MEDIA RELEASE - 30th August 2016
Overnight the Conservation Council of WA, in partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Earth Australia and the Anti Nuclear Alliance of WA lodged an appeal against the EPA recommendation to approve the proposed Mulga Rock uranium mine in the Goldfields.
“The proposed mine sits in the important Yellow Sand Plain Priority Ecological Community which supports a number of rare and endangered species”, said Mia Pepper, Nuclear Free Campaigner for the Conservation Council of WA. “If this mine were to proceed it would take 15 million litres of water a day from the environment and clear over 3,000 hectares of native bushland and important habitat for 93 reptile species, 28 bird species and 10 mammal/marsupial species.
“In exchange for the loss of water and habitat, this uranium mine would leave behind a legacy of 30 million tonnes of radioactive tailings and mine waste that would pose a threat to the environment for thousands of years.”
“We have lodged an appeal with the Office of the Appeals Convenor on a number of grounds including environmental factors for flora and fauna, mine closure, tailings management and impacts to water.”
The EPA recommendation to approve the Mulga Rocks project follows on the heels of its recommendation not to support planned uranium mining at Yeelirrie.
“The EPA approval recommendation is a long way from an operating mine,” said ACF campaigner Dave Sweeney. “The Minister and the Barnett Government promised a ‘Worlds Best Practice’ uranium industry but this proposal is a very long way from that. The company has overstated its ability to manage the risks without providing the science to support their claims”.
“The uranium market is depressed and the lack of detail in Vimy Resources application is depressing. This plan is deficient, this product is dangerous and the government needs to make a decision based on evidence, not enthusiasm. The EPA recommendation was made without all the necessary information and puts a unique and pristine desert ecosystem at serious risk”.
Comment and Context
Mia Pepper – Nuclear Free Campaigner CCWA
Dave Sweeney – Nuclear Free Campaigner ACF