Posted
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has
launched a legal challenge to a Federal Government decision to bypass an
impact assessment of planned water use by Adani's Carmichael coal mine
in central Queensland.
Key points:
- Federal Minister made an "error of law" in bypassing EIS, ACF alleges
- Adani licensed to take up to 12.5b litres a year from Suttor River
- Indian miner says it can only take water after other licensed users
The ACF applied to the Federal Court, challenging Federal Environment Minister Melissa Price's decision not to activate the "water trigger" for the proposed pipeline infrastructure, which avoided a full environmental impact assessment (EIS).
The move comes less than a week after Adani announced it would push ahead with construction of a scaled-down version of its Carmichael project.
Last year, the Indian mining giant was granted a water licence by the Queensland Government, meaning it could take up to 12.5 billion litres a year from the Suttor River.
Under federal law, coal mining projects must undergo a full environmental assessment if they are likely to have a significant impact on water resources.
But in September, the Federal Government decided the water trigger did not apply to the Carmichael project, instead saying it would only require "preliminary documentation".
At the time, a spokeswoman for the federal environment department told the ABC this was consistent with guidelines "which make it clear that the 'water trigger' does not apply to stand-alone projects, that do not directly involve the extraction of coal".
ACF chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy told the ABC said they were alleging Ms Price made an "error of law" and that the water trigger should be applied.
"We live on a very dry continent, water is precious," she said.
"The Government is supposed to assess the impact of removing that water to be used in Adani's coal mine ... but they have refused to do that."We think that is unlawful and we are challenging that in the courts."
A spokesman for Ms Price said the Minister would not comment while legal proceedings were before the courts.
Ms O'Shanassy said other proposed mines for the Galilee Basin would also require a water source.
"We need our government to make a good assessment of what impact these mines are going to have on local waterways," she said.
An Adani spokeswoman said the company had approvals to take up to 12.5 billion litres each year, but it would "only take the water required to support the mine at each stage of production".
"This is only allowed to occur when other licensed water users like farmers have first taken their share, when the Suttor/Belyando River system is in flood and flowing at a rate of more than 2,592 megalitres per day," the spokeswoman said.
"As the project ramps up, the rate of water use will increase accordingly, but it will always be managed in line with our approval conditions."
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