Gunns must deliver marine report

2:32 AM Tue 6 Jan 2009 GMT

'The Tamar Valley, near Launceston, is a picturesque region dotted with farms and vineyards and where the region’s major rivers meet and flow to the sea.' .

Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett has imposed new conditions on the approval of the $2.2bn Gunns pulp mill in Tasmania, including a detailed hydrodynamic study to prove that it will not impact adversely on Bass Strait marine life.

The controversial project in Tasmania's Tamar Valley will win approval if Gunns obtains the financial backing or a joint venture partner that has so far eluded the timber giant.

The company also has until March 2011 to complete hydrodynamic studies to prove that its 64,000 tonnes of effluent released daily will not harm the environment.

'This decision means that all the necessary work that has to be done ... is carried out, analysed and any responses agreed before any final approval decision can be made,' the Minister said in The Australian yesterday.

'If the results ... indicate effluent from the mill may have an unacceptable impact on the marine environment, then response strategies - possibly extending to tertiary treatment of mill effluent - will be required."

He also made a new condition imposing penalties of up to $1.1million if the mill exceeded pollution limits, but dropped a requirement for the mill to automatically shut down in such cases.

These restrictions are likely to take two years to deliver before the final green light.

by Jeni Bone

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Gunns must deliver marine report

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