Showing posts with label mining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mining. Show all posts
Tuesday 30 April 2019
Morrison Government signed off on a controversial uranium mine one day before calling the federal election
ABC
News, 26
April 2019:
The Morrison Government
signed off on a controversial uranium mine one day before calling the federal
election, and did not publicly announce the move until the environment
department uploaded the approval document the day before Anzac Day.
The Yeelirrie Uranium
mine, located 500 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, requires
both federal and state approval.
The state approval of
the proposed mine is still being fought in the state's Supreme Court by members
of the Tjiwarl traditional owners.
In 2016, the West Australian Environment Protection Agency advised
the mine not be approved, concluding it posed too great a risk of
extinction to some native animals.
The former Liberal
Barnett government controversially approved the mine in 2017, just weeks before
it lost the West Australian election.
Canadian company Cameco,
the world's largest uranium producer, is seeking to develop the uranium mine,
which would cover an area 9km long and 1.5km wide.
It would involve the
clearing of up to 2,422 hectares of native vegetation.
It is also approved to
cause groundwater levels to drop by 50cm, and they would not completely recover
for 200 years, according to Cameco's environmental reports.
A spokesperson for
Environment Minister Melissa Price said the approval was subject to 32 strict
conditions to avoid and mitigate potential environmental impacts.
Traditional owner of the
area, Tjiwarl woman Vicky Abdullah, said she was surprised by the announcement,
and was hoping for the project to be rejected.
"It's a very
precious place for all of us. For me and my two aunties, who have been walking
on country," she said.
Mine approval a
controversial move ahead of caretaker mode
Simon Williamson,
General Manager of Cameco Australia, told the ABC he was pleased Ms Price had
approved the mine before calling the election.
"Yeah, that's
likely to raise questions about rushed decision and all that stuff, but the
state [government] made their decision in January 2017," he said.
"The timing was
such that all of [the assessment] was completed to allow her to sign off before
the election. I think it's quite appropriate and I think the minster would want
to sign off on projects on her plate before she goes to an election……
Dave Sweeney, an
anti-nuclear campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation said the
timing suggested the decision was political.
"We need decisions
that are based on evidence and the national interest, not a company's interest
or not a particular senator's or a particular government's interest," he
said.
"This reeks of
political interference rather than a legal consideration or due process."
The approval is one of
several controversial moves the Government made before entering caretaker mode,
where such decisions would be impossible, including approving Adani's two groundwater management
plans for it's proposed Carmichael coal mine.....
The
Guardian, 27
April 2019:
A multinational uranium
miner persuaded the federal government to drop a requirement forcing it to show
that a mine in outback Western
Australia would not make any species extinct before it could go ahead.
Canadian-based Cameco
argued in November 2017 the condition proposed by the government for the
Yeelirrie uranium mine, in goldfields north of Kalgoorlie, would be too
difficult to meet.
The mine was approved on
10 April, the
day before the federal election was called, with a different set of
conditions relating to protecting species.
Environmental groups say
the approval was politically timed and at odds with a 2016 recommendation
by the WA Environmental Protection Authoritythat the mine be blocked due to
the risk to about 140 subterranean stygofauna and troglofauna species – tiny
animals that live in groundwater and air pockets above the water table.
A Cameco presentation to
the department, released to the Greens through Senate estimates, shows the
government proposed approving the mine with a condition the company must first
demonstrate that no species would be made extinct during the works.
Cameco Australia said
this did not recognise “inherent difficulties associated with sampling for and
describing species”, including the inadequacy of techniques to sample
microscopic species that live underground and challenges in determining whether
animals were of the same species. It said the condition was “not realistic and
unlikely to be achieved – ever”.
The condition did not
appear in the final
approval signed by the environment minister, Melissa Price, which was
made public after being posted on the environment department’s website on 24
April…..
Friday 26 April 2019
"Stop Adani" convoy gets good reception as it passes through the NSW Northern Rivers region
Supporters at Ferry Park, Maclean, on Pacific Highway heading north Photo: The Daily Examiner online |
The Daily Examiner, 22 April 2019, p.4:
Protesters came out in
support of the anti-Adani convoy as it made its way through the Clarence Valley
yesterday.
