Gas giant Woodside silences advice on songlines

GRAHAM LLOYD, ENVIRONMENT EDITOR 

From:

The Australian 

September 08, 2012 12:00AM

WOODSIDE wrote to the West Australian government at least twice last year asking it to withdraw written advice about the possible existence of significant Aboriginal sites in areas disturbed by its proposed $40 billion James Price Point gas hub.

Any damage to the sites integral to an important Aboriginal men's song cycle could leave the resources giant and its directors liable for criminal prosecution under the state's Aboriginal Heritage Act.

A government spokesman confirmed that the Barnett government succumbed to Woodside's wishes and withdrew the letters.

Andrew Chalk, lawyer for indigenous law boss Joseph Roe, who claims cultural responsibility for the area, said Woodside's actions had been "like asking a burglar not to tell a buyer that goods for sale are stolen".

Mr Chalk said letters from Woodside to the state government underscored how the government and the company had run roughshod over heritage concerns at the site near Broome in pursuit of development.

He said that the song cycle had been well documented for more than two decades but many details of it are considered men's business and must remain secret.

The WA Department of Indigenous Affairs wrote to Woodside after evaluating heritage claims following contentious site works in the middle of last year.

The visit followed the discovery of heritage records that pre-dated the Woodside proposal and included interviews with Mr Roe.

Lawyers claim information about the area's heritage value in the Kimberley Land Council's possession since 1991 was not included in the heritage advice given to Woodside more recently.

The material pre-dates Woodside's decision to investigate the gas hub site.

Scott Cane, an anthropologist commissioned by Indigenous Affairs, has confirmed Mr Roe's standing as a significant figure in indigenous law for the area.

"It is clear to me that his knowledge of the religious tradition is comprehensive and his commitment to that 'law' is consistent with both his knowledge of the tradition and his ancestral responsibility to it," Dr Cane wrote in his report on July 16.

Dr Cane's report follows the rejection of DIA's advice about the significance of the area the previous year.

In a letter to the state government dated September 5, 2011, Woodside thanked the department for withdrawing an earlier letter expressing the potential significance of the area. It asked that further advice from the department in relation to a "possible site" in the vicinity of the proposed gas hub also be withdrawn.

Woodside had said the area involved was too big and the timing was vexatious.

The company objected to details of the significance of the area being withheld on the basis they were for initiated males.

Woodside said it was being denied "procedural fairness".

A spokesman for WA Education, Energy and Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier confirmed the advice to Woodside had been withdrawn. "The department withdrew the letter and maps as the content was, upon review, unhelpful and did not properly advise Woodside of known registered sites," he said.

A Woodside spokeswoman declined to comment specifically on communications with the state government.

But in a statement, Woodside said the company was working closely with senior traditional owners to identify and carefully manage Aboriginal cultural heritage at the site of the proposed gas hub. "We conduct our activities under the supervision of traditional owner monitors," it said.

"Comprehensive ethnographic and archeological surveys conducted by traditional owners have been completed to identify the location and nature of Aboriginal heritage sites."

Woodside would seek all additional consents and approvals needed to conduct any activities in areas known to contain Aboriginal heritage.

The project, with a $1.3bn social benefit package for Kimberley Aborigines, has split Broome's indigenous community and drawn environmental protesters from all over Australia.

James Price Point LNG precinct recommended for approval

Summary: The Browse Liquefied Natural Gas precinct at James Price Point has been recommended for strict conditional approval, Environmental Protection Authority Chairman Paul Vogel announced today.
Release Date: 16 July 2012
Details:

Dr Vogel said the assessment of the Minister for State Development’s strategic proposal was the largest and most multi-faceted ever conducted in the EPA’s 40 year history.

“The level of complexity in assessing this proposal was unprecedented,” Dr Vogel said.

“The assessment has been incredibly thorough and included wide consultation with community members and scientific experts, site visits and meetings with interest groups.

“After carefully considering each environmental factor, I have recommended a rigorous set of 29 conditions and offsets to ensure the EPA’s environmental objectives are met.”

Dr Vogel said the precinct, which will produce up to 50 million tonnes of LNG per year from the Browse basin at a site 60 km north of Broome, provides for multiple users to be co-located on a single site, avoiding a number of LNG processing sites to spread along the coast and in more sensitive parts of the Kimberley.

It has also allowed the consideration of the cumulative environmental impacts of future projects, known as derived proposals.

“The numerous conditions recommended will guide the ultimate development plan, as well as apply to specific, future LNG projects within the precinct,” Dr Vogel said.

