Toxic dredge comes south
Numerous people have been in contact querying what the dredge is up to off Dromana. We understand it is the CoZa (Cornelis Zanen) – the slightly smaller and just as ugly relation of the big Queen. CoZa is currently dredging the toxic and contaminated clay sediments from the Yarra River and dumping it in the Northern Spoil Ground west of Mordialloc, south-west of Brighton, south-east of Point Cook….in other words, slap bang in the middle. However, the Port’s website and that of the Office of Environmental Monitor (OEM) states that CoZa is dredging clean sand from the south to assist in cleaning the sticky Yarra River clay from inside the dredge hopper. Great, hey!
There doesn’t seem to be much information however about how PoMC is dealing with the issue of potential contamination of the water down south, either by transfer of toxins or exotic organisms. The issue of exotic organism transfer from the north to the south (especially the Northern Pacific Sea Star which is in plague proportions in the north of the Bay) was acknowledged in the first EES. The 2007 SEES remained silent on that issue however.
Yet another matter the PoMC’s Environment Management Plan (OEM's Rule Book) seems to be incapable of dealing with, and which the PoMC and Mr. Brumby probably wish we wouldn’t notice.
And, with The Queen crashing around in The Entrance, the Coza back and forth between the North and South, and toxins on their way to the surface, a reminder to keep your eyes open for unusual happenings around the Bay. If you see anything out of the ordinary, take a photo, record the date, time and weather and send it to us at contact@bluewedges.org.
And if you care about the Bay, please consider donating to ACF's Independent monitoring team aboard Orca who know the inadequacies of the PoMC’ s EMP and are keeping a close eye on Boskalis in the Bay. With their help we can still stop this project! Visit www.acfonline.org.au to donate.
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