Great Barrier Reef under threat from dumped mud

MILLIONS of tonnes of dredged mud is to be dumped near the Great Barrier Reef after an ­Australian watchdog gave the move a green light.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site, but it could be damaged by mud from the Abbot Point development Pictures: AP

The mud will be removed to create what will be the world’s biggest coal port, aiming to unlock mining projects worth A$28 billion (£15bn).

The dumping permit clears the way for a major expansion of the port of Abbot Point for two Indian firms and Australian billionaire miner Gina Rinehart, who together have A$16bn worth of coal projects in the untapped, inland Galilee Basin.

“This is a significant milestone in developing our Galilee Basin coal projects, which represent the creation of over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and over $40bn in taxes and royalties,” said Darren Yeates, chief executive of GVK-Hancock, a joint venture between India’s GVK conglomerate and Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

The Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage site, but it could be damaged by mud from the Abbot Point development Pictures: Reuters

Environmentalists, scientists and tour operators had fought the plan to dump soil 15 miles from the reef, which they fear will harm delicate corals and seagrasses and potentially double ship traffic through the World Heritage marine park.

“It’s a really disappointing decision,” said Selina Ward, a marine biologist at University of Queensland who was among 240 scientists who urged the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to refuse the permit.

“We need to stop putting pressure on the reef, and certainly not add further stress to it by dumping three million tonnes of sediment on it.”

If all the dredged material were dumped on land, the pile would be bigger than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The reef authority, an independent agency charged with protecting the reef, said the permit was approved as one third of the marine park was designated high protection and two-thirds allows other uses, such as dredging disposal as ports have always been a part of the area.

Authority chairman Russell Reichelt said expanding Abbot Point would require much less dredging than other options along the reef, which covers an area larger than the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Switzerland combined.

“It’s important to note the seafloor of the approved disposal area consists of sand, silt and clay and does not contain coral reefs or seagrass beds,” he said.

The permit to dump three million cubic metres of mud within the marine park could place at risk the World Heritage-listing of the reef, one of Australia’s top tourist attractions generating an estimated A$5.7bn.

Unesco, which awarded the reef its heritage listing, last year postponed a decision to June 2014 on whether to put it on its “in danger” list or even cancel its World Heritage listing. It is awaiting a report from the Canberra government on steps taken to address its concerns.

The permit allows North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation to dump dredged material in the reef marine park to deepen Abbot Point for two terminals planned by Adani Enterprises and GVK-Hancock, which have long-term plans to export 120 million tonnes of coal a year.

North Queensland Bulk Ports Corp and Mr Reichelt said the permit should not alarm Unesco, particularly as the reef authority has urged the state and Canberra governments and industry to come up with a new sustainable ports plan to reduce dredging along the reef.

“What I’ve called for today is exactly in line with what Unesco would like to see put in place,” Mr Reichelt said.

The reef authority imposed strict conditions on the dumping permit, including no environmental, cultural or heritage damage to areas beyond 12 miles from the disposal site, and urged the ports corporation to consider other dump sites.

Even with the permit, it’s unclear how soon dredging will start as projects have been delayed due to falling coal prices and China’s efforts to cut coal use to battle smog.