A proposal to extend the Onslow Marine Support Base to allow off-shore vessels to access the newly constructed Beadon Creek Maritime Facility was recommended for environmental approval today by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
EPA deputy chairman Robert Harvey said that after a thorough environmental assessment on the proposal’s impacts, the Authority concluded it was environmental acceptable and could be implemented with conditions.
“ The proponent, Onslow Marine Support Base Pty Ltd, proposes to modify and extend the Beadon Creek harbor approach channel, turning basin and berth pocket which includes a significant amount of dredging ,” Mr Harvey said.
“ The proponent incorporated contemporary and locally relevant dredging science from the Western Australian Marine Science Institution into its predictions and proposed management of the project’s impacts. This means we had a high level of confidence during the assessment ,” Mr Harvey added.
“ The use of the latest dredging science, as well as the conditions identified by the EPA, including the implementation of a Dredging and Spoil Disposal Management Plan, means the proposal can be managed in an environmentally acceptable way ,” Mr Harvey said.
If approved, the proponent will dredge up to 950,000 cubic meters of sediments that will be disposed of onshore in a 44-hectare Dredge Material Management Area next to the Onslow airport. It is proposed the dredged material to be reused to develop and extend the Onslow’s light industrial area.
Onslow Marine Support Base Stage 2 builds on the first stage of development which upgraded the Beadon Creek Maritime Facility and opened in October 2017.
The EPA’s report to the Minister for Environment is now open for a two-week public appeal period, closing 19 February 2018.
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