Australia must strengthen it Environmental Protection Act – the case of Yeelirrie uranium project

On April 2, environmentalists across Australia met online, in a webinar focussed on the EPBC Act.   The federal government is holding a Review of the  Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act , with Submissions due by 9th April.

The Conservation Council of Western Australia, and Nuclear Free WA hosted the webinar.  The case of the Yeelirrie uranium project was discussed, as a case especially relevant to the EPBC Act.  As it turns out, the EPBC is weak, in relation to having power over this project. It relies on the Western Australian EPA for the relevant decision.  Extraordinarily, in this case, the EPA advised against the project. However, the Environment Minister at the time, overrode this advice, and approved the project anyway.

Piers Verstagen, of CCWA, outlined the history of CCWA’s work in holding the Wester Australian EPA’s assessments to account. The  Yeelirrie uranium project would threaten the extinction of up to 11 stygofauna, which are tiny groundwater species. The EPA therefore did not recommend the project. However, in approving the project , the Minister also inserted a clause into the legislation, which now will allow the extinction of any species.  CCWA has challenged that approval. The project has not proceeded.

But – this Yeelirrie case is a fine example of the reasons why the EPBC Act needs to be strengthened, not weakened. Weakening the Act is the goal of the Mining Council and others, who seek unfettered development of mining and other polluting projects.

Ruby Hamilton pointed out the need for Australia’s Environmental Protection Act to relate to international treaties on environment.

Annica Schoo  described ways in which the Act should be strengthened, emphasising that:

• We need to keep  the right for 3rd parties to challenge bad decisions.
• We need an independent authority to administer the EPBC Act.
• WE need way more transparency in the way that the Act is used

 

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Western Australian offer to host radioactive trash – unaware that it’s nuclear waste.

Is Mr Baker ignorant, or disingenuous?

In his enthusiasm Mr Baker seems unaware that the processed nuclear waste returning from France is classified there as high level waste. The proposed dump for radioactive wastes in outback Australia is obviously intended to store those long-lasting toxic wastes. Australia’s nuclear reactor in Lucas Heights, Sydney produces these dangerous wastes, just the same as any other nuclear reactor.

The Leonora man behind plan for a radioactive waste dump in outback WA, ABC Goldfields ,By Jarrod Lucas, 23 Nov 17,  A mining entrepreneur who came to WA’s northern Goldfields during the 1960s nickel boom is behind a new bid to develop an outback repository to store the nation’s radioactive waste.

The Shire of Leonora this week voted 5-2 in favour of joining forces with a private company, headed by former councillor Glenn Baker, to make a bid for Commonwealth funding to fast-track the project.

The council sought legal advice and waited until after last month’s local government elections before voting on the proposal to store medical, industrial and scientific waste underground.

The proposed site is on Clover Downs pastoral station, about 20 kilometres north-west of Leonora……..

Conflict of interest was a deal breaker for council

Mr Baker is a director of Azark Project Proprietary Limited alongside his business partner, Perth-based corporate lawyer and mining executive Peter Remta, with whom he has developed several gold mining projects since the 1980s.

The 79-year-old was behind a previous proposal for a waste storage site that failed to progress in 2015, and he quit the council last month after more than 30 years because of the conflict of interest.

“Now there is no conflict of interest, but it did come up a few times and I left the meetings on those occasions,” he said………

Residents could be offered shares in waste company

Mr Baker flagged the possibility of Leonora residents eventually being given the opportunity to invest in the company.

He described as “mind-boggling” the funds being dangled by the Federal Government, which has been searching for a site to establish a national radioactive waste management facility for more than a decade……

Sites in South Australia and the Northern Territory have been considered, but lengthy environmental assessments and community consultation mean a final decision is not expected until next year…….

Sites in South Australia and the Northern Territory have been considered, but lengthy environmental assessments and community consultation mean a final decision is not expected until next year……..

Traditional landowner Vicky Abdullah said she had previously organised a petition with 500 signatures opposing the project.

“From my point of view, they can do it somewhere else, not in Leonora,” she said.

Ms Abdullah said the local Indigenous community was yet to be effectively consulted about the revived proposal.

Environmentalists opposed to facility in outback WA

Australian Conservation Foundation nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney said it was a long way from a “bad council decision” to a national radioactive waste dump in outback WA.

“It is pretty much radioactive groundhog day,” he said.

“It’s come up before in Leonora, and there was a strong and negative response from many there in the community.

“I’m obviously disappointed Leonora has put itself back in this frame, because it’s a divisive place to be.”

