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Melbourne's Herald Sun reports Port Philip Bay's plants, fish and birds will not be safeguarded enough from a major channel deepening project, a new report has found. 

Blue Wedges applauds the Herald Sun's report on the Independent Expert Group. Read between the lines on the IEG report. Even though the experts are well paid by government, they have sounded alarm bells loud and clear. Good on you boys! 

It's up to Mr. Bracks now to listen to his paid "independent” experts, acknowledge the economics are a flop as well, and call the whole thing off!

Report in full below.

Reporter: Ashley Gardiner

May 9th

Herald Sun

PORT Phillip Bay's plants, fish and birds will not be safeguarded enough from a major channel deepening project, a new report has found.

But the concerns do not warrant scrapping the $763 million deepening, the Independent Expert Group report says.

The report found there were several flaws in the $100 million supplementary environmental effects statement.

"There are some weaknesses in the SEES that should be addressed," says the report, which was released yesterday by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The project was commissioned to allow bigger ships into the Port.

The report also calls for a dumping ground for dredged material to be moved. The IEG said turbidity (murkiness), was the only water quality measurement proposed to be monitored.

"The IEG does not agree that the environmental limit . . . would protect seagrass," the report says.

"Turbidity is also predicted to effect other components of the bay ecosystem, including some fish species and birds."

At least one other proposed limit on turbidity was not well justified.

Predictions about water quality were indicative only, and were no substitute for extensive and well-planned monitoring during dredging, it says.

Those predictions were based on a typical year.

"However, weather is always different, statistically over yearly time scales, and more so day to day," the report says.

"The concentration, extent and location of plume during dredging will be different to the forecasts."

There was uncertainty about the impact on some fish, including black bream, snapper and anchovy, and about how soon they would recover.

The report also says a proposed site for dumping dredged material may need to be moved.

"Given such large errors in the current model predictions, the modelled responses to the project do not provide a useful basis for impact assessment," the report said.

The report calls for adequate monitoring of the dumping of contaminated material in the bay to ensure the proposed sand cap won't fail.

DSE secretary Peter Harris said the experts concluded no major impact had been overlooked or underestimated by the statement.

"This rigorous review of the SEES has been undertaken by a group of experts with a considerable knowledge of Port Phillip Bay

 

 

 

 

, its ecosystem processes as well as international dredging practice," Mr Harris said.

of Melbourne