Dam go-ahead has 1,200 conditions

Bill Hoffman
6th October 2009

 
A DECISION on the future of the proposed Traveston Crossing Dam may be known within six weeks after the Queensland coordinator-general signed off on the project yesterday.

Federal environment minister Peter Garrett now has 30 business days to evaluate the project but may stop the clock if he requires more information.

The state government said that if approved the dam would be completed by 2016-17 and create 770 jobs.

The coordinator general’s approval is heavily qualified by 1200 conditions meant to address a myriad of environmental concerns.

It comes as experts engaged by environmentalists opposed to the dam lodged an official complaint with Mr Garrett’s department alleging that Queensland Water Infrastructure had falsified information about the endangered Coxon Fig Parrott’s habitat.

Greater Mary Association spokesman David Kreutz said QWI had claimed there was no habitat within the dam footprint when 96 fig trees could be identified simply by using Google Earth.

Ms Bligh said yesterday that she had always said south-east Queensland needed the project to deliver reliable water supply for the future and that she was pleased it had passed “independent evaluation”.

“It is the best and cheapest water supply option. It will deliver 770 construction jobs and now we know it will deliver real wins for the environment,” she said.

“The coordinator-general has produced a detailed 378-page report that sets new standards for environmentally responsible dam building.”

Mr Kreutz said he was flabbergasted at the number of conditions applied to the project.

He said he could not even police the limited conditions attached to the Paradise Dam on the Burnett River.

“Who or what body is going to look after 1200 conditions?” he said. “What sort of jeopardy situation does this put the taxpayers of Queensland in?”

Opposition spokesman David Gibson agreed. He said the coordinator general’s report and the number of conditions highlighted the environmental risk.

“The onus is now on federal environment minister Peter Garrett to open this project up to more public scrutiny following the state’s finalisation of their conditions for the project,” he said.

Ms Bligh said the coordinator general’s assessment was based on advice, peer reviewed by the CSIRO, from experts on the Queensland lungfish, the Mary River turtle, Mary River cod and the giant barred frog.

“The experts believe environmental measures for the Traveston Crossing Dam project will improve the situation for these species,” Ms Bligh said.

“(This will be done) through extensive work to improve their habitat and research at the $35 million Freshwater Species Conservation Centre to be run by the University of Queensland,” she said. 

Coordinator General recognizes 1200 serious problems with Traveston dam.

Yesterday’s release of the Queensland Coordinator General’s evaluation report for the proposed Traveston Crossing dam raises more questions than it provides answers.

Save the Mary River Coordinating Group secretary David Kreutz said “The Coordinator General bases his report on the assumption that the Traveston Crossing dam is a key component of the Queensland Governments strategy to provide secure water supplies for South East Queensland.”

“This is a myth.”

“It would be a dogger of a dam in a drought,” explained Darryl Stewart president of the Greater Mary Association. “We’ve repeatedly made the point that it would fail in less than 18 months of dry conditions. The Government has never been able to refute this.”

“You’d be crazy to call this water security.”

The report outlined 1200 conditions of approval which Mr Kreutz labeled as unproven and uncharted.

“The 1200 conditions imposed by the Coordinator General means there are 1200 serious problems with this project.”

The release of this report takes the controversial project on to the next stage with Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett finally being in a position to formally take responsibility for the future of the Mary River and Great Sandy Strait.

Mr Kreutz said “We demand that Peter Garrett calls for independent public scrutiny of the 1200 conditions and volumes of associated technical documentation that have not previously been made public.”

“There is widespread unwavering opposition to this proposal. We will continue to harness greater public and scientific support in our fight against this extremely wasteful project.”

Traveston Dam stage two plans doomed

Steven Wardill and Ursula Heger

October 06, 2009

THE proposed second phase of the Traveston Dam appears doomed because of major mitigation works required for the first stage of the controversial project.

After three years of assessments, Co-ordinator-General Colin Jensen yesterday gave final approval for Traveston Dam stage one but warned the second stage may be unviable.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett now has 30 days under Commonwealth law to make a decision on stage one of the project but the clock can be stopped at any point if further details are required.

Mr Jensen’s 378-page report includes more than 1200 conditions for the dam, including 2000ha of vegetation restoration and protection and a fish and turtle bypass system.

The extensive habitat restoration works stretch into the area earmarked for the second stage of the dam, which was due to begin construction by 2036 to cater for southeast Queensland’s booming population.

Mr Jensen warned in his report that the Government may have to reconsider the second stage, a move that will force the Government to do long-range planning for alternative water sources.

