Monday, 6 November, 2006

by Justin Tutty
NWA

Local environmentalists have written to the EPA, urging them not to grant a waste discharge license for a new mine in Batchelor.

Mr Justin Tutty, from the No Waste Alliance, says Compass Resources have applied to release contaminated water into the already polluted Finnis river system.

The Environment Center and No Waste Alliance have written to the EPA, advising that approval should not be granted until previous requirements regarding radioactive waste management are addressed.

'When the EPA approved the Browns Oxide project, they acknowledged the inevitable radiological contamination that this would produce,' said Mr Tutty.

'So the EPA's assessment report called on the company to consult the public on a Radiation Management Plan to address these impacts.

'This plan has been written by ANSTO, who bear responsibility for the nearby abandoned Rum Jungle uranium mine. But we have yet to get a look at the plan.

'Compass can't be permitted to release their contaminated water until the public has the chance to view their Radiation Management Plan, as previously recommended by the EPA'