‘No harm’ in Adani move

ADANI has revealed floodwater has been released into nearby wetlands following the “extreme weather event” in North Queensland.

The mining company said an inspection of its Abbot Point Port yesterday found floodwater had been released to the Caley Valley wetlands from an authorised release point.

“Abbot Point Operations promptly reported these preliminary inspection findings to the Department of Environment and Science,” an Abbot Point Operations spokeswoman said.

“The inspection indicates there has been no release of waters into the marine environment or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, however flood water has been released to the Caley Valley wetlands from an authorised release point.”

The spokeswoman said Abbot Point Operations was “confident that no environmental harm has or will occur”.

“Since 2017, Abbot Point Operations has implemented a number of measures to improve environmental management, including the commencement of a threeyear program to facilitate continuous water infrastructure upgrades,” she said.

“These upgrades are improving our ability to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events.

“It is important to note that these upgrades as part of this three-year program have already delivered successful outcomes in mitigating a large portion of this weather event by reducing the volume of flood water released into the Caley Valley wetlands.”

The spokeswoman said the company would “work in concert” with the State Government department to maintain “strict environmental standards in place at the port”.

“We recognise there is significant interest in the operations of Abbot Point Port,” she said.

“We have chosen to make this statement with the expectation that people recognise our commitment to act with integrity and transparency.”

Operations at Abbot Point Port were suspended early this week due to the extreme weather, which made it unsafe for employees to continue operations with many areas of the terminal deemed unsafe for entry.

Abbot Point’s spokeswoman said the company’s priority “is, and always will be, the safety and wellbeing of our employees”.