“the tragic demise of the Bairnsdale bats is another warning that our warming planet is more than an environmental problem”.
Read the full article at Peter’s website here: http://petergardner.info/2019/02/more-on-bairnsdales-bat-die-off/
Category Archives: Gippsland
Bairnsdale’s Bats and the Climate Emergency
“The heatwaves and the fatalities of the flying fox are a wake-up call for Gippslanders. For if the bats are wiped out then we are next on the list. DELWP, along with our coal generators, carries a substantial amount of responsibility for the climate emergency, as do we all. The flying fox fatalities are just another reminder that urgent action on climate change is needed now.”
http://petergardner.info/2019/01/bairnsdales-bats-and-the-climate-emergency/
GEG in the Media: Mt Alfred Logging Coupe
Louise on ABC Radio
Robyn on ABC Radio
Bat Rescue & Care Workshop – Sat 22nd Sept
Media Release: NEW LICENCE TO EXPAND OLD TAILINGS DAM THREATENS TAMBO RIVER – 1 August 2018
“Gippsland Environment Group has condemned the Victorian Government’s decision to grant a mining infrastructure licence to WHSP Stockman Pty Ltd to reopen and expand the old Benambra mine tailings storage facility located on the headwaters of the Tambo River.”
Click here to see the full media release (PDF format)
GEG media re Stockman tailings dam licence approval 1.8.2018
COMMUNITY RALLY AT DELWP BAIRNSDALE FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY IN PLANNED BURNS
Thursday 17th May 2018
COMMUNITY RALLY AT DELWP BAIRNSDALE FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF BIODIVERSITY IN PLANNED BURNS
On Wednesday 16th May a crowd of more than fifty people gathered outside the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) office at Bairnsdale to protest at DELWP’s failure to protect threatened species and ecosystems from the impact of planned burns.
The rally organised by Gippsland Environment Group (GEG) was also attended by various community environment groups and concerned individuals. People come from all over East Gippsland highlighting the widespread concern felt by locals over DELWP’s planned burn program. A phalanx of people and placards lined the highway outside the DELWP offices then proceeded peacefully to the main entrance.
Mr John Hermans, President of GEG, read out a letter detailing key concerns and a list of demands and handed it to Mr Chris Stephenson Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gippsland region. The letter has also been sent to the Minister forEnvironment and Climate Change Lily DÁmbrosio and Chief Fire Officer DELWP Darrin McKenzie.
In light of the severity of the ongoing dry season experienced by East Gippsland GEG requested that the Minister directs DELWP to halt any further planned burns in Gippsland and East Gippsland this autumn. In addition GEG requested that the State Government:
· implements mandatory, consistent state-wide protection for threatened species including the nationally endangered Greater Glider, from the impact of planned burns
· undertakes a review of the environmental impact of DELWP’s hazardous trees program
· increases funding for biodiversity surveying, and updating the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas database
· increases numbers of biodiversity staff to conduct on-ground flora and fauna assessments pre and post-burn;
· increases numbers of biodiversity staff to conduct on-ground flora and fauna assessments pre and post-burn; · and directs the EPA to install air quality monitors in Gippsland and East Gippsland east of the La Trobe valley.
“Australia has one of the worst extinction records on the planet,” said Mr John Hermans, President GEG. “Just last week another 40 species were added to Australia’s endangered list which now numbers almost 2000 species.”
“In Gippsland GEG’s citizen science surveys repeatedly find threatened species in areas scheduled for planned burns that DELWP were completely unaware of because they simply do not undertake any surveys. When species records are reported to local DELWP little to nothing is done to ensure species are protected’’
“In fact biodiversity protection across the state appears to be an ad hoc affair with mitigation measures for planned burns varying considerably between the regions. For instance we have recorded a number of the nationally endangered Greater Glider in Mt Alfred State Forest in planned burns. The population of the Greater Glider has crashed in recent decades and planned burns are one of the key causes. But DELWP Bairnsdale does not exclude Glider sites from burning even though in other areas of Victoria such as Wombat State Forest Midlands DELWP has avoided burning this year around known Glider records during the breeding season.”
“Similarly with the endangered Powerful Owl which in South Gippsland is completely protected from planned burns during their breeding season. However in the Gippsland forest region DELWP only excludes fire from a radius of 250m around a nest site. Powerful owls depend on 2-3,000ha of good quality i.e. unburnt habitat to hunt in when raising young. No food, no offspring!”
“We could provide many examples where burn plans have ignored significant flora and fauna values. At present DELWP’s planned burning program is contributing to the loss of endangered species and habitats right across Gippsland and East Gippsland,” continued Mr Hermans. “It’s time the State Government prioritised biodiversity protection before DELWP incinerates what’s left of biodiversity in the region.’’