Up to 180 cars, many of
them electric, decorated in “Stop Adani” paraphernalia made their way along the
Pacific Highway as part of a two-week campaign, organised by conservationist
Bob Brown, to stop the proposed Carmichael coal mine.
Karen von Ahlefeldt said
many in the convoy stopped for a chat and were “boosted” by the show of
support.
“A lot of people
standing there wished they could be on the convoy, this was a good chance for
them to be part of it,” Ms von Ahlefeldt said.
Clarence Valley
Councillor and Greens party member Greg Clancy stood at South Grafton waving on
the cars as they made their way north.
“Politicians are not
listening, and some of the public don’t understand,” Cr Clancy said.
“They think it is jobs,
we need coal, but we don’t, we are phasing it out. Coal is not the future, it
is the past.”
He said it was
unthinkable to “dig up more of the Galilee Basin” and the proposed coal mine
would be “contributing to climate change”.
Cr Clancy said movements
such as the convoy were important steps to making change.
“Bob Brown has said this
is going to be another Franklin River issue,” he said.
“People are not going to
stand by. There will be protests, there will be arrests, it will be big.”
“You just have to look
at how many vehicles have gone past today to know it’s going to be big.”
Mr Clancy called on
politicians to commit to oppose the Queensland mine ahead of the federal
election next month.
Listen up @billshortenmp and @ScottMorrisonMP - we’re heading headfirst for climate catastrophe. @BobBrownFndn leads the #stopadaniconvoy up to Galilee Basin. Here we are at #mullumbimby for the 2nd rally of the day, with an incredible turnout. #auspol pic.twitter.com/fYDwOSDHZZ— Ellen Kirkwood (@Nelled) April 21, 2019
Friday 19 April 2019
In the face of grave concerns Morrison Government pushes through Adani mining consent ahead of the 18 May general election, CSIRO rolls over & Geoscience lets the cat out of the bag
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) attempts to avoid embarrassing the Morrison Coalition
Government on the day it announced a federal election date:
CSIRO Statement, 11 April 2019:
In late 2018 and early 2019 CSIRO and Geoscience
Australia wrote two reports for the Federal Government on specific questions on
groundwater monitoring, management and modelling planned by Adani Pty Ltd for
its Carmichael mine proposal in central Queensland.
This advice was limited to answering discrete inquiries
on whether elements of Adani's proposed plans would be adequate to protect nationally
significant environmental assets.
CSIRO identified inadequacies in the plans and was
subsequently asked to review Adani's response to the recommendations CSIRO made
to address the issues raised, as summarised by the Department of the
Environment and Energy. Adani had committed to address the modelling
limitations identified by the CSIRO and GA review in a groundwater model re-run
to be undertaken within two years.
CSIRO considered that this commitment satisfied its
recommendations, while also acknowledging there were still some issues that
need to be addressed in future approvals, particularly confirming the source of
the ecologically-important Doongmabulla Springs.
CSIRO has provided robust, peer-reviewed science on
specific groundwater modelling-related questions about the plans. CSIRO's role
is to provide scientific advice to inform approval processes, but it does not
have any role in making approval decisions.
The
public broadcaster reports in greater detail and with less reticence when
detailing facts of the matter…….
ABC
News, 18
April 2019:
Handwritten documents obtained
by the ABC appear to directly contradict the Environment Minister Melissa Price
that Adani "accepted in full" changes sought by scientists to limit
the impact of its controversial Queensland coal mine.
Announcing her decision
to approve Adani's water management plans for its Carmichael mine earlier this
month, Ms Price said Adani "accepted in full" advice from the
CSIRO and Geoscience Australia.
Prime Minister Scott
Morrison also maintained the Government would "make all decisions based on
the expert advice from ... Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO".
"We have always
been following the advice of the scientists and we'll continue to do
that," he said.
