CYCLONE DEBBIE: Adani appeal on fine
ADANI will appeal a fine handed down by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection for an alleged unauthorised stormwater release during Tropical Cyclone Debbie.
The fine was issued after the Adani- owned Abbot Point Bulk Coal Pty Ltd was issued a temporary emissions licence on March 27 this year.
The licence allowed an elevated suspended solid limit of 100mg per litre on stormwater releases from the terminal during the high rainfall associated with the event.
A department spokesman said the company advised it on April 6 that a noncompliance with the conditions of the emissions licence had happened with a release of stormwater from the terminal containing suspended solids recorded at 806mg per litre.
The water was discharged into nearby marine waters.
The company was later issued with a $ 12,190 fine.
Abbott Point Bulk Coal Pty Ltd was given until August 17 to contest the infringement notice.
A spokesman for Adani confirmed an appeal had been lodged but declined to comment further as the matter was before the courts.
Adani spokesman Ron Watson previously told the Bulletin the company strenuously denied it had breached the licence conditions.
The appeal comes after a win in court for Adani against the Australian Conservation Foundation ( ACF).
The environmental group had appealed an August 2016 decision by the Federal Court of Australia to reject a challenge against the mine’s approval.
ACF had claimed the Environment Minister had made an error in failing to determine the “impact” the coal project would have on the Great Barrier Reef. An appeal against the decision was dismissed on Friday.
ACF chief executive Kelly O’Shanassy said the organisation would explore other legal options to challenge the mine.
The Carmichael coal mine is a proposed thermal coal mine in the north of the Galilee Basin in Central Queensland. The development is worth about $ 16.5 billion.
The project will be linked to the Abbot Point Port near Bowen by a 388km standard gauge rail line.