The Proposal
MMG Australia Pty Ltd is proposing to construct a tailings storage facility (TSF) to store approximately 25 million cubic metres of tailings on a greenfields site approximately 2 km west of Rosebery, West Coast. The project would also include access roads, tailings pipelines, and a pipe and possible vehicle bridge over Lake Pieman.
The proponent intends to lodge a permit application with West Coast Council under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993. The proposal is to be subject to an environmental impact assessment by the Board of the EPA (the Board) in accordance with the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPC Act).
The project has been determined to be a Controlled Action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) (EPBC reference number 2019/8497) and will require assessment and approval under the EPBC Act, in addition to State and Local government requirements. It was determined that the proposed action will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance, protected under Part 3 of the EPBC Act, including:
- Listed threatened species and communities (sections 18 and 18A)
The proposal will be assessed by the EPA Board in the manner specified in the Bilateral Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania under Section 45 of the EPBC Act relating to environmental assessment.
Final EIS Guidelines
EIS Guidelines, have been prepared by the Board, to assist the proponent to prepare its case for assessment., Based on the information contained in the Notice of Intent, the guidelines identify the key issues which are expected to be relevant to the assessment of the proposal.
Public comment on the draft guidelines was invited from 24 July until 7 August 2021.
397 submissions were received and considered before the guidelines were finalised. Issues raised by the community included: adequacy of requirements for flora and fauna studies, impacts on wilderness and takayna/the Tarkine, impacts on Aboriginal heritage, alternative options for the TSF, the consequences of the tailings dam failing, traffic impacts on wildlife, impacts on fossil heritage, and adequacy of social and economic impact assessment requirements.
While some of the issues raised in the submissions were outside the scope of the proposal or did not fall within the legislative responsibility of the EPA Board, a number of amendments were made to the draft Guidelines before they were finalised to clarify and strengthen the information requirements for the EIS.
MMG Australia Pty Ltd, South Marionoak Tailings Storage Facility, Rosebery - Final EIS Guidelines (PDF 459Kb)
Notice of Intent
MMG Australia Limited, South Marionoak Tailings Storage Facility, Rosebery - Notice of Intent (PDF 6Mb)