❓ A WA parliamentary question on notice from 2008 seeks information regarding a 1991 report on the Kaltails tailings dam, alleging environmental pollution and lack of enforcement. The Minister declines to investigate due to the age of the incident and lack of current impact.
AnsweredQoN 5964Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
(1) Is it correct that the minutes dated 19 December 1991 in part state ‘The consensus of the meeting was that the report submitted by Kaltails Management Services Pty Ltd in accordance with the
Tailings Treatment (Kalgoorlie) Agreement Act
, clause 9/(2) was not a satisfactory document. There was general disappointment that the report did not address the root cause of the problem. This was perceived to be the poor handling of tailings, which had resulted in the decant pond sitting on the ground surface for an extended period. The intended self sealing status of the dam was thus delayed. The seepage of hypersaline water had caused vegetation loss for a distance of over 500 metres from the tailings wall.’?
(2) If no to (1), will the Minister quote the full text from these minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(3) Is it correct that the minutes dated 19 December 1991 under the heading of ‘Siting of Tailings Dam’ in part state ‘It was agreed that the site selection of the tailings dam was poor. The dam was constructed on sloping ground and this has prevented the entire area being coated with the tailings that would set and make an impervious layer to resist seepage of hypersaline water. This had not occurred and this can be attributed to poor site selection and dam design, and inadequate tailings management.’?
(4) If no to (3), will the Minister quote the full text from these minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(5) Will the Minister table a copy of the minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
(7) Can the Minister explain why the EPA, Department of Environmental Protection allowed the operator of the Kaltails tailings dam to cause extensive pollution, killing and stressing vegetation some 500 metres from the tailings dam wall, breaching the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
and licence conditions for the period from 1990 through to 2000 without facing serious enforcement and prosecution action to prevent ongoing breaches of the legislation?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
Tailings Treatment (Kalgoorlie) Agreement Act
, clause 9/(2) was not a satisfactory document. There was general disappointment that the report did not address the root cause of the problem. This was perceived to be the poor handling of tailings, which had resulted in the decant pond sitting on the ground surface for an extended period. The intended self sealing status of the dam was thus delayed. The seepage of hypersaline water had caused vegetation loss for a distance of over 500 metres from the tailings wall.’?
(2) If no to (1), will the Minister quote the full text from these minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(3) Is it correct that the minutes dated 19 December 1991 under the heading of ‘Siting of Tailings Dam’ in part state ‘It was agreed that the site selection of the tailings dam was poor. The dam was constructed on sloping ground and this has prevented the entire area being coated with the tailings that would set and make an impervious layer to resist seepage of hypersaline water. This had not occurred and this can be attributed to poor site selection and dam design, and inadequate tailings management.’?
(4) If no to (3), will the Minister quote the full text from these minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(5) Will the Minister table a copy of the minutes dated 19 December 1991?
(6) If no to (5), why not?
(7) Can the Minister explain why the EPA, Department of Environmental Protection allowed the operator of the Kaltails tailings dam to cause extensive pollution, killing and stressing vegetation some 500 metres from the tailings dam wall, breaching the
Environmental Protection Act 1986
and licence conditions for the period from 1990 through to 2000 without facing serious enforcement and prosecution action to prevent ongoing breaches of the legislation?
(8) If no to (7), why not?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
2 April 2008
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for the Environment
Response time
35 days
(1) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has advised that the Kaltails Tailings facility has not been active for some years and the records relating to this facility have been archived and stored off-site.
The period in question is more than fifteen years ago, and I do not support the substantial amount of time and resources it would take DEC to locate this information.
There is also no evidence to suggest that there are any current impacts as a result of this facility and there are no active investigations into Newmont Kaltails in regard to seepage and/or impacts relating to the facility.
(2) - (8) See the answer to (1).
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
The period in question is more than fifteen years ago, and I do not support the substantial amount of time and resources it would take DEC to locate this information.
There is also no evidence to suggest that there are any current impacts as a result of this facility and there are no active investigations into Newmont Kaltails in regard to seepage and/or impacts relating to the facility.
(2) - (8) See the answer to (1).
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.