dumping queried

Finally we now know per Norske Skog’s manager’s letter to the editor, printed in Albury’s Border Morning Mail on October 28th, what they actually intend doing.

This letter, while it goes to great depths to ensure all and sundry the dumping of 1500 tonnes of salt, contained in its industrial waste water, into our Murray River will benefit the river, is absolute nonsense and to even consider this plan of action borders on madness.

A scheme that the paper mill manager Norske Skog and the NSW Government have come up with is called “The Salinity Offset Scheme”, – the name in itself is frightening.

So let’s check how it works. Using this scheme you select a river to dump your industrial waste into, now to offset this dumping you select a creek somewhere out in the scrub – doesn’t even have to have water or a current

The river into which we dump the industrial waste, containing 1500 tonnes of salt, is the Murray River at Albury.

The creek that is selected is a Billabong Creek, north of Walla.

Somehow not explained nor stated is that 3000 tonnes of salt is removed or stopped from entering the creek, and bingo we have saved the Murray River from being poisoned with 1500 tonnes of salt, but sadly not at Albury

One has to wonder where all this salt is coming from.

It appears many government departments, scientists and others have worked on this matter for a couple years, yet again cannot give us any assurance this scheme will not affect our Murray River, its ecology and all that rely upon it.

We have been told by the experts that it’ll have a minimum effect, others a minor effect , and now by the mill’s own letter.

There will not be significant changes to the environment downstream, they say. I ask again what is their definition of significant.

I find the last paragraph of the mill’s letter most disturbing and I quote, “If for any unforeseen reason any adverse effects are detected on the river, then the scheme will be reviewed in association with the relevant bodies.’’

Again you can be certain the Murray will not be consulted, nor all the creatures who rely upon it.

We cannot allow the Murray River’s ecology, or the animal life, to be endangered, just so an industry can expand its bureaucratic madness.

Jeff Williams,

Albury

For more of this story, purchase your copy of Wednesday’s Sunraysia Daily 11/11/2009.