Federal Court blow for Adani mine but it vows to keep going
An environmental group has claimed a major legal victory against Adani and its Carmichael coal mine after a Federal Court said the Morrison Government was wrong in not applying the water trigger to its approvals.
The Australian Conservation Foundation brought the case against Adani (now known as Bravus) and said the next step may be that the Federal Government would have to redo its approvals and take into account issues of national importance on the Suttor River where the project plans to draw up to 12.5 billion litres of water a year. Adani could also appeal the decision.
The ACF said the decision was also a precedent that would mean other major mining and gas projects would now have to consider the issues of national importance on water bodies.
The water trigger applies when the Environment Minister decides a large coal mine or coal seam gas project will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on a water resource.
Because the decision covered any water source, ACF said it would impact the viability of the mine, but Adani said the water in question was not required for the construction of the project and it had secured water for the operational phase which did not include the Suttor River.
āFor the avoidance of doubt, todayās decision will not have any impact on the construction or operations of the Carmichael mine,ā a Bravus spokesperson said.
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The ACF said the court today agreed with its claims that the Morrison government made an error of law when the Environment Minister decided not to apply the āwater triggerā to the assessment of Adaniās North Galilee Water Scheme.
Although its approval was for a vast amount of water, there were conditions on the water licence, which included that it could only take the water after flooding and only when farmers had taken their allocation. It also had to pay the same rate as everyone else.
ACF chief executive Kelly OāShanassy said the decision was āa great win for the protection of water on our dry continent from coal mining and coal seam gas extractionā.
āItās a win for regional communities and farmers who depend on reliable flows of river water in our drought-prone landscape,ā she said.
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āIt will set a new precedent that essential infrastructure for coal seam gas and large coal mining projects must be assessed under our national environment law.
āWe expect the federal government to properly apply the law.
āBig mining corporations cannot be trusted to put our environment ahead of their profits, which is why it is so important the water trigger is applied to projects like Adaniās.
āThis decision raises more doubts about the viability of Adaniās mine. Without the North Galilee Water Scheme, itās hard to see how Adani has enough water to operate its mine.
āThis decision will apply to other potential water sources for the Carmichael mine.
āThis is a win for people power ā thousands of people across Australia have chipped in to fund this case.ā
Bravus said it would consider the courtās judgment and its options.
Ā
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