WWF-Australia Calls for Full EIS at Abbot Point

WWF-Australia today stood by its call for a full Environmental Impact Statement to be done into the land dumping of dredge spoil on the Caley Valley wetlands at Abbot Point.

“Calling for a full environmental assessment process is not ‘scaremongering’ or ‘hysterics’ as Queensland Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney has alleged. It is the responsible action to take for a massive new proposal on sensitive wetlands beside the Reef,” said WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman.

“We commend Mr Seeney for recognizing that sea dumping of dredge spoil is the worst environmental option but that does not mean the option to dump on land should be fast tracked. The simple fact is that the Queensland Government’s Abbot Point Port and Wetlands Project is a new proposal.”

“It involves huge bund walls, kilometers of rail line, and dumping millions of cubic meters of dredge spoil on top of sensitive wetlands. Although background studies have been done on the values of the area, no previous study has examined the impacts of this project. A full Environmental Impact Statement would evaluate these impacts and result in conditions to manage them.”

“A full Environmental Impact Statement should also consider whether there are better alternatives, such as a land disposal location further inland away from the wetlands or our preferred option of a longer jetty to minimise dredging and dumping. Let’s not risk the Reef and the 60,000 jobs it provides. No fast tracking, no short cuts,” Mr O’Gorman said.

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Press Release, October 10, 2014