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Maximum assessment a chance to prove port’s green credentials

Jul 6, 2021

Gascoyne Gateway Limited (GGL) has welcomed the opportunity to put the environmental credentials of its proposed single jetty deep-water port to the ultimate test.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has announced that the Gascoyne Gateway port proposal would be subject to the highest possible level of assessment.

This will entail a technical report and peer review, which will be subject to a public comment process.

Gascoyne Gateway Managing Director, Michael Edwards OAM, said this was a chance to demonstrate its commitment to environmental management.

“We are committed to setting a new benchmark in marine environmental management worldwide by creating Australia’s first green port and this level of assessment will help us achieve that,” he said.

“Some time ago we started a number of environmental studies that would support the EPA assessment process, including marine habitat surveys, shoreline movement assessments, coastal processes assessment and flora and fauna baseline surveys. This proposal is backed by the best science, and we are confident that it will hold up to the closest possible scrutiny.”

GGL recently hired the former executive chair of the EPA, Dr Ray Steedman, as an environmental consultant on the project to help deliver its environmental goals.

Mr Edwards said a number of regeneration initiatives had been incorporated into the initial design of the project to help improve environmental outcomes in the Exmouth Gulf.

“We plan to use renewable energy to power the port, by doing our part in achieving a net zero carbon target, we are ultimately contributing positively to the effects of climate change,” he said.

“We will avoid extracting water from the local aquifers by creating our own desalinated water, potentially producing drinkable water to support the local community and reducing existing impacts on subterranean fauna.”

Mr Edwards said the port would also establish proper management of vessel movement in the gulf, which was currently unregulated, and reduce marine traffic impact on the Exmouth Gulf.

“There is currently very limited organisation or oversight of the movement of ships and maritime activities in the gulf,” he said.

“It’s expected that much of the existing traffic within the Gulf will use our facility, making it immediately viable and delivering a net environmental benefit as this traffic becomes better regulated.

“The project will also enable marine habitat that has already been damaged by ship’s anchors to be restored by regulating anchoring in allocated areas of the gulf.”Several of the scientific studies required by the EPA to assess the project at the highest level have already commenced.

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Environmental Scoping Document available for public review

Environmental Scoping Document available for public review

The draft Environmental Scoping Document (ESD) for Gascoyne Gateway Limited’s proposal is available for public review from 15 November 2021 for a period of four weeks. The closing date for submissions is 13 December 2021.

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