Mr Sweeney suggested it would not just be for low-level radioactive material.

“This has nothing to do with nuclear medicine, and everything to do with the operations of the Lucas Heights reactor,” he said.

Mr Baker disputed that point, saying it was one of the misconceptions about what was being proposed.

“People are confused when we talk about radiation … this is not a nuclear waste disposal facility,” he said.

“Australia does not have a nuclear industry, so has no nuclear waste to bury. That’s uranium 235 which is used in atomic bombs, powerhouses etc.

“This is another isotope of uranium and has a much shorter decay life, some of it only a matter of months, and it’s not to be confused with nuclear-powered radiation like Chernobyl and Fukushima.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-23/leonora-man-behind-plan-for-radioactive-waste-dump-in-outback-wa/9184020?pfmredir=sm&amp%3Bsf174104777=1

Uranium miner Paladin should close its Kayelekera mine and clean up its mess in Malawi

Conservation Council of Western Australia, 20 Nov 15  Shareholders at Perth based company Paladin’s AGM will call for the non-operational Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi to be closed and rehabilitated. Calls for rehabilitation follow years of community opposition to the mine and failure to prevent the release of radioactive material into the environment.

The mine has been under ‘care and maintenance’ for several years due to the falling demand for uranium globally.

Charles Roche from the Mineral Policy Institute who will be attending the meeting said “With predicted operating costs almost double the long-term uranium price, there is a real danger that Kaylekera will be abandoned or sold off to reduce company debt. Instead of endless optimism Paladin should be honest about the possibility of re-commencing of mining in the next few years and begin rehabilitation works to protect communities, secure the site and end the cycle of financial losses”.

Mia Pepper, CCWA nuclear free campaigner who is in Africa at the Nuclearization of Africa conference this week said “We’ve been asking, along with French group CRIIRAD, for Paladin to release monitoring data from testing downstream from the mine. CRIIRAD have completed intermittent tests which indicate there is some radiological impact from the Kayelekera mine on the environment.”

“As the mine is about to go into a third year of being in Care and Maintenance we are concerned about the ongoing management of water on site and the structural integrity of the site. We would like to see this mine going into early rehabilitation, given the failures of Paladin to address community concerns, the clear local opposition to the project and the failure to contain radiological material onsite and an uncertain future. Rehabilitation should be done to the same standards expected in West Australia.”

Paladin has two uranium exploration projects in WA, also on hold given the stagnant uranium price and no mid term prospects of improvement. Paladin’s project in Qld is on hold indefinitely given that the Queensland Government reinstated the ban on uranium in Qld. Their JV proposal in the NT is also indefinitely on hold given strong opposition from the NT Government and Alice Springs residents.

Traditional Aboriginal Landowners, and Others Who Care, Complete The Walkatjurra Walkabout

http://walkingforcountry.com/2015/09/17/41888/ 16 Sep 15: “The Walkatjurra Walkabout, which started in 2011,  finished its 5th walk in the North Eastern Goldfields town  of Leonora on Tuesday. The walk, a collaboration of Aboriginal and non-indigenous people, is a moving community  protest against the proposed uranium mines in the region.

The month long walk, lead by local Traditional Owners,  covered almost 450 km’s from Wiluna to Leonora, passing  Toro Energy’s Wiluna uranium mine proposal at Lake Way and Cameco’s proposed uranium mine at Yeelirrie Station.  Walk participants included local Traditional Owners, people
from Australia, Japan, Taiwan, England, Sweden, Aotearoa (New Zealand), America and France.

The walks continue to attract people interested in learning about Aboriginal culture, caring for country and to share a united vision for a nuclear free world.

The walk was also joined at Yeelirrie for two days by Federal Greens senators Rachel Siewert and Co-Deputy Greens leader Scott Ludlam along with state Greens MLC Robin Chapple.

The visit included a tour of Toro Energy’s uranium project at Lake Way near Wiluna with walkers and Toro Energy. Many of the participants have first hand experience of the
dangers of the nuclear industry, especially those from Japan and Taiwan, whose nuclear industry are fuelled by Australian uranium. … “

Labor Party policy Western Australia – uranium free, thorium free, nuclear free

URANIUM AND THORIUM (nb: from Environment chapter)

16. WA Labor believes that:
17. Enriching uranium poses significant risks to human health, the natural environment and is not a solution to climate change; and
18. Thorium also poses significant risks to human health and the environment.

