CAMPAIGNERS against the proposed Vasse Coal Project underground mine at Osmington have won the first round of their fight.
The Environment Protection Authority has determined the mine proposal submitted by LD Operations is "environmentally unacceptable" because of the potential consequences of some of the risks, particularly to the Leederville and Sues aquifers.
EPA chairman Dr Paul Vogel announced the decision at 11am Monday. It had been decided the previous Thursday at the EPA board’s 1000th meeting since it was established in 1972.
Dr Vogel later explained to the Mail that while the EPA had said a "quick no" to the coal mine proposal, in a process that sounds like a Yes Minister script, it now has to formally assess the proposal using its "environmentally unacceptable" assessment level and prepare a report for Environment Minister Bill Marmion recommending against the proposal.
Dr Vogel said while LDO cannot appeal against the "environmentally unacceptable" level of assessment, it can appeal to an Appeals Convenor in the Minister’s office against arguments the EPA uses to justify its level of assessment in its report to the Minister.
That report should be prepared in "a matter of weeks rather than months", Dr Vogel said.
If LDO decides to appeal, the Appeals Convenor will also prepare a report for the Minister who then has two options, Dr Vogel said.
"He can dismiss the appeal or he can send the proposal back to the EPA for a full-blown Environmental Impact Assessment," he said.
NO COAL!ition campaigner Ian Parmenter said members of the group were "delighted" that the EPA "has done the sensible and logical thing.
"We feel this is a great landmark for us and sends a very clear message to the State Government that extracting, even for a bit of coal, is not on."
"I think this provides us with plenty of ammunition," he said of the EPA’s decision.
NO COAL!ition chairman Brent Watson said: "Osmington Road is open for business.
"We are optimistic, based on the strength of the EPA’s determination and on Dr Vogel’s emphasis on social issues. However, we don’t want to fight this one coal mine at a time," he said.
Both South West MLCs, Barry House and Adele Farina, and Federal Forrest MP Nola Marino congratulated NO COAL!ition and the Margaret River community on a successful campaign.
Mr House said the EPA’s environmentally unacceptable determination was "in line with the recommendation that I made in my submission directly to the Premier, the Minister for Environment and the chair of the EPA last October.
"I will personally make representations to the Minister to discourage this project. I am hopeful the Minister will support the EPA’s recommendations," he said.
Ms Farina warned that only "the first battle" has been won.
"With a number of other mining leases and exploration licences approved over the area and others pending, the war to protect the Margaret River area is not yet won, the community has merely won this first battle.
"In view of the EPA’s decision, the government must now act to immediately legislate to protect the Margaret River area as a premier wine and food growing area, to protect the Leederville aquifer and to prohibit incompatible uses in the area," Ms Farina said.
LDO managing director Peter Ross said the company was disappointed with the determination and was seeking clarification of the "basis" on which it was made.
He said it would consider an appeal once it had "access" to the report to Mr Marmion and to additional information sought by the EPA from technical agencies.
"We keenly await the reasons for the determination, as well as access to additional information sought by the EPA from other government agencies ahead of making its decision," Mr Ross said.
"However, we remain strongly of the view that the comprehensive and rigorous public environmental review process, supported by the extra consultation and peer review measures initiated by LDO, would have been a more appropriate process to understand and assess the technical elements, impacts and risks of the project before any decision on environmental acceptability was made."
Dr Vogel confirmed to the Mail that the project’s potential impact on underground water, should anything go wrong, was the EPA’s major concern, although there were also other issues, including where LDO would source water from to operate the mine.
"We would have extreme difficulty devising a (permit) condition that adequately covered the potential for having to putty up leaks (from aquifers) and the consequences should that eventuate," he said.
The social impact of a mine was also a factor, Dr Vogel said.
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