Court proceedings have begun today in Queensland’s Land Court, with several groups trying to stop the Alpha Coal Project in the state’s central west.

Mining company GVK Hancock’s project is set to extract 32 million tonnes of coal per year from the site just east of Rockhampton. The company has delayed the first exports of coal from the project until 2017; some critics have suggested GVK is waiting while outrage subsides.

The Alpha Coal Project has caught the ire of community groups, conservationists, environmentalists and farmers. It has lead to the launch of legal action by three Alpha families, who say their vital water supply is at risk from the project. A local community group called Coast and Country has joined in support of the case, claiming it will negatively affect the environmental future.

Among the disputed points to be put before the court in the course of proceedings are; the water risk claims, possible inaccuracy in projected economic benefits and impacts on other industries and community welfare.

Alpha landholder Peter Anderson says he just wants to know that if the company damages the two aquifers he relies on for a living, he can still be protected: “We rely quite extensively on underground water for the properties at Alpha,” he said.

“In a dry time such as now, the property is drought-declared at present and in a few weeks' time - we'll be relying almost exclusively on underground water.”

The case expected to continue for several weeks.