The advice was provided
in a damning review in February of the company's plans.
But documents provided
to the ABC showed Adani refused to accept key scientific findings and recommendations about its water management plans.
The ABC has obtained
notes taken by three attendees of a phone hook up on April 5 involving senior
officials from the Department of Environment and Energy and staff from
Geoscience Australia.
The documents show the
government science agency was concerned the water plans could allow Adani's
mine to breach the conditions of its environment approval.
However, Adani would not
accept the need for corrective action if that occurred.
The notes said that
Adani refused to:
- acknowledge the scientists' key finding that the model Adani used to estimate the mine's impacts was not fit for purpose;
- accept that a new model could show that the mine's impacts would breach environmental approvals; and
- commit to corrective action if the new model showed greater impacts on the environment than Adani had claimed would occur.
The ABC requested the
meeting notes under freedom of information (FOI) laws, but Geoscience Australia
took the unusual step of releasing the documents immediately instead.
The briefing happened
after the Department of Environment and Energy had already advised the Minister
to approve the plans, which had been finalised the previous month.
One set of notes was
taken by Geoscience Australia chief Dr James Johnson, another by head of
environmental geoscience Dr Stuart Minchin, and the third by senior executive
Dr Richard Blewett.
A handwritten note by Dr
Blewett mentions concerns held by Jane Coram, the head of CSIRO's land and
water division.
She complained the
science agencies had "not seen the revised plan" set to be approved,
and that they were expected to take the summary of it at "face
value".
After the meeting, Ms
Price published a statement announcing, "Geoscience Australia and the
CSIRO have provided written assurances that these steps address their
recommendations."
A spokesman for Ms Price
said she was not present at the meeting.
"Decisions were
made between the department officers, Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO on the
proper scientific assessment of the issues and no other factor," the
spokesman said.
But the notes show the
scientific agencies were asked by the Minister's department to give formal
assurances that Adani's commitments met their concerns in language acceptable
to the Government.
"Gov[ernment] is
keen for assurance," the notes taken by CEO of Geoscience Australia, James
Johnson said.
"Ideal for
gov[ernment]: letter from me to [Mr Finn Pratt] saying based on extensive
briefing from [Department of Environment and Energy] on Adani addresses the
concerns raised."
Fin Pratt is the head of
the Department of Environment and Energy.
In his handwritten notes
of the meeting, Mr Johnson said the Government was keen for an assurance
"based on discussion briefing" from the department, but he scribbled
that out and changed it to "based on extensive briefing".
The Minister
subsequently published a letter from Mr Johnson to Mr Pratt saying: "Thank
you for the extensive briefing ... Based on this briefing Geoscience Australia
is of the view that Adani have addressed the issues and concerns raised in our
recommendations."
Ms Price's spokesman
told the ABC no pressure was placed on the science agencies.
"Any suggestion of
pressure in that process is rejected in the strongest possible terms and is
insulting to the integrity of the experts concerned," he said.
Adani said in a
statement it could not comment on the content of the documents.
"Adani was not
privy to internal briefing documents or discussions that the Federal Department
of Environment and Energy may have provided to Geoscience Australia and CSIRO,
consequently we are unable to comment as to their contents."
'Advice to Adani that
they refused'
The briefing notes
listed in point form the "advice to Adani that they refused".
These included a
recommendation Adani acknowledge their modelling "is not fit for
purpose" and that a "new model could revise impacts [to be] greater
than [what] has been approved".
"So told Adani — if
new model shows greater impact than current model, they have to sort it out
[with] corrective [actions]", the notes said.
"They
refused."
Before the verbal
briefing to Geoscience Australia, the Department Environment and Energy
prepared a summary of Adani's response to concerns raised by Geoscience
Australia and the CSIRO, which was provided to the two agencies.
The summary was
published by the Department of Environment and Energy.
That document shows
Adani declined to commit to a reduced mine plan, or to cutting back coal
extraction, as suggested by the Department Environment and Energy in response
to the damning report on its groundwater management model and plans by
Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO.