“Some of those habitat restoration measures are actually in the stage two inundation area as proposed,” Mr Jensen said.

“So a future decision, a future assessment would have to consider that carefully.”

Premier Anna Bligh said the Government would now consider the implications of the recommendation. But she insisted the record number of conditions showed Traveston would be the “greenest dam in Australian history” rather than highlighting the environmental problems.

“It demonstrates the lengths that the Coordinator-General has gone to ensure that we can get water security in the most environmentally-friendly way possible,” she said.

The Government also released letters from three pre-eminent scientists commissioned by the dam’s builders, Queensland Water Infrastructure, who argued the mitigation measures would help save threatened species, including the lungfish and Mary River turtle.

However, the Greens labelled the Co-ordinator-General’s 1200 conditions as “farcical” and said the mitigation measures were simply a public relations exercise.

“This is a rubber stamp from a government looking after its own image instead of its people and the environment,” Queensland Greens spokeswoman Larissa Waters said.

Mary Valley residents vowed to continue their fight against the proposed dam, dismissing the mitigation measures.

“Some of those 1200 conditions to me would say that there are incredible faults and risks to this project,” Save the Mary River secretary David Kreutz said.

Yes to dam, with 1200 conditions

Arthur Gorrie
7th October 2009

  
CRUNCH time moved a step closer for the Traveston Crossing dam proposal yesterday, with conditional approval announced by Queensland’s Co-ordinator-General.

COG Colin Jensen imposed 1200 conditions on the proposal, which has a scheduled starting date in 2013.

Premier Anna Bligh and Infrastructure Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced the state approval yesterday, with Mr Jensen’s report now on its way to federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who has final say on environmental issues.

Mr Jensen handed over his report at 11am.

It includes a fishway and turtle bypass system for the endangered Mary River turtle, Mary River cod and lungfish, the restoration and protection of about 2000ha of riparian vegetation, and a $10 million project to protect, create and rehabilitate habitat elsewhere in the Mary River catchment.

Mr Jensen’s report also recommends the government reconsider a planned stage two which would expand the dam in 2036.

Ms Bligh said the conditions would make it the “greenest” dam in Australia, but acknowledged that Mary Valley residents would not be happy with the decision.

That may be the only point on which she achieved agreement from Gympie state MP David Gibson and Wide Bay federal MP Warren Truss, who both strongly criticised the decision.

Their concerns were backed by WWF spokesperson Nick Heath, who said the dam would have “tremendous consequences for the environment” and was not the best water resource solution.

Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council vice-president Roger Currie said he doubted the conditions, including fishways, would work to the benefit of endangered species.

Ms Bligh said the dam would be a tourism hot spot and anticipated “a prompt decision” from Mr Garrett.

MS Bligh said opponents of the dam needed “to understand that over the next two decades South East Queensland is likely to grow to more than four million people.

“We simply have to provide them with water, and this is the best possible and most cost-effective source of that water.”

Ms Bligh said the dam would be positive for the region, protecting degraded land and vulnerable species.

She said 85 per cent of the affected land had already been cleared and degraded through agricultural and mining use.

“The science backs the proposition that this dam, with the mitigating conditions, may in fact give some of these species and the habitat their best chance of recovery from the activities of human beings over the last century,” she said.

The dam would also provide a recreation spot that could become a “tourism mecca” for the region, she said.

Mr Heath said that no matter what so-called “green” conditions were included, the dam would block “a major artery”.

Retrofitting water tanks and other devices would be a better way of delivering more water to the south east.

Mr Currie said the dam would have a negative impact on tourism.

“The dam would interfere with fresh water flow from the Mary River into (the Great Sandy Strait) … which is a humpback whale sanctuary and is quite an extensive recreational and fishing area,” Mr Currie said.

“The river keeps the (wetlands) alive, which is a major source of tourism for the Fraser Coast.”

Mr Gibson said the dam had now reached the stage which Ms Bligh falsely claimed on September 13.

He said he welcomed the progress but called on the Rudd government to “properly and fully consider the project.

“The number of conditions now imposed by the COG already casts doubt that the Traveston Crossing dam is the most effective supply for (future) water needs.

“The Federal Government must now give the community and experts a chance to comment on this report to determine if the conditions already imposed need to be expanded further.

“The onus is now on Mr Garrett to open this project up to more public scrutiny.”

Mr Truss said Mr Garrett now “faces his biggest environmental test.

