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Great Barrier Reef to be Dredged and Dumped to Expand Coal Port
Australian marine park authority grants approval with strict conditions in decision met with derision by conservation groups
The reef: the spoil will be dumped about 24km from Abbot Point, the gateway to the world heritage-listed reef. Photograph: Grant V Faint/Getty Images
Three million cubic metres of sediment from dredging to expand a coal port will be dumped in the Great Barrier Reef marine park, after the park authority approved the move on Friday.
The spoil resulting from the Abbot Point port project is to be dumped 24km away at a location near Bowen in north Queensland.
The expansion, which hinged on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s approval of the dumping, means an extra 70m tonnes of coal each year, worth between $1.4bn and $2.8bn, will go through the port, which is also a gateway to the world heritage-listed reef.
Source: http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2014/02/great-barrier-reef-to-be-dredged-and-dumped-to-expand-coal-port/
