By Aleisha Orr
At least 25 projects, including "significant resource projects" which were given environmental approval in the past may be found invalid if challenged, the West Australian government has revealed.
On Wednesday, Environment Minister Albert Jacob, alongside Environment Protection Authority chairman Paul Vogel, announced that legislation would be introduced to ensure the projects cannot be challenged on conflict of interest grounds.
WA projects given the green light from the EPA could now be invalid.Credit: James Davies
And the Greens say they raised the issue in Parliament last year but the government dismissed it.
A Supreme Court decision in 2013, which found the EPA approval of the Browse LNG precinct invalid because of procedural conduct in the decision, was the catalyst to a review of approvals made between 2002 and 2012.
The projects affected are BHP, Rio Tinto, Main Roads WA, University of WA, Fortescue Metal Group, Wesfarmers, Woodside and James Point projects.
Mr Jacob said the 25 projects in question would not be re-assessed and the introduction of the legislation would give "community and business confidence".
The projects were found to pose "potential risk that state environmental approvals could be determined invalid" because of decision-making procedures.
"This doesn't mean the projects pose risks to the environment, and there is nothing to indicate that the EPA did anything other than assess the environmental factors relating to proposals on their merits," Mr Jacob said.
The 25 projects affected are expected to be revealed in Parliament later on Wednesday.
Mr Jacob said the projects were "by and large in production or in construction".
He said the companies involved were informed on Tuesday.
Mr Jacob said the Browse project was not included in the 25 to be announced.
"We've accepted the ruling on the Browse project and we'll be conducting a full separate assessment," he said.
He said the EPA had now updated its code of conduct.
Mr Vogel said he had no plans of resigning after the revelation and had no concerns about the environmental credibility of approvals.
"I'd rather help the minister solve this problem we've created" he said.
"There was clearly an error of judgment made by myself and the EPA in handling conflicts of interest.
"In no way have these conflicts of interest altered the science and evidence that sits behind every environmental impact assessment that we conduct," he said.
Greens MLC Lynn MacLaren described it as "astounding and extremely disappointing" the minister would seek to retrospectively validate 25 projects environmentally approved by what she called "a conflicted board of the EPA".
"Twenty-five projects over a decade is a complete travesty. How this was allowed to continue for so long brings to question the practices we have in place to monitor processes that ensure state authorities are not corrupt," she said.
"The Environment Minister is mistaken in thinking it is acceptable to rush through legislation in this instance. I doubt the wider community finds this tolerable. I certainly don't."
The opposition wants an inquiry into how the 25 projects were approved by the EPA despite there being a risk of conflicts of interest in those decisions.
Labor leader Mark McGowan said the Liberal government changed rules in 2008 that allowed EPA members with a conflict of interest to participate in debate on project assessments.
He said he expected the opposition would allow the legislation to pass in order to provide security within the investments already made.
Greens MLC Robin Chapple said the Barnett Government had a track record of deliberately misleading the public in this "farcical process".
"The public has a right to know the truth," he said.
He questioned whether the government had deliberately tried to "mislead parliament" over the issue, saying he brought up the conflict of interest issue in Parliament last year but the government dismissed it.
The projects:
Jimblebar iron ore project
Jinidi iron ore mine
Macedon Gas development
Marilana Creek (Yandi) life of mine proposal
Ore body 24/24 upgrade proposal
Port Hedland outer harbour development
Railway deviation through Chichester Ranges
Wheelarra ironore mine extension
Wheelarra ironore mine modification
Roe Highway stage 8 extension
Ammonium nitrate production expansion project phase 2
Solomon rion ore project
James Point stage II port development
Brockman iron ore mine extension phase 2B
Cape Lambert to Emu Siding rail duplication
Cape Lambert Port B development
Cape Lambert Port B review of conditions
Hammersley agriculture project
Hope Downs iron ore statement 584
Marandoo mine phase 2
Nammuldi Silvergrass expansion project
Turee Syncline iron ore project
Yandicoogina juntion south west and oxbow iron ore project
Residential subdivision- Shenton Park
Pluto LNG proposal- review of conditions