“All that stands in the way of the dam and the fate of the endangered Mary River Cod, Mary River turtle, giant barred frog, the vulnerable Queensland lungfish, the Ramsar listed Great Sandy Straits and the entire Mary Valley is Peter Garrett,” he said.

Ms Bligh said the COG’s conditions would protect and restore those species.

Our View

7th October 2009

  
QUEENSLAND’S Co-ordinator General Colin Jensen yesterday gave the proposed Traveston Crossing dam his tick of approval but in doing so placed 1200 conditions and requirements on the dam, many of them to be met before construction can start.

Just how these 1200 conditions are to be met is anyone’s guess as there is no plan for meeting them, just a list of conditions.

About three weeks ago, Premier Anna Bligh had the bulldozer moving in this year and the dam completed by 2011. However, like many of her claims in regard to this dam, they have now been shown to be just more words.

Yesterday it was announced that no construction on the dam would start until 2013, meaning that if it is ever built it will be at least 10 years since it was first proposed by then Premier Peter Beattie.

The paperwork from Mr Jensen should today be in the hands of Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett - the man who stood on a platform of protecting the world and its environment now faces his biggest test.

He has 30 days to come up with an answer to the State Government, put the process on hold or set other standards. Mr Garrett now has to make a decision of some sort.

That approval of any kind would have 1200 conditions imposed on it is a clear sign that this dam is not good for the environment or the region.

Mr Garrett now must give the public time to respond to the almost 1000 pages contained in Mr Jensen’s report and associated papers.

The many pages and conditions are a direct result of the public’s input into the process and, as a result, these same people must be given a chance to comment on Mr Jensen’s conditions.

Ms Bligh still does not have the green light she claimed to have received weeks ago and it seems that it still may be some time away, if ever, before any works starts if Mr Garrett remains true to his beliefs.

Brisbane dam at risk of veto by Peter Garrett

  
Natasha Bita
October 07, 2009

PLANS to drought-proof Brisbane with a $1.8billion dam risk a federal government veto after the Queensland government admitted yesterday the controversial project could harm several endangered species.

The Queensland Co-ordinator-General has imposed 1200 environmental conditions in its 378-page evaluation report on the Traveston Dam, made public yesterday.

They include $10million to build artificial sandbanks, “fish corridors” and turtle tunnels to protect endangered lungfish, turtles and Murray River cod.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett - a former president of the Australian Conservation Foundation - has at least 30 days to consider the report and can block the dam if it breaches federal laws.

The Co-ordinator-General’s report lists 16 threatened species of plants, and 13 animals, in the area to be flooded if the Mary River is dammed north of Gympie. It says the Mary Valley is “clearly of significance” for the rare giant barred frog, and the dam “may result in a loss of a number of individuals … after initial inundation”, affecting 116ha of habitat. “Maintaining a sustainable population of giant barred frogs in the vicinity of the project site is a significant challenge requring substantial resources,” it says.

The Co-ordinator-General proposes moving the frogs to 175ha of land that will be revegetated as a “suitable micro-habitat”. The report concedes the dam will destroy foraging grounds for the vulnerable grey-headed flying fox, but says they can fly 50km away in search of other food.

“They are highly mobile and the loss of 302ha of remnant forest within the inundation area will only represent a small portion of their potential foraging area and is unlikely to significantly diminish the size of the colony,” it says.

The report also admits the dam could affect breeding areas for a threatened species of lungfish.

“Reduced habitat availability is likely to expose juvenile lungfish to increased predation,” it says. The report says a “fishway” would be built to let Murray River cod - the nation’s most endangered fish - and lungfish to swim around the dam wall.

But it reveals the fishway could pose a danger to rare Murray River turtles, and recommends that “turtle passageways” be built to let them get around the fishways. “There is evidence that freshwater turtles in the vicinity of dams are more likely to suffer fractures to their shells from trauma,” the report says.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday urged the federal government to approve the dam, saying land rehabilitation and habitat buffers would provide a “massive increase in suitable habitat for endangered species”.

Garrett asked to wait for courts before approving dam

TONY MOORE
October 7, 2009

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett has been asked to delay his decision on the controversial Traveston Dam until after a Brisbane court ruling in November.

The Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council (WBBCC) has taken Federal Court action in Brisbane to challenge whether Burnett Water - a State Government-owned company - breached their approval conditions when building the Paradise Dam.

WBBCC argues Burnett Water did not had an effective fishway in place before the Paradise Dam began operating in December 2005.

They believe a similar situation could happen at Traveston.