Media contact:
Louise Crisp Secretary
Gippsland Environment Group
lcrisp@bipond.com
Community Information Night – Mine-free Glenaladale
Article: Tambo valley water ‘at risk’ from Benambra mine
“EAST Gippslanders have accused the Victorian Government of cutting a murky deal on reopening a Benambra tailings dam to take mine waste, which they say puts the Tambo Valley’s water supplies at risk.”
Read more here:
http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/politics/tambo-valley-water-at-risk-from-benambra-dam-minewaste-proposal/news-story/35951c84c0ee3ed7c23a7418544c8c73
Film launch: The Desperate Plight of the Orange-bellied Parrot – 11th Feb
Media Release: THE STATE GOVERNMENT’S MURKY DEAL ON BENAMBRA MINE TAILINGS DAM THREATENS TAMBO RIVER
MEDIA RELEASE – 20 December 2017
THE STATE GOVERNMENT’S MURKY DEAL ON BENAMBRA MINE TAILINGS DAM THREATENS TAMBO RIVER
Gippsland Environment Group has condemned the Victorian Government’s decision to lift the mining licence exemption over the Stockman mine’s toxic tailings dam constructed on the headwaters of the Tambo River near Benambra.
The Minister for Resources decision to amend the licence will permit the toxic tailings dam to be re-opened and expanded by CopperChem the company which has recently acquired Independence Group’s Stockman Project
“This is a murky deal that will jeopardise the health of the Tambo River and Gippsland Lakes for thousands of years,” said Louise Crisp of Gippsland Environment Group. “On what grounds was the exemption lifted and why weren’t the public and downstream farmers and communities consulted?”
“The Benambra copper and zinc mine was first operated by Denehurst Pty Ltd from 1992-96, until the company went bust and abandoned the mine site. The company left behind a leaking tailings dam filled with 700,000 tonnes of toxic heavy metal tailings at risk of breaching and flooding the Tambo River and Gippsland Lakes.
In 2006 the State Government rehabilitated the tailings dam at a cost of $7million to the taxpayer. The dam was renamed Lake St Barbara and an exemption placed over the site to exclude it from any future mining licence.
The dam is still leaking polluted water at a rate of 86,000 litres per day into the headwaters of the Tambo River, the ore used to raise the dam wall to prevent it breaching contained potential acid forming material, and an acid seep from the old processing plant is also contaminating the Tambo River.
In 2014 Independence Group proposed to re-open the Stockman mine and massively expand the tailings dam to store up to another seven million tonnes of mine tailings. The company planned to raise the dam wall up to 45 metres above the valley floor and to increase the surface area of the dam from eight to 32 hectares.
In December this year Australian company CopperChem purchased Independence Group’s Stockman Project. At the same time the Victorian Minister for Resources Tim Pallas announced that CopperChem had signed a deal with the State Government to fund the ongoing management of the tailings dam after mining has ended. The tailings must remain covered by two metres of water forever to prevent an acid chain reaction occurring.
When interviewed on ABC radio last week the Minister would not divulge the financial details of the Trust Fund which is intended to fund the management of the tailings dam in perpetuity.
“The community has a right to know what CopperChem’s financial contribution is to the Trust Fund and whether the Victorian taxpayer is also making a contribution,” said Ms Crisp. “How can the State Government possibly calculate what it will cost to maintain a massively expanded dam filled with toxic tailings and keep the Tambo River and Gippsland Lakes safe for the next thousand years?”
The Minister for Resources also failed to mention that he had signed off on an amendment to the mining licence exemption which will now permit the tailings dam to be expanded and become operational again. There was no public consultation regarding the amendment. CopperChem has now submitted an application to Earth Resources for an infrastructure mining licence over the tailings dam.
“The rehabilitation of the abandoned tailings dam in 2006 came at a great financial cost to the taxpayer and the exemption excluding it from any mining operations forever was put there for good reason,” said Ms Crisp. “Why has the exemption been lifted? What advice has the Minister received about the risks to the Tambo River from an expanded tailings dam constructed right across its headwaters? How much will it cost the taxpayer to remediate a much larger tailings dam, the second time around?”
The decision by the State Government to abrogate its ongoing responsibility for the tailings dam is foolhardy and incomprehensible. The Resources Minister’s action to remove the exemption over the tailings dam puts the future of the Tambo River and Gippsland Lakes at risk of catastrophic environmental damage.
See attached: Minister’s amendment of the licence exemption
Further reading is available at the Stockman Mine page