WA government overrode water supply warnings to approve Alcoa mining

The Cook Labor cabinet approved Alcoa’s mining in December despite its own experts warning it posed a high risk to Perth’s water supply and the state’s treasured jarrah forest.

The state’s environment regulator opposed Alcoa’s mining management program “in its entirety” because it lacked “clarity and coherence” about what areas would be mined and provided insufficient information for the regulator to fully assess risks from its strip mining for bauxite.

Normally the ministers for water, state development and the environment approve Alcoa’s mining plan but for 2023 it was elevated to be a cabinet decsion.Credit: WAtoday

Perth’s water supply faces twin threats from bauxite mining: contamination from oil and chemicals that may be spilt by Alcoa and runoff of sediment from expansive cleared areas.

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation advice obtained via a freedom of information request revealed deep concerns about Alcoa’s mining, including a “foreseeable” risk it could render unusable water from Serpentine Dam. In extreme circumstances this could shut down the source of 18 per cent of Perth’s water for years.

A spokesman for Premier Roger Cook said the decision took into account a range of factors, including the need to protect WA’s environment and Perth’s drinking water sources, while also safeguarding the jobs of the thousands of workers employed by Alcoa.

Jess Boyce, acting director of the WA Forest Alliance, said the government’s approval applied inadequate constraints on the miner and showed a total disregard for community concerns about their water supply.

“Alcoa’s current plans do not meet the required standards, do not slow down the rate of clearing and only provide meagre concessions to protect Perth’s water and threatened flora and fauna,” she said.

The environment regulator was concerned about the jarrah forest as well as Perth’s water supply.

The scale of Alcoa’s clearing could have a “large adverse impact” on the forest’s diverse flora and fauna, including some endangered species with already declining populations, according to the regulator that saw nothing in Alcoa’s plan that addressed this threat “beyond generic statements”.

Much of the forest Alcoa plans to mine is habitat for Carnaby’s Cockatoo and other threatened species, but the miner offered no offsets to counter the impact of its clearing.

“There is likely a high level of risk to public drinking water sources and native flora and fauna.”

WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. 6 October 2023.

The regulator said the proposed clearing was of a scale that previously warranted advice from WA’s independent Environmental Protection Agency and assessment under Commonwealth environment legislation.

But under a 1961 agreement with the WA government Alcoa is exempt from much of WA’s environmental legislation. Instead, its activities are reviewed annually behind closed doors by a committee of bureaucrats led by the department responsible for economic development.

The regulator’s advice reviewed Alcoa’s 2023 to 2027 mine management program and was presented to an October 2023 meeting.

“The apparent scale and location of proposed clearing and cumulative impacts combined with the fundamental information gaps and lack of clarity and coherence of the current draft MMP mean that, from a precautionary perspective, there is likely a high level of risk to public drinking water sources and native flora and fauna,” it said.

Under the precautionary principle in WA’s environment legislation a lack of scientific certainty is not an excuse to delay action to protect the environment.

The regulator placed part of the blame for the lack of certainty on Alcoa, due to “several previous and long-standing requests” by the government for information that the miner had not actioned. Key information gaps will not be plugged in the short term as first surveys must be done and monitoring networks established.

While the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation rejected Alcoa’s plan, it said if the government wished to consider supporting a continuation of Alcoa’s operations there were a number of measures it suggested.

The WA cabinet approved an updated Alcoa mine plan in December. A person familiar with the approval of Alcoa’s mining who is not authorised to speak to the media said there were only minor differences between the draft plan rejected by the department and the updated version.

The government did impose added safeguards, but in many cases they fell short of the regulator’s recommendations, they said.

Alcoa’s Huntly mine has expanded northwards from 1988 to 2020 to Serpentine Dam. The mining is just east of Pinjarra and Mandurah.Credit: Google Earth

Premier Cook’s spokesman said his government imposed strict additional conditions on Alcoa and was committed to transitioning the miner to a contemporary approvals regime.

The government go-ahead for the mine management plan in December 2023 came days before the EPA announced it would conduct an independent review of Alcoa’s mining.

A clause in WA’s environment legislation designed for new projects makes it illegal to conduct any work under review by the EPA. The government granted Alcoa an exemption to keep its mines and refineries operating while the EPA conducted its review.

“The state government will continue to closely monitor Alcoa’s activities to ensure compliance with the conditions in the MMP and the section 6 exemption,” the spokesman said.

The plan and additional conditions put in pace in December is meant to expire when the EPA releases its findings.

An Alcoa spokeswoman said the US miner was confident the new arrangements would ensure continued protection of Perth’s drinking water supply and responsible forest management.

“We are focused on operating in line with the new requirements which include enhanced protections for drinking water, limited forest clearing and accelerated rehabilitation,” she said.

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