The court case is due to resume on November 9, just a few days after Mr Garrett is due to rule on the future of the Traveston project on November 5. However, he can request more time to reach his decision.

WBBCC this morning pleaded with Mr Garrett to wait until after the Federal Court case in order to make an informed decision on whether the threatened Queensland lungfish could be protected.

The conservation group presented evidence in July that just three lungfish used the fishway in the three years between March 2006 and March 2009.

Burnett Water argue the drought kept the dam levels below what was needed to make the fishway operate successfully.

WBBC vice-president Roger Currie said the Paradise Dam model had not worked, and it was essential to find a system that did work before approving Traveston.

“We know from Paradise (Dam), that you can’t get lungfish to go from below high dams to above high dams,” Mr Currie said.

“So we believe that at the very least any consideration should be made after the court case is finalised because then the Minister can make an informed decision on whether they can actually protect lungfish at Traveston or not.”

Mr Currie said Mr Garrett currently had a brief before him on whether to put in place alternative approval conditions for Paradise Dam.

A response has been sought this morning from Mr Garrett.

Queensland Co-ordinator General Colin Jensen’s report into the Traveston Crossing Dam, sent to the Federal Government yesterday, lists 1200 conditions which must be met as part of the dam’s construction.

The Queensland Government yesterday provided three letters from experts who supported efforts from Queensland Water Infrastructure (QWI) to help the lungfish, Mary River Turtle and rare frogs.

Gordon Grigg, the Emeritus Professor in Zoology at the University of Queensland, on June 4, 2009, wrote that: “I realized (sic) that the considerable mitigation measures that were proposed by QWI had the strong likelihood of improving the situation for lungfish, and indeed for the all of the four nationally-listed species which occur in the dam footprint.”

Queensland Water Infrastructure have not returned telephone calls this morning.

Escape route vital for damned species

TONY MOORE
October 7, 2009

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Three fish biology experts must design an effective fishway and turtle bypass system before the Traveston Crossing Dam can go ahead, Queensland’s Co-ordinator General Colin Jensen has demanded.

Mr Jensen’s report into the Traveston Crossing Dam, sent to the Federal Government yesterday, does not include guidelines for their design, only a need for them to be effective.

However if the fishway fails, the Queensland Lungfish and Mary River Cod will have to be captured, and literally carried over the dam wall, Mr Jensen admits.

Mr Jensen yesterday listed 1200 conditions which must be met as part of the dam’s construction - including two fishways and two turtle bypasses; at both the 52-metre high dam wall and at another waterway on the Mary River.

This “catch and carry” system for the Queensland lungfish and the Mary River cod, was roundly criticised by river experts in February this year.

There has already been extensive criticism of the fishway lift used at the State Government-built Paradise Dam near Bundaberg, which was originally the model for Traveston.

On July 31, a fish ecologist presented evidence to an ongoing Federal Court hearing that the Paradise Dam fish ladder let three lungfish through the $24 million system in three years to March 2009.

A local environment group is taking the Federal Court action, asking if the State Government-owned company that built the Paradise Dam breached its Federal Government approvals and alleging their fish ladder does not work.

That case continues in Brisbane on November 9.

The Traveston Crossing Dam - which is being built by a second State Government-owned company, Queensland Water Infrastructure - must now be approved by Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett because of the potential impact on at least four threatened species.

These are the Queensland lungfish, the Mary River cod, the Mary River turtle and the giant barred frog.

Mr Garrett has 30 days to consider Mr Jensen’s report and conditions, but can request another 30 days.

Mr Jensen made it clear that he wanted more detailed planning on ways to deal with the threat to the animals before the 760-metre wide and 52-metre high dam wall is constructed.

“Examples of this include a detailed land use master plan, greenhouse gas offset plan and a fishway/turtle bypass design that has been informed by trials,” Mr Jensen said.

Queensland Greens spokeswoman Larissa Waters last night said the Queensland Greens would back any potential court challenge from the Mary River community if Mr Garrett approved the dam.

But Ms Waters questioned how the co-ordinator general could approve the dam before a system to protect the threatened species is finalised.

“This is a pre-pre-emptive approval,” Ms Waters said.

“It is putting the cart before the horse.”

Mr Jensen insisted that the two fishways and two turtle bypasses must be tested before the dam wall is built.

