Chief Scientist, Jim Peacock (L) with Minister for the Environment Malcolm Turnbull

The federal Minister for the Environment, Malcolm Turnbull, with Chief Scientist, Jim Peacock at his side announced what appears to be an each-way bet as regards the decision to allow Gunns, Limited to construct and run a $1.7 billion pulp mill at Bell Bay, Tasmania.

There are 45 conditions for approval which are listed below. It remains to be seen whether or not Gunns will accept them, meet those required prior to beginning construction and then proceed.

Following Mr Turnbull's announcement, Green's leader, Senator Bob Brown condemned the decision to approve the mill, saying it is not world's best practice: "Malcolm Turnbull is going to require 400 hectares of bush near the pulp mill to be protected while he gives the go ahead for 200,000 hectares of magnificent forest beyond the hills, which are going to be fed into this pulp mill to be destroyed."

He added that the mill cannot be viewed as world's best practice, because it will be using logs from native forests: "In this day and age we should have a closed loop, plantation-based pulp mill, away from an urban environment and a crop-growing area. We've always said, the technology is available for an environmentally-friendly pulp mill. This is an environmental ogre."

Taking Senator Brown's figure of 200,000 hectares that equates to 772 square miles or a paddock of  28 miles x 27.8 miles. Or perhaps think of drawing a circle with a radius of 15.7miles (25¼ km) from the CBD of Sydney or Melbourne or in fact from the proposed site of the pulp mile to the outskirts of Launceston.

It's interesting to note a sentence from the Chief Scientist's report: (section 1.1.6)  ...The potential impact of wood supply to the mill is exempt from assessment by the Commonwealth under S.75 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

[See also:  http://abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2007/2051656.htm]

Below are two maps taken from the Minister's document "Decision to approve the taking of an action" , followed by URLs supplied by the Minister for the Environment to the decision itself, the Chief Scientist's report and two "fact sheets". Finally there is the list of the 45 conditions Gunns must meet.

Environmental Impact Management Plan

• Gunns Limited must develop and submit an EIMP in accordance with conditions
specified by the Minister.

• The EIMP must be developed in consultation with an independent expert group
(“the Independent Expert Group”), appointed by the Minister, drawn from leading
national and international scientists with relevant expertise. This group will advise
the Minister and the Department as required and assist in the design,
implementation, monitoring and approval of the EIMP.
• Some elements of the EIMP will be required to be approved prior to construction.

• No commissioning activity is to commence until the final and complete EIMP has
been approved by the Minister. Once approved, the EIMP must be implemented.

• An independent site supervisor (“the Independent Supervisor”) will be appointed by
the Minister to independently monitor compliance with the conditions. The
supervisor will have the full range of powers as an inspector under the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to ensure there are no
impediments in terms of access to information or locations to the performance as
supervisor.

• Extensive modelling and monitoring of the environment, including in sentinel species, is
required as part of the EIMP to ensure any unforeseen impacts on the environment are
detected quickly.

• Gunns Limited must agree to specific remedial changes to pulp mill processes and
operation in the event specified trigger points to any part of the environment are
breached.

• There is a guarantee that, if maximum limits for effluent discharge are reached and
cannot be reduced within stipulated timeframes, the pulp mill will cease to operate until
tertiary treatment of effluent is installed.

• Gunns Limited must submit an annual report of performance against the requirements of
the EIMP each financial year. The report must identify any requirements of the EIMP
that have not been satisfied and appropriate strategies for meeting these requirements.
The annual report must be independently audited by an appropriately qualified person
agreed to by the Department. The annual report must be published by Gunns Limited
within ten business days of the completion of the independent audit.

• If there are any problems identified in the annual report, Gunns Limited will be required
to rectify those problems in accordance with directions from the Minister.

Listed Flora and Fauna

Wedge-tailed Eagle

• Construction must not commence, within defined distances of a nest site, during the
breeding season of the Wedge-tailed Eagle. Work is to stop if a new nest is found
within the defined distances.

• An ecologist approved by the Department must conduct approved monitoring of the
Wedge-tailed Eagle nest.

• If the nest is abandoned, within set times, the proponent must take remedial action
agreed by the Australian Government.

• Similar provisions are included for the listed migratory White-bellied Sea-eagle.

New and enhanced habitat

• Conditions imposed will lead to around 400 hectares of land being set aside for
protected plants and animals.

