Tue, 03/12/2013
Greens (WA) member for the Mining and Pastoral Region, Robin Chapple MLC has probed the State Environment Minister over the removal of a sand dune system in Esperance without prior referral from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).
The dune system, located on the corner of Harbour Road and South Coast Highway in Esperance, was removed leaving local residents wondering if an appropriate environmental assessment of the ecosystem had been undertaken.
After being alerted to the dune removal by a local resident, Mr Chapple raised the matter in Parliament.
In response to being asked about EPA approval by Mr Chapple, the Minister for the Environment stated that the EPA had not received a referral for any part of the dune removal and instead Main Roads had been able to clear the dunes under a state-wide purpose permit. However, in response to the Minister’s statement, Main Roads has said that it did not remove the dune nor is the dune system within the road reserve permitted for clearance.
It remains unknown as to who removed the dune and why the EPA’s approval was not sought.
‘It is simply unacceptable that an ecosystem has been removed without an environmental assessment and, indeed, without any accurate knowledge by the Minister for the Environment on the removal’, states Mr Chapple.
Further questioning of the Minister for the Environment led us to discover that the EPA is now investigating who the responsible person was that stole the dune. Where’s Hercule Poirot when you need him?
Contact: Robin Chapple 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