He also wants;

- fish to be able to move “in both directions” across the dam wall when water is released from the dam;

- pre-construction trials to go ahead to help design the best possible turtle and fish bypass at the dam wall;

- one additional fishway and one additional turtle bypass at another waterway barrier on the Mary River;

- about 2000 hectares of riparian vegetation be restored and protected, which would stretch one kilometre downstream from the dam wall;

- 60-metre wide buffer zones near the dam for the giant barred frog, plus links to nearby state forests;

- a $10 million catchment enhancement program to repair the habitat in the Mary River catchment outside of the Traveston Crossing Dam, and

- the already-promised $35 million Freshwater Species Conservation Centre built at the dam.

About 79 per cent of the Mary River catchment lies downstream of the Traveston Crossing Dam site, meaning the impact of the reduced water flow would be mitigated before it damaged coastal wetlands, the report found.

QWI have published a large number of technical reports which accompany the Coordinator Generals report.

Here are their responses to the federal reviewers comments on the EIS.
http://www.qldwi.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=230

They have also published an implementation framework
http://www.qldwi.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=231

and their responses to information requests from the coordinator general and DEWHA
http://www.qldwi.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=232

They have also published reports from their community information days conducted during their advertising campaign.
http://qldwi.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=129

Here are the three main new reports, each consolidated into a single pdf document (to save you having to sit there and download them bit by bit). This is a more convenient if you want to search the entire reports, or if you wanted to print a copy. These are very large files, amounting to 2300 pages of new information

responses to the federal reviewers:
http://www.savethemaryriver.com/downloads/COMPLETE%20REPORT%20QWI%20RESPONSE%2006102009.pdf

implementation framework: http://www.savethemaryriver.com/downloads/QWI%20IMPLEMENTATION%20FRAMEWORK%20REPORT%20TOTAL%2006102009.pdf

responses to information requests:
http://www.savethemaryriver.com/downloads/QWI%20Response%20to%20CG-DEWHA%20requests%20COMPLETE%20REPORT%2006102009.pdf

WWF rejects Bligh’s Traveston green claims

By Jo Skinner

Posted Thu Oct 8, 2009

  

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has questioned the Queensland Premier’s claim that the Traveston Crossing dam will be “Australia’s greenest ever dam”.

Anna Bligh has told State Parliament the dam will be the most environment friendly dam in the country.

“The Traveston Crossing dam is set to be Australia’s greenest ever dam,” she said.

“It will bring a wealth of community benefits for the Mary Valley with $75 million allocated in this year’s budget and a long list of environmental, job creation and community support projects awaiting the Federal Government’s approval.”

But the WWF has its doubts, after the coordinator-generals’ report to the federal Environment Minister listed 16 threatened plant species and 13 endangered animal species in the dam’s footprint - and 1,200 environmental conditions that need to be met to protect them.

Nick Heath from the WWF says there is no way the Premier can make the dam environmentally friendly and the size of the report is proof the Government is struggling to prove it can be.

“The substance of it is, can you make a dam green? Whilst there may need to be a dam here and there, in this case, this dam - you can’t make it green,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms Bligh has vowed to visit the Mary Valley when a decision is made on the fate of the controversial dam.

Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is expected to announce his decision on the project within 30 days.

Ms Bligh has told State Parliament she and the Minister for Infrastructure and Planning will visit the Mary Valley community to discuss the implications of Mr Garrett’s decision.

“When we have that decision from the Federal Government and we know one way or the other, yes I will be, as will my Minister, be meeting with appropriate organisations and individuals in the Mary Valley and in affected regions to talk through what the implications of that final decision are,” she said.

Garrett ‘last hope for Traveston lungfish’

By Kallee Buchanan

Posted Thu Oct 8, 2009


A conservation group says federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is its last hope of protecting wildlife threatened by the Traveston Crossing dam in south-east Queensland.

Queensland coordinator-general Colin Jensen sent his final report with 1,200 environmental and social conditions to Mr Garrett for his approval.

Mr Garrett now has 30 days to decide the project’s future.

But Roger Currie from the Wide Bay Burnett Conservation Council says Mr Garrett is the only one who can save the lungfish and turtles.

“Once the federal Minister gives approval for the dam, then of course effectively the dam has approval and basically all it will show is that they’ll repeat the same poor example of Paradise [Dam],” he said.

“They’ll build a dam, they’ll put a fishway on it and then five years later we’ll discover that lungfish can’t be protected and we’ll be back to square one.

“I think there’s very little that could be done if Peter Garrett gives approval for this report and for the project to commence.

“But bear in mind that basically Colin Jenson has said that there’s a lot of trials that need to be conducted before they’ll actually start constructing the dam and what we’d be hoping to see is that those trials would actually last five to 10 years before the dam actually gets built.”