Global Climate Change Action

(1) Submission to the SA EIS on the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine by BHP Billiton.

To: Olym...@state.sa.gov.au
Copied to SA Planning Minister Paul Holloway mini...@saugov.sa.gov.au
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett Pete...@aph.gov.au

An list of objections to the Olympic Dam Expansion can be found: http://markparnell.org.au/campaign.php?campaignn=29

Submissions are due on or before Friday August 7, 2009.
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I oppose the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine for the
following reasons:

It is disconcerting to learn of the Roxby Downs Indenture Act which allows wide-ranging and totally
indefensible exemptions from key laws such as the SA Aboriginal Heritage Act, Environmental Protection Act 1993, Freedom of Information Act 1991 and Natural Resources Act 2004. The exemptions should be repealed and if the expansion is to proceed, the exemptions should not be extended to cover the expansion. It is wrong for such a highly dangerous operation to be exempted from these laws.

The Roxby Downs Indenture Act provides overrides and exemptions from the SA Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988, ie. BHP Billiton is in a legal position to determine what consultation occurs with Traditional Owners, who is consulted, and nature of any consultation.

The Indenture Act also allows BHP Billiton to extract massive and unsustainable amounts of water from the Great Artesian Basin for free despite the company's $17.7 billion profit in 2007-08.

BHP Billiton supports Reconciliation Australia's 'good governance' program and has provided over $2 million to Reconciliation Australia, yet the company will not relinquish its exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988. The company's position is hypocritical.

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Export of uranium is expected to increase from an average of 4,000 tonnes per year to 19,000 tonnes. In power reactors, 19,000 tonnes of uranium produces enough plutonium to build 2,850 nuclear weapons. The total amount of uranium at Olympic Dam would produce enough plutonium to
build over 340,000 nuclear weapons. Already there are enough nuclear weapons in storage and ready to detonate to enable the destruction of life on the planet many times over. There is no need for the development of any further nuclear arms. Unfortunately by exporting our uranium it is likely that our raw product will continue to feed the production of further nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has admitted that its rights of inspection are "fairly limited" and that it operates on a "shoe-string budget comparable to a local police department".

The mine expansion is heavily dependant on selling uranium and a uranium-infused copper concentrate to China. BHP Billiton also wants to export uranium to other nuclear weapons states including Russia even though there has not been a single IAEA safeguards inspection in Russia since 2001.

Radioactive Tailings Waste

There have been numerous spills and leaks and large numbers of bird deaths have been recorded in the vicinity of tailings dams. Photos taken by an Olympic Dam mine worker in December 2008 show radioactive tailings liquid leaking from the rock 'armoury' of the tailings 'retention' system.
BHP Billiton then threatened "disciplinary action" against any worker taking photos of the mine site. The company can also restrict the release of information because of the exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act 1991 as noted earlier.

Radioactive tailings wastes are exposed and open to the environment and currently amount to about 100 million tonnes. The tailings contain a toxic, acidic soup of radionuclides and heavy metals.

BHP Billiton plans to increase the production of radioactive tailings waste seven-fold to 68 million tonnes annually to cover an area of up to 44 sq kms to a height of up to 65 metres. This toxic mountain is designed to leak on average 3 million litres of radioactive waste a day. BHP plans to line only 15% of the proposed tailings facility.

High Level Nuclear Waste

Olympic Dam uranium will end up as high level nuclear waste. However no country has a permament repository for this waste let alone a better solution than dumping it in a repository. The most advanced high-level nuclear repository project was Yucca Mountain − a $10 billion
fiasco that was 23 years behind schedule when the project was permanently abandoned by President Obama earlier this year.

Water Usage

BHP Billiton proposes an increase in water consumption from 37 million litres daily (from the Great Artesian Basin) to over 250 million litres daily (up to 42 million litres from the Great Artesian Basin, the
remainder from a proposed desalination plant near Whyalla). That's over 100,000 litres every minute.

The water take from the Great Artesian Basin is a direct risk to the unique and fragile ecology of the Mound Springs that are listed as an 'endangered ecological community' under federal environment legislation and depend on the natural flows of water from the Great Artesian Basin. BHP
Billiton should be required to phase out, rather than increase, extraction of Great Artesian Basin water.

BHP Billiton wants to site the proposed desalination inappropriately in the fragile and low flushing Upper Spencer Gulf, posing a threat to the breeding ground of the Giant Australian Cuttle Fish.

