Latrobe Valley residents have been told to brace themselves for coal mining licences to devalue their properties.
About 70 people attended a meeting at Traralgon last night to discuss the Victorian Government's plans to give companies permission to buy up coal deposits.
The Government is expected to offer new coal allocations over large parts of the Latrobe Valley by the end of year.
The Environment Victoria meeting warned landholders they have few rights over their land because the Government owns the coal underground.
The campaign director for Environment Victoria, Mark Wakeham, says billions of tonnes of coal could be allocated to mining companies and many of the coal deposits are underneath farms.
"Once they make that decision if they decide to go ahead with the coal allocation, that will mean that landholders will be affected, a tender process will be run and it will be that much more difficult to change their mind down the track," he said.
"But it's a big decision to allocate billions of tonnes of coal, it could have a serious impact on locals."