Documents a major coal company fought to keep secret have revealed a litany of environmental licence breaches at its north-western NSW mines over the past six years.

Key points: Environmental group lodged FOI-type request to access documents detailing breaches

Environmental group lodged FOI-type request to access documents detailing breaches The breaches were for range of failures relating to dust, noise levels and polluting waterways

The breaches were for range of failures relating to dust, noise levels and polluting waterways Local farmers living near proposed new news site concerned about Whitehaven's track record

The breaches relate to a range of problems, from contaminating nearby streams to air pollution at Whitehaven Coal's four mines.

The company has already been fined for the most serious breaches.

Whitehaven Coal opposed access to the documents — known as annual returns — which are reports to NSW authorities that detail breaches or "non-compliance with [environmental] licence".

Green group Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) sought access to the documents through the Government Information (Public Access) Act, a freedom-of-information-type request.

"I was gobsmacked at just how difficult it was to access these reports," EJA's James Whelan said.

"All we wanted were the pollution reports that company lodges with the [Environment Protection Authority] each year … these are things that should be in the public realm.

"The fact is it took us nine months of persistence — appeals and counter appeals — as Whitehaven stymied us at every turn."

The breaches were for a range of failures relating to dust and noise levels and polluting waterways.

In December 2013, the company mined an extra 138,095 tonnes of coal at its Tarrawonga mine in Boggabri and was fined $15,000 — an amount far below the value of the coal itself.

The breaches relate to a range of problems at Whitehaven's north-western NSW mines. ( ABC Rural: Lisa Herbert )

Other breaches were far less significant — for example, missing two days of weather measurements for annual maintenance.

"Some of the infringements were minor in nature — other infringements were very significant," Mr Whelan said.

"This is a company that has a wide range of penalties and infringements and we believe the penalties have been woefully inadequate to send the kind of signal that would bring the company into line."

Whitehaven Coal pointed to its overall "trend of strong compliance".

"Where there have been occasional instances of non-compliance, we have worked closely with all stakeholders, including the State Government, to ensure any issues are quickly addressed and remedied," the company said in a statement.

Local farmers concerned about open-cut coal mines

Whitehaven Coal has approvals for a new mine north of Gunnedah — but it wants to more than double the production output.

For local farmers who live near the proposed site, like James Barlow, the company's track record is concerning.

"We were a bit naive on the impact it was going to have on us personally," Mr Barlow said.

"It was [originally] a lot further away on the river, it didn't introduce a railway across floodplains and being a smaller mine in the past it certainly wasn't a big worry.

"But this [proposed expansion's] crossed the line in terms of environmental impacts."

The company is yet to submit an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the approval, where it will need to explain how it would mitigate the worst effects of the mine.

A farmer near Maules Creek said his family has been affected by blast fumes. ( Supplied )

"The EIS will be lodged in the current half [of the financial year], at which point we will have more to say about Vickery, including the substantial economic and employment benefits it will deliver to communities in the North West," Whitehaven Coal said in a statement.

The company's Maules Creek mine, north of Boggabri, is already operating and on track to become one of the nation's largest open-cut coal mines.

Farmer Lockie Leitch lives nearby.

"I don't think anyone, even myself, was prepared for what was about to change our whole family's lives," he said.

"We've been affected by blast fumes on my property and that's what I'm frightened about — so far it's been adults affected by these blast fumes.

"I'm extremely frightened if my kids are with me down the paddock as they often are, and we are caught in a blast fume. Those fumes are much more harmful to those kids than myself."

The breaches were for a range of failures relating to dust, noise levels and polluting waterways. ( Supplied )

Mr Leitch said he was also concerned about the noise level, and has made repeated complaints to the company and State Government agencies.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has set up unattended noise monitoring in the area — including on Mr Leitch's property — which has recorded an exceedance of noise limits.

But Mr Leitch said he had been told because it was unattended, it could not be used in court.

"[At a meeting last month] the EPA basically said that they won't be referring this any further," he said.

In a statement to the ABC, the EPA said "its review of the matter was ongoing" and it was working to address community concerns and non-compliances at the mine.

"The EPA has issued penalty notices, required an independent mandatory environmental audit to assess compliance with noise limits and issued pollution-reduction programs … and a review of monitoring equipment has also been undertaken," the authority said in a statement.