Bauxite Resources Ltd (BRL or The Company) (ASX: BAU) advises it has lodged an appeal to the WA Office of the Appeals Convenor concerning the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) decision to set the level of assessment on The Referral - Mining Operations, Stephens Road, Bindoon (The Referral) as a Public Environmental Review (PER) (EPA decision).
A PER is a structured environmental approvals process for proposals of local or regional significance raising a number of significant environmental factors. In 2009, the average time taken for completed PER’s was 2.4 years; The Environmental Protection Authority’s website proposes that new PER’s will take approximately 15 months.
The grounds for BRL’s appeal against the decision include that the level of assessment is irregular and disproportionate compared with the level set for other similar scale, and in many cases, larger scale projects. The EPA decision appears to take into account BRL’s future vision rather than the specific, minimal impact, 6 month mining project of 1.2 million tonnes of ore on a privately owned and grazed farm, north of Bindoon, which was the subject of The Referral.
Dan Tenardi, Managing Director, said “The company continues to progress community and environmental work in support of the mining project in Stephens Road, including the development of detailed modelling of numerous transport options designed to develop a minimum impact schedule for this short term project. This work is continuing in close consultation with Main Roads, the WA Department of Transport, the Bindoon Safe Roads Committee and other stakeholders”.
“The Company will continue to work closely with stakeholders and local communities and all levels of government to facilitate its mining operations in a responsible and timely manner. In proceeding with the appeal the company will also review the alternative courses of action that may be open to it to advance its mining and business activities”.
Background - Appeal Process
The Appeals Convenor investigates and provides advice to the Minister for Environment in respect to appeals made under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.
The Office of the Appeals Convenor’s website advises that “most appeals are assessed by the Appeals Convenor and referred to the Minister for decision within six weeks of the closing date for appeals. More complex appeals or appeals involving a number of appellants may take additional time”.
File Download: ASX Release EPA Appeal 20100413.pdf