Gunnedah Charcoal Plant:
Environmental, Salinity Impacts
Ignored
The NPA calls on the NSW Government to delay decision making on approval for the proposed Gunnedah charcoal plant and Lithgow silicon smelter until the environmental and salinity impacts of the supply of wood are known.
NPA Executive Officer, Andrew Cox, criticised the Gunnedah Charcoal Plant development application released yesterday for public comment because it shed no light on the massive impacts expected on salinity, woodlands and forests.
"Key issues of concern identified in the report accompanying the development application include:
Confirmation that up to 230,000 tonnes of native hardwood each year will be used to make charcoal for the silicon smelter.
No specific information on the location and tree species used, except brief mention in the ‘Alternatives’ section. This lists species tested as suitable and provides some supply options, but little else. Few north-east species are tested.
A discredited State Forest’s consultant’s report is relied on for wood quantities in the north east. It assumes all wood species are suitable for charcoal production and ignores all environmental issues. This results in a probable overestimation of available wood volumes by about 400% even before the environment is considered.
There will be new logging of woodland and forest trees, despite Government assurances to the contrary.
The amount of charcoal required for silicon production has risen from 30,000t/yr (Silicon Smelter EIS 1999) to 35,000t/yr.
Up to 48 new semi-trailer movements per day to and from the plant site are generated.
Australian Silicon fails to commit to using alternative carbon sources identified by CSIRO in a report completed this year."
"The NPA demands that Forestry Minister Kim Yeadon honours the commitment he made to the Parliamentary Estimates Committee in June that there will be a ‘full environmental and community consultation process, which would include all impacts’ on the supply of the wood used for the charcoal plant", said Mr Cox.
"This document shows the Government is barely playing lip-service to the major environmental problems of the 21st century. It does not address key problems of salinity, habitat and biodiversity loss and greenhouse emissions. For this reason NPA will strenuously oppose the construction of the charcoal plant at Gunnedah."
Contact: Andrew Cox 9299 0000 or 0401 239 680
NPA is the largest membership based conservation group in NSW with some 5,000 members located in 19 Branches throughout the State.
4 August 2000