The expansion of rail receival and coal export facilities at Abbot Point has taken a step forward, with a formal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) submitted to the Commonwealth.
Queensland submitted the Abbot Point Growth Gateway Project’s final EIS to the Federal Government on Tuesday, October 27.
The Commonwealth has 40 business days to give the green light to dredging works at Abbot Point, which are vital in order to export coal from the proposed Carmichael Mine.
The EIS stated that the “short-duration” and “low environmental-risk project” will have the least impact on matters of national environmental significance compared with the alternatives considered to date.
And, that it’s unlikely for there to be a decline in the integrity of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA) as a result of the project.
The EIS also found that the project is unlikely to result in residual significant impacts of listed threatened species, and included mitigation measures to avoid having an impact on wildlife.
State development minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the port expansion plan agrees with the Galilee Basin proponents and would protect the Great Barrier Reef and nationally-significant Caley Valley wetlands.
He said that no dredging will occur in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and no dredged material will be dumped at sea or in the Caley Valley wetlands.
Expansion at Abbot Point would allow coal from the proposed Adani Carmichael mine to be exported to international markets.
The EIS process included a 21-busniess day public consultation which received 55,000 submissions.
The Expansion project at the Abbot Point Coal Port involves constructing embankments to create dredged material containment ponds, and the capital dredging of coal export terminal T0.
The offshore component consists of dredging around 1.1m cubic metres of seabed for the purpose of ship berth pockets and apron to support the development of facilities for coal export terminal T0.
The Port of Abbot Point, near Bowen in north Queensland, straddles the boundary of the GBRWHA. The offshore port area is located within the GBRWHA while the onshore coal terminals are adjacent. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park begins at the limits of the port boundary.
Abbot Point’s one operating terminal (T1) was acquired by the Adani Group by way of a long term lease from the State Government in 2011. T1 is being operated by Abbot Point BulkCoal (ABP) under a long term Operations and Management Agreement that was acquired by Adani as part of the sale from North Queensland Bulk Ports. APB is a subsidiary of Glencore.