 

17. In Government, WA Labor will:
18. Oppose the mining and export of uranium;
19. Oppose nuclear enrichment, nuclear power and otherwise the production of dangerous radioactive waste;
20. Oppose the storage of nuclear energy waste in Western Australia;
21. Oppose the testing or use of nuclear weapons in Western Australia or near our coastline;
22. Encourage local governments to declare themselves ‘Nuclear Free Zones’; and
23. Ensure that the mining of thorium in Western Australia only occurs under the most stringent environmental conditions and oppose thorium exports to countries that do not observe the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

 

URANIUM MINING & NUCLEAR ENERGY (nb: from Industry and Regional Development chapter)

254. Recognising the problems, hazards and dangers of nuclear power, especially relating to:
255. The safety of the nuclear fuel cycle;
256. The unsolved problems pertaining to the reprocessing and storage of radioactive wastes and spent plant;
257. The growing concern about the biomedical effects of even low radiation;
258. The coupling of nuclear energy and nuclear weapon development;
259. The added danger of a future plutonium economy and the threats to civil liberties involved in a nuclear economy; and
260. The fact that Labor policy contained herein on fossil fuels, energy conservation and renewable resources will ensure Western Australian energy self-sufficiency.

 

255. WA Labor will:
256. Reject nuclear power as an option for electricity generation in Western Australia;
257. Oppose the establishment of a nuclear enrichment facility in the State;
258. Reject the establishment of nuclear processing plants or the storage of nuclear wastes in the State;
259. Allow no uranium mining or development in Western Australia; and
260. Place thorium under the restrictions and conditions applicable to the mining, processing, sale and transportation of uranium currently mined in Australia as outlined in the Resources and Energy section of the National Platform, so far as they relate to nuclear non-proliferation.

 

256. The platform recognises WA Labor’s long and continuous opposition to Uranium Mining.  The commencement and continuation of any uranium project is inconsistent with WA Labor Policy.  WA Labor will accept no obligation to complete approval processes or honour contractual arrangements entered into by a previous government where such approvals or contracts are directed towards an outcome inconsistent with WA Labor’s platform.

International Relations:

Support measures that prevent the use of Australian uranium exports in the proliferation of nuclear weapons or environmental degradation

Canning Byelection: Abbott’s solar policies could be Liberals’ undoing

The solar council is planning a nationwide marginal seats campaign at the next election.

The government has directed the CEFC – which it unsuccessfully tried to abolish – to stop investments in rooftop solar, but changes to the investment mandate remain under legal uncertainty.

Canning byelection: solar industry urges voters to reject Liberals ‘war on solar’, Guardian, Lenore Taylor, 25 Aug 15

Solar Council letterboxes all electors in Western Australia’s seat of Canning encouraging them to vote for Labor, the Greens or the Palmer United party The solar
industry is letterboxing all electors in the crucial West Australian Canning byelection urging them to vote against the Liberal party on 19 September in response to the Abbott government’s “war on solar”.

The Solar Council leaflet states: “Installing solar helps Western Australians cut a typical power bill by up to 65%. The federal government is targeting solar by slashing the renewable energy target. We will support any political party with a good solar policy.”

Coalition at risk of losing Canning byelection, poll shows

  It advocates a vote against the Liberals and for either Labor, the Greens or the Palmer United party.

The council has invited all party leaders and candidates to a public forum on 13 September

– a week before the byelection that could affect Tony Abbott’s hold on the Liberal leadership – to explain their solar policies.

The byelection was prompted by the death of Liberal MP Don Randall, who held the seat by a healthy margin of almost 12%, but recent polls show a swing of 10% against the Liberals, taking their two-party-preferred lead to a much narrower 51%-49%.

The council’s chief executive, John Grimes, said his organisation was advocating a vote against the Liberals because “it is precisely people like the householders of Canning who will be hurt if the Liberal party is allowed to fully implement their anti-solar agenda”.

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The flyer organised by the Australian Solar Council urging votes for any party except the Liberals on 19 September. Photograph: Australian Solar Council

“This government commissioned the Warburton review which advocated the closure of the small-scale renewable energy target, which supports rooftop solar, and it has tried to ban the Clean Energy Finance Corporation [CEFC] from investing in rooftop solar projects,” Grimes said.

Almost half the houses in Canning have either rooftop solar or solar hot water, according to official figures, and the electorate has the 12th highest solar uptake in the country, according to calculations by the RenewEconomy website.

The deal eventually struck between the government and the Labor opposition left the small-scale solar scheme untouched, but Grimes said the council’s campaign was based on the government’s clear “intentions”.