• Gunns Limited will be required to rehabilitate at least 200 hectares of land, outside
the proposed site, that will become new habitat for the Tasmanian Devil, Spot-tailed
Quoll, Eastern Barred Bandicoot, Swift Parrot and the Southern Bell Frog. The site
and rehabilitation will be agreed by the Australian Government.

• In addition to this 200 hectares of new habitat, a network of conservation reserves
totaling at least 150 hectares within the Bell Bay pulp mill site must be established.

• At least another 34 hectares must be reserved by Gunns Limited as foraging habitat
for the Swift Parrot.

• A further 20 hectares may also need to be reserved for the Tasmanian Wedge-tailed
Eagle.

Protection during construction

• During pipeline construction, trench ramps and trench plugs must be used in open
trenches to enable fauna to escape. A qualified ecologist whose appointment is
approved by the Department must inspect and assist trapped fauna.

• An approved ecologist must regularly inspect and ensure potential habitat for the
Green and Golden Bell Frog is avoided during construction.

• All pipeline corridors, with the exception of access tracks and roads, are to be
progressively rehabilitated.

• Surveys must be conducted for the Central North Burrowing Crayfish and the Mt
Arthur Burrowing Crayfish. If the species is found, an approved management plan
must be implemented.

• An approved management plan will be implemented to protect Grasstrees from
diseases such as fungus.

• Pipeline boring will be undertaken under the dunes to avoid disturbing the
Grasstrees.

• A pre-construction survey for threatened orchids must be conducted prior to works
commencing and, if the species is recorded, an approved management plan must be
implemented.

• Nesting sites of breeding shorebirds must be identified prior to construction and
avoided. The beach must be restored to its original shape after construction.

• Conditions have been applied to ensure noise from wharf construction does not
affect the Australian Grayling.

• To manage the risks to listed threatened species associated with road kill, Gunns
Limited must establish baseline monitoring of road kill along the East Tamar
highway and other major access routes for construction, monitor road kill, and
implement response strategies, as stipulated.

Listed Threatened and Migratory Marine Species

• Noise-generating activities must stop if a whale, seal or dolphin approaches within
defined safety zones.

Commonwealth Marine Area

• Levels have been set for specific pollutants in the effluent discharge, both as trigger
levels and as maximum limits. Monitoring of these levels must be conducted in
accordance with a program approved by the Minister and reviewed by an
independent expert.

• Maximum limits for dioxins and furans are almost four times more stringent than
world’s best practice.

• Trigger levels for dioxins and furans are more than six times more stringent than
world’s best practice.

• If at any time the trigger levels for pollutants are reached, Gunns Limited will need
to take specific action to reduce the levels.

• If at any time it appears that the maximum limits for effluent discharge are likely to
be exceeded, Gunns Limited must implement even more stringent response
strategies.

• If within the agreed timeframe Gunns Limited is unable to demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the Minister that response strategies are achieving their objective to
reverse the undesirable impacts, the mill must cease to operate until such time as a
tertiary treatment solution satisfactory to the Minister is installed.

• In other words, the pulp mull must close if effluent from the mill exceeds the
defined maximum limits.

• Before the mill can commence operating, a stringent and comprehensive effluent
monitoring program must be approved which includes sampling of natural baseline
(existing pre-mill) conditions for comparative purposes.

• Prior to the mill’s operation, and to better inform monitoring requirements, new
hydrodynamic modelling and toxicity testing of the effluent expected to be emitted
must be carried out. Modelling must include a mechanism or mechanisms for
tracing the actual movement of the effluent plume.

• Concentration of dioxins and furans in marine sediments must not exceed safe levels
in Commonwealth marine waters. Monitoring of sediment levels must be conducted
in accordance with an agreed program and reviewed by an independent expert.
If results indicate a trend that safe levels may be reached, remedial action agreed by
the Australian Government must be taken.

General conditions

• Remedial action points will be specified throughout the life of the mill including
pre-construction, pre-commissioning and operation of the mill to protect the
environment.

• These action points will be monitored regularly by the Independent Site Supervisor
and the Independent Expert Group as well as subject to independent audit by
auditors approved by the Australian Government.

• To better protect threatened and migratory species and the Commonwealth marine
area, the Australian Government has the power to impose changes to the EIMP.

• The approval will lapse if at any time after five years from date of approval the
Minister is not satisfied that there has been substantial commencement of
construction of the pulp mill.

• An independent audit of compliance with the conditions will be conducted and a
report submitted to the Department. The independent auditor and audit criteria must
be approved by the Department and made available to the public.