Adani spill into wetlands has doubled restricted debris levels
Water from the north Queensland floods that spilled from Adani's Abbot Point coal port last week into wetlands had almost double the maximum debris level set out by the company's operating licence.
Adani said on Tuesday the level of "total suspended solids" - the volume of other debris such as soil, plant material or dust - in the water was 58mg/L. The authorised level is 30mg/L.
The Department of Environment and Science was still waiting for its own test results on Wednesday but confirmed Adani did not apply for a temporary licence to exceed its total suspended solids limit.
The mining company confirmed in a statement on Tuesday the water reached the nearby 5000-hectare Caley Valley Wetlands but did not flow into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The potential environmental threat could come from coal "fines" - small coal particles - which were in the Abbot Point port water and might have been washed into the wetlands.
Abbot Point Operations chief executive Dwayne Freeman said the water was not "coal-laden sludge" and described the spike in total suspended solids as a "very minor elevation".
"We are confident there will be no environmental impacts to the wetlands area, despite this unprecedented weather event," he said.
"Normally a company would not release its test results, but we recognise there is a high level of public interest in Abbot Point terminal’s operations.
"As a result of this, we are releasing these results in an effort to keep the community informed and to demonstrate our commitment to operating transparently and with integrity."
Mr Freeman said the coal terminal received more than 900mm of rain since December and the monsoonal rain, responsible for the Townsville and north-west Queensland flood disasters, led to the site not being able to handle the water any more.
"The weather has been extreme up here at Abbot Point. Heavy rainfall has seen a significant amount of water accumulating on the port site and surrounding properties.
"The floodwater from our neighbouring properties on Thursday, February 7, could not be contained any longer and exceeded our systems' capacity, resulting in floodwater entering the wetlands.
The Abbot Point Terminal has been completing more than $15 million in upgrades, which includes increasing the volume of water storage ponds as well as new piping and pump facilities.
The Department of Environment and Science took its own water samples on Friday and the results would determine whether Adani faced further investigation for possible environmental breaches.
"The results provided by the operator indicate the total suspended solids in the sample to be 58mg/L. The environmental authority imposes a maximum limit of 30mg/L," DES said in a statement.
"DES can confirm that in this case, Adani did not apply for, and was not given a Temporary Emissions Licence amending the limit of total suspended solids in any water release.
"Concurrent with the specific investigation into the release during the recent weather event,
DES also continues to implement a long-term monitoring program in the adjacent Caley Valley Wetland to determine whether any adverse impacts on environmental values is occurring."
The port was closed early last week because of the torrential downpour and when staff returned on Thursday they find the port had overflowed into the adjacent wetlands.
The Caley Valley Wetlands are an important coastal conservation region and an important home to many wading birds, swans, sea eagles and wildflowers.