“Future proposals will still need to be carefully scrutinised by the EPA to ensure that they were identified in the strategic proposal and fit within the strictly defined precinct footprint.”Dr Vogel said assessing James Price Point as the preferred location for the precinct had been a well thought out process.

In 2008, the Northern Development Taskforce (NDT) short-listed four potential sites from more than 40 suggested locations for a multi-user LNG precinct.

Of the four sites considered, the EPA recommended that environmental risks and impacts at James Price Point were likely to be manageable based on the available data.

“Creating any industrial undertaking, particularly one of this magnitude, will have an environmental impact, however these impacts and risks can be managed to an acceptable level,” Dr Vogel said.

The environmental impact assessment of James Price Point considered the impact on the following factors:

Marine Fauna: Dr Vogel said the population of Humpback Whales off the west coast had continued to increase exponentially since commercial whaling ceased in the 1960s, despite the significant increase in iron ore and petroleum industries over the same period.

He said turbidity from dredging, oil spills, industrial discharges, noise, light and vessel strikes had the potential to adversely impact individual whales, dolphins, turtles, dugong and fish in the area.

“Provided the strict conditions recommended are implemented, impacts to marine fauna will be managed and are unlikely to be significant at the species population level,” Dr Vogel said.

Conditions include:

• suspending marine pile driving and blasting at night during the peak southern migration of mother and calf Humpback Whale pods;
• more research into the distribution and habitats of dugong, turtles, Snubfin and Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins to assist in long term management and conservation;
• detecting and controlling marine pests.

Seabed Habitats: Dr Vogel said dredging of 34 million cubic metres of the seabed had the potential to affect habitats that support algae, seagrass, corals and filter feeders in the area.

Proponents should be able to design and build a port in an area that is unlikely to compromise the overall ecological functioning of the marine environment provided strict conditions were applied, he said.

Conditions include:

• all dredged channels and wharves must be wholly contained within the precinct area;
• permanent impacts must not extend beyond 500 metres of dredged areas;
• proponents of future proposals will be required to use best practice in dredging and management to minimise impacts;
• proponents of derived proposals should put forward offset measures to address impacts and risks;
• surveying the marine environment before, during and after marine works to determine baseline conditions, impacts and recovery.

Marine Environmental Quality: Dr Vogel said a high level of ecological protection was necessary to ensure emissions to the marine environment did not significantly affect ecosystem health, recreation, aesthetics, fishing, aquaculture and cultural and spiritual values.

He said the proponent had also committed to preparing a comprehensive oil spill response plan.

Conditions include:

• appropriately locating wastewater discharge outlets within a tightly specified area inside the port;
• implementation of a Wastewater Discharge Monitoring and Management Plan.

Terrestrial Biota: Monsoon Vine Thicket vegetation has a high conservation value and is also important to traditional owners as a significant source of customary foods and other resources, Dr Vogel said.

Conditions include:

• losses of all types of Monsoon Vine Thicket should be limited to 132 ha due to direct and indirect impacts;
• all practical measures should be taken to limit impacts to specially protected species before clearing occurs and once infrastructure is located;
• additional reserves should be created to secure conservation of Monsoon Vine Thicket and Greater Bilby habitats;
• proponents of derived proposals put forward offset measures, including contributing to conservation initiatives.

Landscape Processes: Dr Vogel recommended that pipelines should be installed by micro-tunneling techniques and that coastal management and terrestrial erosion management programs are implemented to limit the impacts on coastal erosion.

Surface and Groundwater: Future proponents must demonstrate that any excavation can be undertaken without unacceptable impacts on Monsoon Vine Thicket vegetation.

Heritage: Dr Vogel said Aboriginal heritage matters were particularly important in this area and noted that they had been extensively addressed in agreements reached between Traditional Owners and the State Government.

“Indigenous interests have been properly heard and considered in this assessment,” he said.

Dr Vogel said he had also considered the heritage value of fossilised dinosaur track sites that occur in Broome Sandstone in the region.

Surveys, with input from Traditional Owners, local people and independent expert advisors, were conducted by international experts and independently peer reviewed.

Based on these findings, it is recommended that the precinct should not cross the shore within 900 metres of James Price Point to avoid fossil dinosaur footprints.

The EPA also recommended additional surveys occur in any areas where Broome Sandstone exists at the surface and is planned to be disturbed for this proposal.

“If fossils are found, disturbance should be avoided wherever possible,” Dr Vogel said.

“Where disturbance cannot reasonably be avoided, appropriate recovery work to salvage or properly document fossils prior to disturbance should be undertaken under the guidance of an expert and with the advice and participation of Traditional Owners.”

