Hazelwood Brown Coal Mine
The former Hazelwood brown coal mine is located near Morwell in the Latrobe Valley.
It is one of three Victorian mines gazetted as ‘Declared Mines’ under the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 (‘the Act’).
A declared mine is one that has been identified as having significant and complex environmental, social or economic risks, particularly in relation to mine rehabilitation and closure.
Declared mines are subject to greater regulatory oversight and must meet higher standards regarding rehabilitation planning and implementation as part of the mine closure.
Background
Hazelwood’s mine (previously known as the Morwell mine) served the former Morwell and Hazelwood coal-fired power stations for more than 60 years. Brown coal was extracted via open-cut mining and transported to the nearby power stations for use in electricity generation.
Following a decision by owner ENGIE to close the power station, the mine ceased operations in March 2017. ENGIE has since decommissioned most of the power station’s infrastructure and undertaken some preliminary rehabilitation work in the mine and its surrounds.
Current status
Rehabilitation
Under the Act, ENGIE must remediate and rehabilitate the former Hazelwood mine site to a safe, stable and sustainable landform. The company is proposing a pit lake as its preferred rehabilitation option to keep the mine void and surrounding areas stable and safe from risk of collapse and fire.
In November 2021, ENGIE submitted its rehabilitation proposal to the Minister for Planning. The Minister subsequently determined in February 2022 that the proposed works would require detailed assessment under the Environment Effects Act 1978 via a full Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process.
An EES assesses the potential effects of a proposed project or development on the environment. Learn more about the EES process at the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) website.
Documents pertaining to the Hazelwood EES and information about how it’s progressing can be found on DTP’s dedicated Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project EES webpage.
In parallel to the EES process, ENGIE is preparing a Declared Mine Rehabilitation Plan . This plan must incorporate any recommendations resulting from the Minister for Planning’s assessment of the EES.
Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator is responsible for approving all Declared Mine Rehabilitation Plans. ENGIE’s plan will not be considered until the EES process has concluded. The regulator’s approval will be contingent on all EES recommendations and regulatory requirements being met.
The proposed project also requires federal government approval under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
More information about the proposed Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project is available on ENGIE's website.
Regulatory compliance
Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator continues to monitor ENGIE’s operations to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements pertaining to Declared Mines. This includes undertaking quarterly audits of mine stability, rehabilitation, environment and fire risk.
In addition to its routine program of targeted audits, inspections, compliance and stability meetings, the regulator investigates all community concerns reported as complaints.
Read more about regulatory compliance.
Project updates and enquiries
Information and updates about the proposed Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project are available on ENGIE’s website under Resources. Enquiries about the project can be directed to ENGIE via:
Community concerns and complaints
Emergency incidents, safety concerns, pollution events, evidence of non-compliance and other community concerns and complaints should be directed to the regulator responsible for the area it relates to.
- Use the RRAM online form, email errfeedback@deeca.vic.gov.au or call 1300 366 356 to contact Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator about activities occurring within the site boundary.
- Contact Environment Protection Authority Victoria’s 24-hour pollution hotline on 1300 372 842 or online via the EPA’s reporting pollution page.
Recent site history
Referral to MLRA for investigation
In September 2021, the Minister for Resources referred five matters related to the mine’s rehabilitation to the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority (MRLA) for investigation. The ensuing report, released in June 2022, contained a series of recommendations pertaining to:
- geotechnical assessments
- defined reference water fill levels
- rehabilitation risks
- rehabilitation planning
- post rehabilitation risk management.
The report highlighted the need for adaptive approaches to designing, constructing, and maintaining safe, stable and sustainable rehabilitated landforms at the Hazelwood mine site while further detailed investigations, information gathering and monitoring continue.
As an important reference point, the report has and will continue to inform future planning and regulatory decisions related to rehabilitating Hazelwood and the other two declared mines in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley.
Morwell River diversion
In the long history of coal mining and power production in the Latrobe Valley, the Morwell River has been diverted several times, including to allow for expansions of mine fields at Hazelwood, Yallourn and Maryvale. Diversion methods have ranged from pipes in the 1970s to artificial river courses in the 2000s.
The most recent diversion was commissioned in 2005. A land bridge was constructed through the Yallourn coal mine with the purpose of redirecting the Morwell River’s natural flow away from the mine to allow access to additional coal reserves in the Maryvale mine field.
Major flooding in June 2021 compromised the diversion’s structural integrity, which threatened to impact coal-fired power production at the Yallourn power station.
A water diversion channel – the Morwell River flood diversion – was constructed upstream of the Hazelwood mine site to divert excessive river flows into the Hazelwood mine void. This proved crucial during 2022’s wet winter, enabling the continuation of critical assessment and repair works to safeguard the Morwell River diversion’s structure.
Due to infrastructure changes and inundation of the Hazelwood mine floor from the completion of these works in February 2023, surface water, groundwater and flows from the Morwell River flood diversion remain in the void. Covering some of the coal on the mine floor reduces fire risk over summer.
These actions do not pre-empt assessment and final approval of Hazelwood’s longer-term rehabilitation outcomes.
Page last updated: 24 Jun 2025