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Media
Release on STATE
GOVERNMENT
CHANNEL DEEPENING WILL DAMAGE With
the opening of the panel hearing into
the deepening of Mr
Bowden said that both the Environment
Protection Authority and the Central Coastal Board have criticised the
EES in
written submissions. Mr
Bowden said in 1996,
the CSIRO
published a major study of the health of “The
report listed the major issues of
concern for the future and led to a
number of initiatives being implemented by the previous Liberal
Government,
including the $12 million upgrade of the Western Treatment Plant”, Mr
Bowden
said. Mr Bowden said, “Why isn't the State
Government interested in looking at alternatives? Who are they trying
to please
or are they afraid of checking alternatives?” Mr Bowden said the State Government
will preside over an environmental
disaster in "Thousands of tonnes of toxic and
poisonous heavy metals are expected to be disturbed in the Bay and
dumped in a
holding basin off Williamstown. This is a disgrace as well as being a
serious
potential health risk", Mr Bowden said. Mr Bowden said the proposal to dump millions
of tonnes of dredging spoil off Mr Bowden said we must now have an
independent
umpire, such as the CSIRO, to properly and objectively assess the
environmental
impact of the massive dredging estimated to total up to 40 million
cubic metres
of material.
thousands of tonnes of poisonous metals * A significant under-estimating of the likely recovery time of sea-grass beds; * A failure to acknowledge and adequately deal with the uncertainties associated with the project, particularly the crucial processes that remove nitrogen and prevent algal blooms; * An understatement of the impacts on the ecologically sensitive southern areas of the Bay, including Marine Parks; * A lack of independent and continuous monitoring in the proposed environmental management plan. It's now time for the CSIRO to provide
its expert opinion on the propose channel deepening at *''Ends"* |