Air emissions: The report recommends gasses, dust, noise and light emissions are managed at best practice levels, ensuring they do not pose a threat to human health.

Greenhouse gases: Future proponents should implement best practice in design and operation to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.

Developers will also need to comply with new Commonwealth carbon tax regulations which came into effect on July 1, 2012.

It is also recommended a co-operative fire management strategy with Traditional Owners is established to limit late season fires, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from burning and help offset emissions from the proposal.

Decision

Dr Vogel said the EPA report 1444 to the Minister for Environment would now be subject to a two week public appeal period closing on July 30, 2012. The Minister for Environment will decide if the proposal can be implemented. Commonwealth approval is also required.

Media Contact: Nadia Miraudo 0400 866 450

 Download an audio clip of Dr Paul Vogel's comments (MP3 1.8 Mb)

Status: Final
Appeals close

Camden Sound Marine Park

Opinion piece: Richard Costin

Most Australians would have welcomed the announcement for the establishment of the Camden Sound Marine Park as a significant step forward for marine protection along the Kimberley coast.  At first glance the marine park appears to recognise the importance of Camden Sound for migrating humpback whales.  I have spent countless hours watching, filming and recording the wonders of the whales and marine environment in Camden Sound.  I have dived around Montgomery reef and Champagny island so i was delighted to hear that both these areas were to become special sanctuary areas  within the park.  This area of the Kimberley coast is special and  deserves the highest level of protection.  

Once the initial euphoria wore off I decided to reconsider the announcement in a broader regional context.  The two main question at the back of my mind required careful consideration:

1. Would the Camden Sound whale sanctuary provide significant long term protection for migrating humpback whales?
2. and how would the activities within the park zones affect the integrity of the park?
3. 
   

The Camden Sound Marine Park will cover a significant area of around 7000 square kilometres.  This includes 1670 square  kilometres for whale conservation, around 1400 square kilometres for the Montgomery Reef and Champagny Island sanctuary zones and 3457 square kilometres as general use zones.

The whale conservation area needs to be considered in the context of the distribution of the calving areas right along the kimberley coast, and in the context of the proposed Commonwealth Kimberley Marine Reserves in light of what protection that may provide the Kimberley’s  Humpback whales.  The main calving and resting grounds for Humpback whales in Kimberley waters extend from Eco Beach, south of Broome, to Camden Sound, approximately 400 kilometres north of Broome.  The main calving grounds cover an area of approximately 60,000 square kilometres.  The Camden Sound whale sanctuary will cover an area of 1670 square kilometres, or only about 3% of the calving grounds.  Independent surveys conducted by Kimberley Whale Watching over the past 5 years indicate that the highest concentration  of whales  on the kimberley coast occurs between Cape Leveque  and Broome during the peak migration period in July, August and September.  This is outside the Camden Sound whale sanctuary zone.

Two Commonwealth Marine National Parks [iucn 2] are proposed for the Kimberley Coast.  The smaller park will cover an area of 350 square kilometres adjacent to the western boundary of the Camden Sound Marine Park.  The larger park covers an area of 7,555 square kilometres and is a very important calving, breeding, feeding and resting area for humpback whales.  The proposed national parks should be considered as a whale sanctuary areas in line with the whale  conservation area in Camden Sound.

Federal minister for the Environment, Tony Burke, is also proposing to establish a Kimberley multiple use reserve in Commonwealth waters that will cover an area of around 54,886 square kilometres.  This includes an important congregation area between Adele island and the Lacepede Islands that should be regarded as critical habitat for the whales.  This multiple use zone is being opened up for oil and gas exploration and development and should be viewed as an industrial park and not a marine park.

Neither Colin Barnett nor Tony Burke are proposing to establish marine protected area in State or Commonwealth waters between the Lacepede Islands and Broome. This is perhaps the highest density humpback whale area on the kimberley coast.  This area is being left open for the development of the nearshore oil and gas industry and the establishment of one of the biggest oil and gas processing facilities  in the world.  The establishment of this industrial precinct  in the middle of one of the main calving, breeding and resting areas for the largest population of humpback whales in the world is outrageous.

So will the 1,670 square kilometre whale sanctuary in camden sound provide adequate protection for Kimberley whales in the face of a massive industrial expansion through their calving grounds?  The answer to that is emphatically  NO.