Electricity Consumption

The expansion will see electricity consumption increase over six-fold from 125MW to 775MW. BHP plans to source this from a combination of the state electricity grid, a proposed on-site gas-fired plant, and a proposed on-site plant powered by waste heat. There is no requirement for BHP Billiton to source any electricity for the mine site from clean, sustainable, renewable, energy sources.

Greenhouse emissions from the mine are projected to increase from 1.2 million tonnes annually to up to 5.9 million tonnes. This will make it all but impossible for SA to reach its legislated emissions target of 13 million tonnes annually by 2050.

BHP Billiton promotes uranium as a fuel for low-carbon nuclear power but this is true only if compared to fossil fuels. Nuclear power is more greenhouse intensive (with the added legacy of the waste) than most renewable energy sources and most energy efficiency/conservation measures.

Diesel Fuel Use

An increase in the use of diesel at the Olympic Dam mine from 25 million litres annually to over 375 million litres annually is expected which will further increase during the five year construction period. BHP Billiton stands to gain over $65 million annually in diesel fuel rebates − more than the company now pays in royalties to the SA government from the existing underground mine operation.

Environment Impact Statement Flawed

Water consumption, radioactive waste production, energy consumption and greenhouse emissions may all be considerably higher than the figures presented in the Draft EIS because BHP Billiton has applied for approval to extract up to 1 million tonnes of copper product a year even though
the EIS only examines an expansion of up to 750,000 tonnes.
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(2) This submission covers:

Australia’s Future Infrastructure Requirements Climate Change Infrastructure Investment and Water Infrastructure Requirements.
http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/submissions.aspx

m...@infrastructureaustralia.gov.au
A.Al...@aph.gov.au

Energy Investing – A sustainable future for Australia
Submission to National Infrastructure Priority List

We are writing to you as one voice from the abundant citizens’ climate change action groups that have formed across Australia. The existence of our many groups is the result of mounting anxiety in the population about the lack of effective action delivered so far on reducing our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Our members are drawn from the spectrum of this country’s people, from urban, rural and regional areas. They include small and large business operators and directors, parents, students, grandparents, farmers, migrants, and public service and other employees. Diverse and often dissimilar, we all share a common wish to see far more effective measures undertaken by our leaders to avert the dangerous climate change that scientists across the globe predict.

Global warming is happening much faster than was previously thought, our government’s policy and initiatives need to be reconciled with the emerging respected science and IPCC recommendations so that we avoid risking catastrophic climate change.

The existence of our many climate action groups across the nation demonstrates a widespread understanding about the need for sweeping, legislated changes to industry and society to tackle climate change effectively.

We are writing to clearly express to you that:

1. We are very much aware that there are substantial numbers of highly credible research papers and reports that demonstrate the viability of currently available, clean, renewable energy sources as being able to deliver the bulk of the energy needs of this country.

2. We are acutely aware of the significant contribution of the coal industry to climate change, both here and overseas, and are not convinced by the clean coal pathway. Exports of Australian coal contribute more to global greenhouse gases than all of Australia's emissions combined. Worldwide, there is no proven, working model for sequestering greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. The technology to provide ‘clean coal’ may never come to fruition, yet time is of the essence. We feel that any government that consents to the expansion of such a dangerous industry in this age is not acting responsibly, or in the public interest. With the above in mind we would like to see taxes invested into clean renewable energy supplies, in particular, heavy investment into Geothermal Power for base load supplies.

3. We remain opposed to the expansion of uranium mining and the nuclear industry for all the risks it continues to pose globally and locally.

4. Legislate a renewable energy target of at least 50% by 2020.

5. Cease the approvals of new or expanded coalmines, coal-fired power stations and coal export infrastructure, and instead use these taxes to support the development of alternative, sustainable industries in coal-mining regions, ie. Geothermal power plants.

6. Adopt a target of zero energy growth by 2010 with annual reductions thereafter, through increased energy efficiency and demand management.

7. Abandon any plans for the expansion of uranium mining and export.

8. No new dams on our rivers. Our rivers are dying. Dams do not create new water, they restrict river flow causing and creating greater problems in the long term - the perfect example is the Murray Darling. Going down a road which is clearly flawed is no way to lead this great nation into a positive future. We urge (a) less wastage, (b) greater investment into providing individual household roof water catchments ie. greater subsidies for water tanks and (c) re-use of treated water, particularly for farmland irrigation purposes.

We have every hope that your government will recognise climate change as a global emergency needing swift and decisive action to immediately curb this country’s escalating emissions, and the emissions that arise from our exports. We see a bright future for Australia and future generations if our leaders invest our taxes wisely.

Anne Goddard
Global Climate Change Action Group.
http://globalclimatechangeaction.org
http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/ClimateChangeAction/