Redbank copper mine off the hook as EPA drops charges PM By...

Redbank copper mine off the hook as EPA drops charges

PM
By Felicity James
Updated 16 May 2016, 8:51pm
PHOTO: EPA report says acidic copper water seeps from the Heap Leach facility into groundwater. (ABC: Sara Everingham)
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Charges against the operator of the toxic Redbank copper mine near the Queensland border have been withdrawn by the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA).
Key points:

• EPA said it reached an agreement with the company after "fruitful negotiations" but gave no further details
• NT Mines Dept to take over Redbank leases and conduct rehabilitation
• Northern Land Council say native title holders not consulted

Redbank Operations was facing 26 charges for allegedly breaching a waste water discharge licence, with potential penalties in the millions of dollars.
The NT EPA's lawyer Cheryl Watson told Darwin's Local Court an agreement was reached with the company after "fruitful negotiations" but no further details were provided.
PHOTO: The dilapidated infrastructure at the Redbank mine site. (ABC News: Sara Everingham)

Chief Judge John Lowndes questioned Ms Watson about the rationale for dropping the charges but granted leave.
"It's a little bit unusual to withdraw charges on that basis," he said.
The NT EPA was not available for comment and referred queries to the NT Mines Department chief executive Ron Kelly, who said the Mines Department would be taking over the Redbank site's mineral leases and conducting the rehabilitation.
"Our issue was always about obtaining the best environmental outcome for that mine site," Mr Kelly said.
"We've worked with the company through this legal process as well to effectively resume the mineral leases and the site will then be fully rehabilitated."
The Redbank mine is one of several "legacy" sites the Mines Department has estimated will cost up to $1 billion to clean up.
The copper mine had a short life in the 1990s and the NT EPA later found a poorly constructed tailings dam and other bad infrastructure contributed to the release of toxic water over two decades, detected 40 kilometres downstream from the mine.
Aboriginal custodians surprised by dropping of charges

The Northern Land Council chief executive Joe Morrison said the decision not to prosecute the mine's operator had come as a surprise to native title holders.
"We've got very little, absolutely sketchy information at this point in time," he said.
PHOTO: The discoloured water at the Redbank mine pit. (ABC News: Sara Everingham)

"We were unaware that this announcement was going to take place today."
Mr Morrison said native title holders wanted an assurance they would be consulted about an exploration lease that remains over the site.
"There's been five leases surrendered as part of this negotiation but there's also one large mineral exploration lease.
"I'm sure native title holders will be seeking appropriate consultation over the future of that lease as well."
The Environmental Defenders Office NT's principal lawyer David Morris said the NT EPA's refusal to answer questions about why it had dropped the charges was concerning.
"We're being asked to trust that the NT EPA is independent," he said. "One can't help but feel as though there has been an intervention in the process by the Department of Mines and Energy.
"I think the perception that creates is a very bad one."
In response to questions about whether the Mines Department intervened in the EPA NT's decision to prosecute, Mr Kelly said he had not advised the authority to take any particular action because he was not in the business of providing legal advice.
Mr Kelly said he did not know how much it would cost to rehabilitate the Redbank mine site and the amount of the rehabilitation bond provided by the company could not be disclosed because it was "commercial in confidence".