My euphoria  from the initial announcement about Camden Sound has completely evaporated and been replaced with a real sense of unease.That sense of unease increases when you consider the general use zones that have been proposed for Camden Sound.  These general use  zones will cover an area of 3,457 square kilometres, or 49 % of the marine park.  The Western shoals general use zone covers an area of 2,119 square kilometres to the west of and adjoining the whale conservation area and the Montgomery Reef Sanctuary Zone.  This has been left open for oil and gas exploration and development, mining, trawling and drift net fishing.  The Joint Authority Northern Shark Fishery is allowed to use 2 kilometre gill nets with an 18 metre drop.  This is an important calving, resting and feeding area for humpback whales.

The Hall Point general use zone is around 282 square kilometres and is an important transit route for humpback whales moving between Collier Bay and Camden Sound.  Fortescue Metals holds the mining tenements along the eastern shore.  This area has been left open for mining, oil and gas exploration and development and commercial fishing.  The Saint George Basin General Use Zone is considered to be one of the most ecologically significant estuarine environments in the kimberley, with one of the most important mangrove systems in Australia, and in fact the world.  This has been left open for oil and gas development, mining and commercial fishing.  The general use areas cover 49% of the marine park and have been left open for industrial development. These areas should not be considered as a marine park.

The special purpose Kuri Bay  Pearling Zone covers an area of around 577 square kilometres. Pearling operations commenced in Camden Sound at Kuri Bay in 1956.  By 1973 Kuri Bay produced 60 % of the world’s large white south sea pearls.  The pearl leases are now held by Paspaley Pearling.  These operations rely on maintaining a healthy marine environment and are compatible with the marine park.  There is some disturbance to cows and calves that are resting and calving around Byam Martin and Augustus island.

The announcement of the establishment of the Camden sound marine park by Collin Barnett should be treated with some scepticism.  There is no doubt that the announcement is politically motivated and designed to deflect attention from the proposed industrial development at James Price Point.  Colin Barnett,Tony Burke, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation and the Environmental Protection Authority have been made fully aware of the importance of the coastal waters between Broome and Cape Leveque for migrating humpback whales.  This includes the waters adjacent to James Price point.

At best, the whale conservation area in the Camden Sound Marine park represents around 3% of the calving grounds along the Kimberley coast.  The zoning  for the Camden Sound Marine Park and the proposed commonwealth marine parks  reflects the extraordinary influence the mining and oil and gas industry, the state minister for mines and Petroleum Norman Moore, and the Federal minister for resources Martin Ferguson have over the marine planning process in both state and commonwealth waters.  The zoning also reflects the weakness of our environmental ministers at law to provide long term effective protection for the kimberley marine environment.

Colin Barnett, Norman Moore and Martin Ferguson’s powers at law to regulate and resist the mining and petroleum industry once they have handed over control of our resources through the allocation of mining tenements  is also limited.  I hope they all take the time to reflect on the risks associated with offshore oil and gas industry and the consequences of the Montara and Deep Water Horizon oil rig disasters.

The Camden Sound Marine park will have an uncertain future if the mining and oil and gas industry are allowed to operate in or a round the park.  The establishment of the park will no doubt provide a political quick fix as a mining offset for the establishment of an industrial precinct at James Price Point.  If Colin Barnett is serious about  establishing a network of marine parks along the Kimberley coast, he may need to enact new legislation that guarantees long term protection and excludes industrial fishing and oil and gas development.  Alarm bells are ringing that the Camden Sound Marine Park and the proposed commonwealth multiple use reserves will become the new green wash for the offshore oil and gas industry.

The release of petroleum tenements in the Rowley Sub basin around the iconic Rowley Shoals Marine parks clearly demonstrates that Martin Fergusson is hell bent on opening up the kimberley coast to the oil and gas industry.  Woodside and Shell are about to embark on a massive exploration program around the Rowley Shoals in an area that is also being proposed by Tony Burke as a Commonwealth marine reserve.  Calls by Senator Bob Brown to strengthen our environment laws have come at a good time. The decision by Woodside and Shell not to refer their Rowley Shoals seismic testing programme to Tony Burke’s office for assessment under the environmental  protection and biodiversity conservation act clearly demonstrates that self regulation does not work.  The mining industry and oil and gas industry are now lobbying to remove Commonwealth scrutiny under the EPBC ACT.  They are proposing that the responsibility for environmental approvals are now handed back to the States.  The Prime Minister Julia Gillard is set to comply with their wishes.

The establisment of the Camden Sound Marine park is unlikely to provide  adequate  protection for the west coast population of humpback whales and their calving grounds in Kimberley waters.The rapid expansion of the oil and gas industry along the Kimberley coast coupled with a weakening of our environmental laws should be viewed as a major threat to the whales and the marine environment along the Kimberley coast.

