No sludge for this reef. The planned dumping of 5 million tonnes of mud in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has been cancelled. But scientists say they have little confidence that any new plan will be properly examined.
The mud is due to be dredged up as part of the expansion of a port at Abbot Point in north-east Australia to support new coal mines. The sediment dump was approved by environment minister Greg Hunt and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
But following an outcry, the consortium behind the expansion has reportedly abandoned the offshore plan. A spokesperson for Hunt told New Scientist that they are expecting new proposals to dispose of the dredged sediment on land.
Avoiding offshore dumping will be an improvement, says Selina Ward of the University of Queensland, who spearheaded a petition of scientists against the plans. "But the vital question is where they dump it," she says. It would be a disaster if it were dumped on crucial local wetlands.
It's not clear where they will dump the soil on land, says Jon Brodie of James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland. The port is surrounded by a mountain, wetlands and a beach, so there is nowhere to stockpile the soil before it is moved.
Brodie says he has no confidence in the approval process. "They'll come up with some other option that hasn't been analysed properly," he says.
The best option for the reef, Brodie says, is a long jetty that ships can dock to, removing the need for dredging.
This article will appear in print under the headline "Reef dump scrapped"
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