It also shows Adani
negotiated compromise outcomes in response to some of the scientists' concerns
and rejected other measures that the two agencies sought.
There were gaps between
what was included in that document and what was apparently outlined in the
verbal briefing to Geoscience Australia staff.
The notes of the verbal
briefing the department gave to the scientists said that Adani committed to a
"maximum timetable of three months" for conducting an investigation
if water use limits were triggered — a demand of both CSIRO and Geoscience
Australia.
In fact, the response
Adani formally agreed to is less watertight: "If the groundwater level
thresholds exceedance is because of authorised mining activities, the
investigation will be prioritised and, depending on the nature of the impact,
completed within three months."
Adani told the ABC it
was not provided directly with the advice by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia
until after the Government approved the plans. Instead it responded to summaries
made by the Department of Environment and Energy.
Minister faced intense
pressure to approve mine
Ms Price faced intense
pressure from her own side of politics to approve Adani's water management
plans before the federal election was called.
Queensland LNP Senator
James McGrath warned he would publicly call for Ms Price's resignation unless
she did the "right thing" by Adani, and Queensland's LNP executive condemned what it called her
"delay" in approval.
In the wake of the
Federal Government's sign-off on the water management plans, Adani is pressing
the Queensland Government to complete a series of other, state-based approvals
that are needed before mining can commence.
When Ms Price announced
that she had approved the water management plans — just one working day after
CSIRO and Geoscience Australia were briefed on Adani's responses to their
concerns — the Environment Minister said:
"I have accepted
the scientific advice and therefore approved the groundwater management plans
for the Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Infrastructure project under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
"Both CSIRO and
Geoscience Australia have confirmed the revised plans meet strict scientific
requirements."
The Queensland
Government is yet to approve construction as it seeks to protect a colony of
black-throated finches around the mine site.
Even if construction is
fully signed off, the project still requires more approvals to be granted from
the Queensland and Commonwealth governments before coal can be dug out of
the ground.
In an official statement
to the ABC, a spokesperson for Geoscience Australia said it stood by their
earlier statement that Adani's actions addressed the concerns raised in their
technical advice.
"Adani did not
acknowledge our advice that their groundwater model was not fit for purpose,
and indicated they would not revise the model in the short term," the
spokesperson said.
They said despite that,
additional monitoring and mitigation Adani did agree to do satisfied their
concerns.
Geoscience Australia
said it was not pressured to provide the Government assurance.
A request the Morrison Government saw fit to ignore.
Labels:
#MorrisonGovernmentFAIL,
coal,
environmental vandalism,
mining,
science
Wednesday 17 April 2019
Norway needs to withdraw its majority-owned petroleum mining company from the Great Australian Bight
ABC News, 12 March 2019:Plans to drill in the middle of the Great Australian Bight have led to a fierce battle, as a Norwegian Energy giant faces off with Aussie surfers, environmentalists and fishermen. #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/2ppO02m0or— The Project (@theprojecttv) April 8, 2019
A Norwegian MP has
called for a state-owned Norwegian oil and gas company not to start drilling in
the Great Australian Bight, while a scientist says noise from the project could
hurt marine life.
The Norwegian Government
has a 67 per cent majority stake in Equinor, which wants to start searching for oil off the coast of South
Australia at a depth of almost 2.5 kilometres by the end of 2020.
It needs approval from
the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.
MP Kristoffer Robin Haug
addressed the Norwegian Parliament last week and said going ahead with the
project could see Norway become the enemy.
"Will the
[Petroleum and Energy] Minister use this power as a majority shareholder in
Equinor to instruct their company to stop their oil exploration in the
Bight?" he asked.
Fight For The
Bight, April
2019:
New
research from The Australia Institute shows that 60% of Australians are
opposed to drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight, while the rate of
opposition amongst South Australians is even higher at 68%.
The first ever national
poll on the issue found that only one in five Australians, and 16% of South
Australians, support drilling in the Bight, while more than two thirds of
Australians want to see the area given World Heritage protection.