“If this government were to get its way it would do whatever it took to close the solar industry altogether,” he said……..

The Liberal candidate for Canning is a former SAS officer, Andrew Hastie, up against a local lawyer, Matt Keogh, for Labor. The Greens candidate is small business owner and university lecturer, Vanessa Rauland. The Palmer United party is running the managing director of Palmer’s Mineralogy resources company, Vimal Sharma.

The solar council is planning a nationwide marginal seats campaign at the next election.

The government has directed the CEFC – which it unsuccessfully tried to abolish – to stop investments in rooftop solar, but changes to the investment mandate remain under legal uncertainty. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/aug/25/canning-byelection-solar-industry-urges-voters-to-reject-liberals-war-on-solar

Anxiety in neighbouring Shire as Gindalbie Metals offers to host nuclear waste dump

Gindalbie Metals nuclear dump proposal surprises nearby WA shire, ABC News  By Sarah Taillier 14 May 15, A shire in Western Australia’s Mid West says it has been caught completely off guard by a proposal to develop a national nuclear waste dump on land near its boundaries.

Iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals yesterday confirmed it had nominated Badja Station, south of Yalgoo as a potential site to hold low and intermediate level radioactive waste.The proposed site lies about 70 kilometres from the township of Morawa, where more than 600 people live.

Shire of Morawa president Karen Chappel said she was stunned to hear about the application from a resident yesterday. “It could have an absolute major impact on our shire and to just hear via the telephone that this is what’s happening [is unreasonable],” she said.”I seriously would have thought that the Shire of Morawa was owed the courtesy of being told that this was on the run.”

Ms Chappel said the shire was trying to source more information about the proposal. “When we’ve gained the information that we think is necessary, our council will be taking a formal position on where we sit with regard to this proposal,” she said.

Under the selection process, states and territories will not have the right to veto the Federal Government’s site selection.

“That may be legislation, that may be the principal of it, but underneath it all, every politician is put there by population and the people,” Ms Chappel said.

“They have an obligation and a responsibility to sit and listen to how their decision affects us and I would suggest they would need to sit and listen to this one.”

A shortlist of nominated sites is expected to be made public in July……..

Greens spokesperson Robin Chapple described the proposal to develop a nuclear waste dump as a “blatant cash grab from a struggling company”. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-14/gindalbie-metals-nuclear-dump-proposal-surprises-shire/6468176

Aborignal people in Western Australia bought off by uranium mining companies

Uranium Minefield: Middle Men Are Bleeding Aboriginal Land Dry, VICE  May 11, 2015 by Jack Callil Buried in Australia’s soil is a third of Earth’s uranium, the largest reserve in the world. This means there’s big money in mining it. But standing on it are Indigenous Australians with native title rights to that land. The Martu people, only numbering only around 1,000, own around 136,000 square kilometers in Western Australia.

On the other side of the dispute is the world’s largest uranium company Cameco, which in collaboration with Mitsubishi, want to extend the Kintyre mine that was previously owned by Rio Tinto. It bears the name of an area cut out of the Karlamilyi National Park for mining in 1994.

Darren Farmer, a burly middle-aged Martu man, told VICE that “the Martu people do not want this uranium mine. Everybody has said no.” But that hasn’t stopped Environment Minister Greg Hunt, who last month gave Kintyre the green light.

This decision was made possible by the intricate mechanics of the Native Title Act. Indigenous Australians are forced to nominate a corporate body that represents them legally. In the case of the Martu people, theirs is the Western Deserts Land Aboriginal Corporation ( WDLAC). In 2012 WDLAC gave up Martu land for mining, and are nowworking with Newcrest Mining, Fortescue Metals Group, Reward Minerals—and Cameco.

WDLAC is currently under investigation for what VICE understands is the corrupt management of millions in mining profits. The body probing them is the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations ( ORIC). ORIC recently asked WDLAC to provide reasons as to why they shouldn’t be overtaken by special management. When VICE asked ORIC spokeswoman Lisa Hugg about details, she was only able to confirm that they’d received “a lot of interest and complaints”.

Darren Farmer is one such Martu man who is complaining. He’s says he’s been thrown out of WDLAC because he kept demanding access to their multimillion-dollar mining deals. But two “bullying” Martu men called Teddy Biljabu and Brian Samson control WDLAC, Mr Farmer says. Teddy and Brian told him the deals were “none of his business”. Upon pressing further, he claims he was was assaulted.

