who won two court battles to have the project blocked.
Rio Tinto's Warkworth mine is closer to going ahead after the NSW Department of Planning and Environment recommended conditional approval on Monday.
The expert NSW Planning Assessment Commission had suggested relocation of Bulga as a condition of the mine approval but bureaucrats have ruled out the move, saying noise and dust impacts from the expanded footprint "would not be significantly greater than what Bulga is already experiencing".
A Department of Planning spokesperson said approving the expansion and continuing mining at the neighbouring Mt Thorley mine would continue employment for 1300 mine workers and generate $617 million in state royalties.
The Land and Environment Court overturned the state government's approval of the Warkworth mine in 2013 and ruled against Rio Tinto in an appeal in 2014.
The current recommendation for approval - for a revised mine plan - was made after changes to NSW planning laws in 2013 that require a mine's economic benefit to be the principal consideration.
The PAC will now make a final decision on the project.
