EPA exposes risks of environmental damage in Rio Tinto Alcan refinery

It is reported that the Environment Protection Authority's investigation into a spill at Rio Tinto Alcan's refinery has found the Northern Territory is exposed to risks of environmental damage because of inadequate site inspections.

The EPA has found the Department of Resources' over reliance on self regulation allowed 75,000 liters of petrol to spill from a tank at the alumina refinery in Gove last year.

Mr Andrew Tupper of EPA said that the department did not inspect infrastructure at the site or ensure the company followed the Mining Management Plan.

He added that "The bottom line is that a tank construction in 1968 hasn't been subject to rigorous monitoring and assessment and that's the fundamental cause of what happened."

Following the spill, the EPA has recommended a number of changes to environmental compliance at Territory mining and processing operations, including greater transparency and harsher penalties for environmental breaches.

Mr Andrew said that "We absolutely think that if you do regular inspections, you make the process public, you resource things properly and you make expectations on the operator clear, you will get better outcomes. So at the moment, it's much hit and misses."

Opposition environment spokesman Mr Peter Chandler said that the Government is not doing enough to protect land around mines. He added that "We need people with the correct skills backed up by a Government that gives the department adequate resources. USD 160 million a year comes from the resources sector but how much is going back through this department to ensure that our environment is being protected?"

The Northern Territory Environment Centre's Mr Stuart Blanch says mining companies could benefit from increased regulation. He added that "Regulatory certainty leads to business certainty. If they know what's coming and what's expected of them it will mean that they know what their obligations are and reduce the risk of litigation by the courts, by government or by community groups."

(Sourced from www.abc.net.au)