Dredge dumping allowed within Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Australia's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority announced on Friday it had approved an application by North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation to dispose of dredge spoil at a deepwater location offshore of Abbot Point in the Marine Park area. The park authority says strict environmental conditions have been placed on approval for the Abbot Point permit. Authority Chairman Russell Reichelt said he recognized the amount of debate and community concern that the Abbot Point coal terminal expansion project had generated and shared with everyone a strong desire to ensure the Reef remains a great natural wonder into the future. He said the approval was consistent with the agency's view that port development along the Great Barrier Reef coastline should be limited to existing ports. "It's important to note the sea floor of the approved disposal area consists of sand, silt and clay and does not contain coral reefs or seagrass beds," Reichelt said in a statement on Friday. The authority's general manager for biodiversity, conservation and sustainable use, Bruce Elliot, said the stringent environmental conditions imposed on the project by the federal government would help protect the reef. "The federal environment minister, as part of his approval conditions for this development, has required North Queensland Bulk Ports to identify alternate disposal sites within an identified investigation zone," Elliot said. Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt last month gave a green light to the project in which 3 million cubic meters of spoil must be dredged. The approved disposal site is located about 25 kilometers east- northeast of the port, while the investigation zone being assessed for alternative locations is located 20 to 30 kilometers from the area being dredged. The park authority says testing has confirmed there are no identified contaminants in the sediments in Abbot Point that will be dredged and relocated.