The NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) is holding a public meeting in Mudgee today, ahead of its final decision over the proposed Bylong Coal Mine, between Denman and Mudgee.
More than 100 people protested before the meeting while landholders, experts and community groups oppose the mine in an address during the meeting.
Bev Smiles from the Hunter Communities Network says if the project goes ahead it will affect the Bylong River water source.
"The Bylong mines are in the beautiful Bylong Valley which is a very rich agricultural land depending on a good water supply," Ms Smiles said.
"A large open cut and underground mine in that valley will destroy both of those important values."
The IPC will make its final decision about the future of Bylong Valley following the final meeting with 61 speakers, including commissioned experts talking about the mine's potential agricultural impact.
"The majority of those people are people that do not support the mine because it's a very high-risk project with high uncertainty that will not be sorted out by the proposed conditions of approval," Ms Smiles said.
"Everyone that's looked at this mine in the past have all had extreme concerns about the impacts of the mine."
The protest was a last-ditch attempt to stop the proposed mines from going ahead.