Kimberley Whale Watching on Camden Sound Marine Park

Kimberley Whale Watching congratulates the Western Australian State Government on the creation of the Camden Sound Marine Park on the Kimberley coast covering an area of nearly 7,000km2.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Breach at Lulim Island

PRLog (Press Release) - Apr 19, 2012 - Kimberley Whale Watching congratulates the Western Australian State Government in announcing the new Camden Sound Marine Park.  The park, which was announced by former Environment Minister Donna Faragher in October 2009 covers a large area considered one of the main calving grounds for Breeding Stock D,  the world's largest population of Humpback whales, and Montgomery Reef, which at 350km2 is considered to beone of Australia's largest inshore reefs. The State Government will be working closely with traditional owners and sea rangers in the joint management of the park.

The Kimberley's Humpback whales use the islands and reefs of the marine park as areas to shelter whilst feeding and nurturing young calves.  Through our observations of Humpback whale distribution and behaviour along the Kimberley coast and outer reefs and shoals over the past six years, we have also noted the importance of the Dampier Peninsula as a whale calving, resting and feeding area, and urge the State Government to consider increased protection for the Humpback whale population along this part of the coast.  We hope that the state government will extend the areas under marine protection to include the Buccaneer Archipelago, Talbot Bay, Dugong Bay and the Horizontal Waterfalls.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11853279/1

www.kimberleywhales.com.au

Murdoch researchers slam gas hub report

Updated November 11, 2011 15:29:42

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-11/university-scientists-condemn-environmental-report-on-kimberley/3660968

A key document examining the potential impact on marine mammals of a proposed liquefied natural gas precinct near Broome has drawn criticism from scientists.

A team from Murdoch University's Cetacean Research Unit says it has very little confidence in the report's scientific integrity and what it calls its "unfounded" conclusions.

The "Strategic Assessment Report", prepared by the Department of State Development, is designed to provide advice to the State and Federal governments on whether to give final approval to the gas hub which would span 3,530 hectares of land and sea at James Price Point, north of Broome.

The document's many findings include a prediction that activities associated with the LNG hub are unlikely to have an impact on dolphins in the area because the animals are likely to exhibit avoidance responses such as faster dive times and high-speed swimming.

The report also found that dugongs are not likely to be affected by a loss of seagrass due to dredging because they will relocate to adjacent areas to look for food.

On the subject of the estimated 13-thousand humpback whales that migrate through the area each year, the report found they successfully cross shipping corridors with little evidence of vessel strikes further south at Port Hedland and Dampier ports.

But, in a scathing submission, four scientists from Murdoch's Cetacean Research Unit have questioned many of the report's findings.

"There has been no targeted effort to identify and quantify the abundance of dolphin species ... this is a glaring omission in the Environmental Impact Assessment," the submission says.

"Thus the conclusion that the activities associated with the development of the precinct port area is unlikely to impact these species (humpback dolphin, snubfin dolphin) is unsubstantiated and based on field efforts that were aimed at quantifying humpback whale and dugong numbers only."

The unit's Amanda Hodgson told the ABC that a Murdoch University research team had recorded multiple groups of snubfin, Indo-Pacfic humpback and bottlenose dolphins just north and south of James Price Point during a boat-based survey in July last year.

"The coastal dolphins that we know occur along the Dampier Peninsula include humpback and snubfin dolphins and both of those species generally have small populations, small home ranges and they rely on very specific habitats ... so they can't just avoid the area if they're disturbed by this development," she said.

"The broad conclusions that they've come to are not necessarily supported by the scientific literature."

The report's assessment of the impact on dugongs has also been questioned by the Murdoch team which cited the case of Hervey Bay in Queensland where they say the widespread loss of seagrass from a cyclone resulted in the death and emigration of many dugongs.

On the subject of humpback whales, the scientists argue many of the findings in the report are "unreliable".

They have described the report's prediction that whales will successfully cross shipping corridors as "inappropriate" because it is based on a study of just three, satellite-tagged whales traversing the Port Hedland and Dampier Port areas in September, 2010.

"We certainly know that humpback whales get hit by boats and are disturbed by boats," Dr Hodgson said.

"There's plenty of literature to suggest that the impact of boat strikes is significant on humpback whales."

The Department of State Development has defended the report, saying it is based on the findings of work by reputable scientists.

The department says it has received more than 11,000 submissions since the report was released for public comment late last year and that draft responses have been prepared for about 1,000 issues raised in the submissions.

The State's Environmental Protection Authority is expected to make a recommendation to the WA Environment Minister, Bill Marmion, on whether the gas hub should go ahead, and under what conditions, in February.

The project also needs to be approved by the Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke.