Outrage over order to dump toxic spoils on reef

MILLIONS of tonnes of potentially toxic dredge spoils have been earmarked to be dumped into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Diver on the Great Barrier Reef

MILLIONS of tonnes of potentially toxic dredge spoils from coal and gas port expansions along the Queensland coast have been earmarked to be dumped into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The federal government has told the park authority to raise working capital by imposing a dumping fee of between $5 and $15 per cubic metre.

The proposal has enraged fishing and conservation groups, which have called it "pay to pollute" environmental vandalism.

The plan coincides with long-running concerns over the impact on marine life of dredging at Gladstone Harbour to make way for the $70 billion liquefied natural gas export industry.

An outbreak of fish disease at Gladstone following the start of dredging has not been fully explained.

Alarm over the potential for a massive increase in dumping of dredging material into the Great Barrier Reef also coincides with a planned visit next month by a World Heritage delegation that has already expressed concerns over the Gladstone Port expansion.

The UN World Heritage body has called on the Australian and Queensland governments to explain how they plan to safeguard the Great Barrier Reef from the impact of the mining boom.

The Gladstone Port expansion and a planned massive upgrade of the Abbot Point coal terminal near Mackay are taking place within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

Opposition to dumping has united recreational fishing and environmental groups.

Barrier Reef fishing charter operator Daniel McCarthy said the dumping charge was a key issue for marine tourism groups. "I have been asking the question: is the marine park authority saying it is OK if we get money?" he said.

"There is a lot of dodging going on. There are a lot of views, between 'This is ridiculous, it can't happen', to 'It's OK if it is safe', to 'What's wrong, let's get the money off the bastards'."

Judy Lynne, executive officer of peak recreational fishing group Sunfish Queensland, said the plan "betrays the trust that Australians have in the authority and the federal government to protect a world-recognised icon which is not only a marine park and World Heritage area but designated one of the natural wonders of the world".

"If dredge spoil is allowed to be dumped in the Great Barrier Reef marine environment, these plumes could be carried for 100km or more in average weather conditions and continually stirred up any time there is a rough sea," Ms Lynne said.

"We see this as the start of paid pollution right along the eastern Queensland seaboard and affecting the whole inshore area of the GBR World Heritage area."

Mackay Conservation Group co-ordinator Patricia Julien said planned port expansions at Gladstone, Hay Point and Abbot Point meant there would be hundreds of millions of tonnes of dredge spoil that must be disposed of.

Not all of it would be dumped offshore.

However, Ms Julien said the marine park authority was being pressured to accept millions of tonnes of dredge spoil for a token "handling fee".

She said because the coal ports were on narrow coastal plains and in some cases next to nationally listed wetlands, the capacity for onshore dumping was restricted.

Calling for submissions on the proposal, GBRMPA chairman Russell Reichelt said the federal government had proposed a charge of between $5 and $15 for each cubic metre of spoil disposed of into the GBRMP.

Revenue from the dumping charge, to take effect from July, would contribute to the park's long-term sustainable management.

Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke is responsible for the park authority, but environment groups last night claimed Resources, Energy and Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson was behind the levy plan.

In a statement, the authority said the charge was consistent with its "general principles that users of the marine park contribute to the management of the marine park".

Marine park authority general manager Andrew Skeat said disposing of dredge material in the park was a "last option only".

"A proponent must demonstrate all alternative options have been fully explored, for example options of reuse or disposal on land," Mr Skeat said.

"All proposals are subject to a rigorous environmental impact permit assessment process."

He said the proposed fee would act as an incentive to reduce the volume of dredge material being disposed of in the marine park.