The poll also found
there is greater support, both nationwide and in SA, for ending coal, gas and
oil exploration across Australia than there is for allowing it to continue.
“The Great Australian
Bight is a national treasure and now we know that people across the country
want to see it protected from exploitation,” said Noah Schultz-Byard, The
Australia Institute’s SA projects manager.
“Equinor and the other
oil giants looking to drill in the Great Australian Bight are attempting to do
so in direct opposition to the wishes of the Australian people.
“We’ve known for some
time that the Great Australian Bight holds a special place in the hearts of
South Australians, but this research has shown that opposition to exploiting
the Bight exists across the country.
The Norwegian Greens
Party has also adopted the Australian Greens slogan "Fight for the
Bight".
South Australian Greens
senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Mr Haug's speech showed the fight was now
receiving international attention.
"This is starting
to cause problems and waves overseas," Senator Hanson-Young said.
"People are questioning why Australia would put
at risk our beautiful pristine areas.
"This is a whale
sanctuary. This is an untouched wonderland. Why would we put this at
risk?"….
Protesters took to
Encounter Bay this morning to protest against oil drilling in the Great
Australian Bight.
Tuesday 19 March 2019
Knitting Nannas from across NSW took their protest to Sydney on International Women's Day
United
to Protect Our Water
101 Knitting Nannas from around NSW converged
on Parliament House in Sydney on International Women’s Day (March 8) to protest
about water mismanagement and the lack of effective government action to protect
river and groundwater health. The theme of the protest was “No Water no Life”.
The Nannas came from Loops (local Nanna
groups) in the Northern Rivers, Grafton, Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Midcoast, New
England-North West, Central Coast, Gloucester, Hunter Valley, Illawarra, and
Sydney.
The Nannas have long been very concerned
about unwanted water impacts around NSW – issues which have been raised with
elected representatives over a number of years.
· These include impacts on urban water catchments from coal mines - the Wallarah 2 mine on the Central Coast and the Hume mine in the Southern Highlands as well as the long-wall mining in the Illawarra which leads to massive water loss into mines.
· The North West of the state is also impacted by coal mines which use vast amounts of water – Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine and the proposed Vickery mine.
· Then there’s the threat to groundwater from Santos’ gasfield in the Pilliga State Forest. This project is slated to extract 35 billion litres of groundwater – most of it in the first five years.
· But the most dramatic impact is the most recent – the Darling fish kills - the result of years of mismanagement and favouring of irrigators over the health of the river system.
· These include impacts on urban water catchments from coal mines - the Wallarah 2 mine on the Central Coast and the Hume mine in the Southern Highlands as well as the long-wall mining in the Illawarra which leads to massive water loss into mines.
· The North West of the state is also impacted by coal mines which use vast amounts of water – Whitehaven’s Maules Creek mine and the proposed Vickery mine.
· Then there’s the threat to groundwater from Santos’ gasfield in the Pilliga State Forest. This project is slated to extract 35 billion litres of groundwater – most of it in the first five years.
· But the most dramatic impact is the most recent – the Darling fish kills - the result of years of mismanagement and favouring of irrigators over the health of the river system.
The Nannas assembled in Martin Place where they donned their specially made t-shirts bearing a picture of a Nanna declaring “The Water Needs You” (in the spirit of the Lord Kitchener First World War recruiting poster) and their yellow, red and black suffragette-style sashes emblazoned with “No Water No Life”.
After a group photo under the big banner (“United to Protect Our Water”), the Nannas walked to Parliament House and ranged themselves along the fenceline. There they used their sashes to tie on to the iron railing of the fence in the manner of the suffragettes.
The brightly-dressed Nannas with their
banners and their singing and chanting attracted a great deal of attention from
pedestrians and those driving along busy Macquarie Street. A highlight of the
street performance was the powerful rendition by Nanna Purl Stockinstitch of
her poem about the death of farmer George Bender who was hounded by a CSG
company in Queensland. The Nannas hoped
that the pollies in our parliament heard and took note of the effect the
unconventional gas industry has had - and continues to have - on the lives of communities
in gasfields.