“Sure I’ve been attacked at the meetings. I’ve been punched in front of everyone,” Mr Farmer told VICE. “And if anyone says anything about it, they get the same beating.” While Mr Farmer is only one Martu man, he said that talks over Kintyre involved “lots of people at those meetings declaring that they don’t want this.”

But siding with WDLAC for money is sometimes “the only way out” of the poverty the Martu people still live in. “They’ll ask Teddy for $50 and he’ll give it to them, so they think he’s this great guy,” Mr Farmer said. “But our houses have no windows, no doors, no power, no good hot water. Our housing, health, education—it’s still the same as it’s ever been.” This is despite the report that around $50 million has been collected by the WDLAC in mining profits, and $20.24 million in trust fund for the Martu people.

This is raising concerns that mining companies are selectively buying off Indigenous people for use of land. There are even reports that Toro Energy, which owns theWiluna mine, has sweetened traditional land deals with new Toyotas. “The older people don’t want mines, but some young people do because of the money,” said one Wiluna man Glen Cook to VICE. “But the mining companies give money to a few people, but not to all of us.”

Mr Farmer described similar instances of specific members of WDLAC suddenly owning new cars. “They are all supporters of Teddy and Brian,” he said. “They say at meetings if you don’t side with them, then you aren’t going to get your Toyota, and you aren’t going to get your money for Christmas.”………

With federal approval of the Kintyre mine, WA will now have four uranium mine projects— Mulga Rock,Yeelirrie, and Wiluna—in advanced stages of establishment.

The Martu people are hopeful that WDLAC will be overtaken by ORIC. They had until May 8th to explain their actions, but they were recently granted a month’s extension. “This will give them time to get rid of the rest of the money,” an anonymous source told VICE.

VICE approached Environmental Minister Greg Hunt and WDLAC over a week ago, but both failed to respond.

Follow Jack on Twitter: @jack_callil     http://www.vice.com/read/uranium-minefield-middle-men-are-bleeding-aboriginal-land-dry

Not everybody in Yalgoo Shire is happy with nuclear waste dump hosting

Ben 14 May 15 As a resident of the midwest and has lived and worked on and around the area of Badja Station, I am totally against this idea in our back yard.

I as a former employee, have contributed to the success of GML during the exploration stages of the Karrara mining operation.
Thanks to that I got to see and feel this country and now regret the destruction that has already occurred

So I as one individual totally reject GML nominating this area as a facility for radioactive waste storage which will inevitably lead to establishing a much larger facility to accommodate international nuclear waste for avery handsome $$ profit to those involved.

NO PANGEA HERE !!! Please.

I hope and wish the Widi people are successful in their claim of native title of this area. It is beautiful country, surrounded by at least six vibrant, active towns / communities well within a 150km radius of the proposed radioactive waste dump as well as numerous exploration (because of the mineral wealth) and tourist activities in the area, not forgetting those living off and trying to protect this area

I object to, and will support anyone against, this proposal.

Western Australia site in Shire of Yalgoo volunteered as nuclear radioactive trash dump

Gindalbie applies to host nuclear waste facility in WA’s Mid West By Emily Piesse Iron ore miner Gindalbie Metals has confirmed it has nominated part of its land holding in WA’s Mid West as a potential site for a low level radioactive waste dump.

The site, on Badja Station in the Shire of Yalgoo, has been put forward by the company under a national tender process by the Federal Government. The nuclear waste facility, which would be a national repository for low level waste, would be the first of its kind in Australia.

Most low level waste is stored in hospitals, universities and other private facilities but this would act as a central storage centre.

The Shire of Leonora in WA’s Goldfields has also confirmed it has supported an application to have the nuclear waste dump on a pastoral station’s freehold land between Leonora and Malcolm.

A spokesperson for Gindalbie confirmed the miner had submitted Badja Station to be assessed, but said it was too early to comment as the Government was yet to finalise its shortlist of sites.

Badja Station is currently the subject of a native title claim by the Widi people.

Widi spokesperson Clayton Lewis said he had no prior knowledge of Gindalbie’s proposal.”It was a bolt out of the blue … [we’re] just amazed that it’s going to happen or potentially going to happen in our country,” he said.

“We think if we can get a decent body of support at this early stage we can certainly contest it.”

A spokesperson for federal Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane would not confirm whether Badja Station was under consideration, but said initial site assessments had begun.

Under the selection process, states and territories will not have the right to veto the Government’s site selection.

A shortlist of nominated sites is expected to be made public in July.