LD Operations' proposed Margaret River coal mine has been given a resounding 'no' from the Environmental Protection Authority, which said the project would place serious widespread, irreversible risks on the region's environment.
LD Operations' proposed Margaret River coal mine has been given a resounding 'no' from the Environmental Protection Authority, which said the project would place serious widespread, irreversible risks on the region's environment.
At a press conference this morning, EPA's chairman Paul Vogel said the EPA had declared the level of assessment for the project as API Category B or environmentally unacceptable.
He the said the proponent had put forward a management plan for any events that would damage the surrounding area but that any risk, no matter the probability, was too high.
"Even though some of the significant impacts or risks may be presented as being manageable because of their low probability of occurring, the environmental consequences of some low probability event may be so serious, widespread, or irreversible that the proposal, taken as a whole, on balance, presents unacceptable risks to important environmental values," Dr Vogel said.
Dr Vogel said a number of environmental impacts had been highlighted - the impact on flora, fauna and the impact of additional traffic in the area - but that the impact the mine would have on the Leederville aquifer, the critical water supply to the heavily agricultural area, was an integral concern.
Dr Vogel said the EPA has seven weeks to lodge its report with the Environment Minister Bill Marmion, but plans to process the report as soon as possible.
This is not a complete government rejection of the project though; the EPA's report is one part of the environment minister's assessment of the project, which takes into consideration a 'whole of government approach' to the project, according to Dr Vogel.
However, he said he would hope the EPA holds some clout when it comes to decisions that would have irrevocable envionmental impacts on the region.
There is no appeal process for the level of EPA assessment, but LD Operations can appeal the ministers decision for 10 weeks after it is announced, an opportunity the company said it would contemplate taking up.
"We keenly await the reasons for the determination, as well as access to additional information sought by the EPA from other government agencies ahead of making its decision," LD Operations managing director Peter Ross said.
"We have requested this of the EPA a number of times and look forward to the opportunity to review all information before deciding where we go from here.
"However, we remain strongly of the view that the comprehensive and rigorous Public Environmental Review process, supported by the extra consultation and peer review measures initiated by LDO, would have been a more appropriate process to understand and assess the technical elements, impacts and risks of the project before any decision on environmental acceptability was made."
Dr Vogel said the ability of the EPA to act and make decisions based on the potential impact on an environment was one of the most important authorities it holds, particularly when it comes to matters such as the Margaret River coal mine, which has stirred up much public opinion.