Various politicians met with the Nannas on
the footpath and were presented with their “knagging list” - the Nannas’
demands for action.
While the theme of the protest focused on the
major problems with rivers and water, the Nannas demands were much broader.
They included a call for immediate climate action, transition to 100%
renewables, a state-wide ban on gas extraction (including in the Pilliga),
proper protection of Aboriginal sacred sites and revocation of the draconian anti-protest
laws brought in by the current NSW Government.
The Knitting Nannas Against Gas and Greed are
hopeful that all of the state political parties will accept their calls for
effective action on these important matters. It should be noted that the Nannas,
who are very concerned about the protection of the land and water for future
generations, are non-party political and have a policy of annoying all
politicians equally – something we aim to continue doing!
- Leonie Blain
Grafton Loop of the Knitting Nannas Against
Gas & Greed
Monday 4 March 2019
From September 2019 onwards underwater seismic blasts will rock the Great Australian Bight around the clock over a 30,100 sq kilometre area
ABC
News, 15
January 2019:
Oil and gas testing is
set to take place in the Great Australian Bight this year, after the national
petroleum regulator granted permission to exploration company PGS.
Environmental groups
have slammed the decision to allow seismic testing near Kangaroo Island and
Port Lincoln, while the tuna industry has questioned whether it is even likely
to go ahead.
Seismic testing involves
firing soundwaves into the ocean floor to detect the presence of oil or gas
reserves….
The National Offshore
Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) granted
permission for the testing to be done over a 30,100-square-kilometre area,
located 80 kilometres from Port Lincoln and 90 kilometres west of Kangaroo
Island.
The testing is set to
take place between September and November.
The fishing industry has
long had reservations about the impact seismic testing would have on the local
tuna industry.
PGS has been ordered not
to interfere with or displace pygmy blue whales, southern bluefin tuna, and
southern right whales…..
The Wilderness Society
has slammed the permit, saying the practice can deafen whales and even kill
smaller marine animals.
"It's obvious that
blasting massive amounts of noise constantly for months on end through a water
column in a space where animals communicate and navigate and live by sound and
sonar, it is obvious that this is going to have a terrible impact on those
animals," the environmental group's Peter Owen said.
"I fail to see how
you can actually approve this type of seismic activity in the middle of one of
the most significant whale nurseries in the world.
"It's totally
unacceptable."
The Greens say the
seismic testing is the first step to drilling in the Great Australian Bight.
"Why on Earth would
we be wanting to sink oil wells in the Great Australian Bight, put our marine
life and beaches at risk and make climate change worse," senator Sarah
Hanson-Young said.
"We've got to be
getting out of fossil fuels and transitioning to a clean, green economy."
There has been little research into the impact of
seismic testing in Australia, but Western Australian researchers have
found noise from seismic air guns significantly increased mortality in
scallops.
Commencing on
or about 1 September 2019 for an initial period of 91 days a fofeign-owned PGS survey vessel will
be operating sounding equipment 24/7 in the Bight at a seismic source pressure of est.
~2,000 pounds per square inch (psi) with the two or three arrays firing
alternately every 16.67 to 25 m, each with a maximum volume of 3260in. (See Duntroon
Multi-client 3D and 2D Marine Seismic Survey Environment Plan at pp.24-25).
This is what happened when
such testing went ahead in the Atlantic Ocean……..
Earthjustice is suing
the federal government to prevent seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean. The
process involves the blasting of shockingly powerful seismic airguns every few
seconds for hours or even days on end and can cripple or kill marine life in the
search of offshore oil or gas deposits.
Earthjustice is challenging the
administration’s actions in court, and on Feb. 20, we joined a coalition of
other conservation groups asking a
federal judge to block the start of seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic
Ocean until our case has been heard.
The tests, harmful in
their own right, are just the first step in the administration’s broader plans
to open up 90 percent of U.S. federal offshore waters to the fossil fuel
industry, despite widespread opposition from Americans across the nation.
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