Blackalls Park resident and LT Creek Sustainable Neighbourhood spokeswoman Robyn Charlton said there were a number of species in the mine's planned expansion area at risk, including the Powerful Owl, which is Australasia's largest owl, and the threatened Black-eyed Susan (Tetratheca juncea).

Ms Charlton said the mine would impact on Awaba, Eraring, Toronto and Blackalls Park woodlands and LT Creek.

She said Lake Macquarie City Council used the Powerful Owl as one of its nine flagship species to represent the nine local ecosystems.

"It's ironic that we have these iconic species in the area and we are threatening their habitats," Ms Charlton said.

Preliminary environmental assessments by Centennial Coal found there were a number of "significant" risks relating to the project, including subsidence, and pollution of air and water.

Ms Charlton said she would continue to work with Centennial Coal as more information about the planned mine expansion was publicly released.

Located four kilometres from Toronto and called Newstan Lochiel Project, the expanded mine would extract up to 8 million tonnes of coal a year.

About 200 jobs would be created with the expansion, almost doubling Centennial Coal Newstan's workforce.

The move comes after Centennial Coal closed its nearby Awaba underground coal mine in December, as its coal reserves were exhausted.

Mark Connors