Exmouth Gulf Under A-Salt

January 13, 2007 - The Widerness Society say the Exmouth Gulf is Under Assault. Straits Resources plan to construct 411 square kilometres of evaporative salt ponds along the eastern Gulf coast to produce salt for use in industrial processes...

Exmouth Gulf Under A-Salt: Straits Salt Pty Ltd is proposing to construct and operate a 10 million tonne per annum solar saltfield (known as the Yannarie Solar Project) on the eastern margin of the Exmouth Gulf.

Exmouth Gulf is one of Western Australia’s most productive marine ecosystems: adjacent to Ningaloo Reef, it contains seagrass beds, micro-algal habitats, mangrove nurseries and creek interfaces and is home to hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates as well as being an important resting place for Humpback Whales, and a breeding place for endangered Green Turtles and Dugongs. The mangrove forest on the eastern Gulf is a vital nursery for crustaceans and fish, supporting significant commercial and recreational fisheries.

The Gulf is the remnant of an ancient delta system, which floods after tropical cyclones: feeding nutrients from the land to the marine environment along the entire eastern side of the Gulf.

This nutrient input has created an unusually productive and diverse marine ecosystem, highly dependent upon a healthy outflow system.

Under Assault: Straits Resources plan to construct 411 square kilometres of evaporative salt ponds along the eastern Gulf coast to produce salt for use in industrial processes.

This will:

* Require diverting creeks and drainage around the salt project, heavily impacting the flow of nutrients from land to sea and having a radical effect on natural creek drainage and sensitive mangrove systems, starving Gulf marine ecosystems of vital nutrients.

* Create a toxic waste product called “bitterns” - highly toxic concentrated salts and heavy metals that need to be contained from entering the marine environment. Regular cyclones in the Exmouth region threaten the integrity of proposed bitterns tailings dams.

* Lead to dredging of the Gulf to admit the massive transport barges, mobilising silt from the ocean floor and smothering sensitive seagrass beds and degrading water quality, causing drastic effects on fisheries and the local pearl industry.

* Require excavation of the inland harbour which may expose acid sulphate soils, contaminating water and land areas and destroying mangrove and algal mat habitat.

* Bring massive carriers, barges and service vessels into the area, which are likely to disturb and disrupt local endangered fauna such as Humpback Whales, Dugongs and Sea Turtles. International shipping poses the risk of introducing exotic pests into the pristine environment via ballast discharge.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the Environmental Protection Authority's Dr Osborne to protect the Exmouth Gulf and reject the Straits Salt Project!

Straits Resources plan to construct 411 square kilometres of evaporative salt ponds along the eastern Exmouth Gulf coast to produce salt for use in industrial processes. This project threatens one of WA's most productive marine ecosystems, right next door to Ningaloo Reef and will: threaten endangered species such as the Green Turtle, Humpback whale and Dugong; create and store highly toxic waste in tailings dams near the fragile marine environment; divert creeks effecting nutrient flows to sensitive mangrove systems; dredge and excavate sections of the Gulf for shipping and construction.

Act now and tell the EPA to reject the Straits Salt Project and protect the Exmouth Gulf. You can help stop this massive industry from devastating our precious marine environment at Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef. Tell the EPA's Dr Sue Osborne, Premier Alan Carpenter, and Opposition Spokesman for the Environment, Steve Thomas. Please join TWS Cyberactivist Network and send your cyberaction to Dr Sue Osborne by completing the online form. Take action - every voice counts!

Go here to send a message to the Govt: wilderness.org.au/cyberactivist...

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The proponents say: "Yannarie Solar is a long term sustainable project for the Exmouth region. It will provide significant economic and social benefits for the Western Australian community. The solar salt process represents a renewable and sustainable solution for delivering lasting benefits to generations of Western Australians..."

Tell them why it isn't. Visit Straits in Perth:

Straits Resources Limited
Level 1, 35 Ventnor Avenue, West Perth WA - 6005 Australia
PO Box 1641 - West Perth WA 6872 Australia
Telephone (61 8) 9480 0500 - Facsimile (61 8) 9480 0520
Email: info@straits.com.au

SOURCES:
Exmouth Gulf Under A-Salt - Twiz
TAKE ACTION!
Straits Resources Limited
Yannarie Solar Proposal
Executive Summary - PDF File
Volume One, Environmental Review