Kwinana desalination plant

20/05/05
Environmental protection regulations will be amended to safeguard the water quality in Cockburn Sound with the development of the Kwinana desalination plant.
Environment and Science Minister Judy Edwards today said Schedule One of the Environmental Protection Regulations would be amended to include large volume desalination plants with ocean discharges.
This would result in the Kwinana desalination plant being licensed by the Department of Environment as a 'prescribed premise'.
"In addition to the planned changes to the regulations, Ministerial conditions for approval of this project will be reviewed through Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act, to reflect the provisions of the State Environmental Policy (SEP) for Cockburn Sound and to reinforce the importance of the water quality management plan through those conditions," Dr Edwards said.
"A key element of the water quality management plan is the dissolved oxygen trigger levels that would initiate a management response if exceeded.
"I would expect that these trigger levels and requirements to implement management responses would also be reflected in the conditions of the plant licence.
"The SEP applies to all industries operating in Cockburn Sound and the Water Corporation will be held accountable to the same stringent regulations as all other industry.
"The SEP is backed by the full force of the recently expanded powers under the Environmental Protection Act, including unauthorised discharge regulations.
"Early warning levels have been set to trigger preventative action to avert environmental impacts that may threaten the long-term ecological sustainability of Cockburn Sound."
In July 2004, Dr Edwards granted conditional environmental approval to develop the desalination plant and the Water Corporation of WA is currently working through compliance with the Ministerial Conditions.
The Minister said the amendment of the environmental protection regulations would ensure that these ministerial conditions were clearly enforceable.
The Cockburn Sound SEP came into force after the ministerial conditions were set for the proposed desalination plant.
Minister's office: 9220 5050