Here is a brief summary of the advice given to Malcolm Turnbull by Australian Chief Scientist Jim Peacock. (To read the full summary click here)

Dr Peacock notes that the technical and engineering advances that have been made in the design and operation of Elemental Chlorine Free pulp mills (such as the Gunns proposal) are impressive. If built as described and operated in accordance with the conditions he has recommended, the proposed mill is unlikely to have an unacceptable impact on the environment.

The panel found that aspects of the submitted preparatory biological and hydrodynamic assessments for mill establishment and operation are inadequate and, as a result, the construction and operation of the mill poses some residual risks and uncertainties in the areas of Australian Government jurisdiction.

Nevertheless, the panel has suggested that the environmental risks and uncertainties should be able to be managed satisfactorily through some strengthening of the Department’s proposed conditions and some additional conditions.

There are essentially six elements of strengthening the conditions as proposed by Dr Peacock:

  • An integrated Environmental Impact Management Plan (EIMP) that will strictly prescribe all actions relating to EPBC Act matters;
  • An independent panel, drawn from national and international experts, to oversee the design, implementation and monitoring of the pulp mill;
  • An independent inspector, appointed by the Australian Government, to monitor Gunns compliance;
  • Extensive modeling and monitoring of the environment, including in sentinel species, to ensure any unforeseen impacts on the environment are detected quickly;
  • Specific remedial changes to pulp mill processes and operation in the event specified trigger points to any part of the environment are breached; and
  • A guarantee that, if maximum limits for effluent discharge are reached and cannot be reduced within stipulated timeframes, the pulp mill will cease to operate until tertiary treatment of effluent is installed.

Here are some selected highlights from the full report delivered to Malcolm Turnbull last week.

The Panel finds that construction and operation of the proposed mill poses some residual risks and uncertainties in the three areas under Commonwealth jurisdiction. The Panel has found that aspects of the submitted preparatory biological and hydrodynamic assessments for mill establishment and operation were inadequate.

The Panel suggests to the Minister that these risks and associated uncertainties should be able to be satisfactorily managed if the terms of a required Environmental Impact Management Plan (EIMP) are met to the satisfaction of the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources.

Some conditions of the recommended EIMP will need to be fulfilled prior to any construction of the mill and the associated water supply and effluent disposal pipelines. Other conditions of the EIMP will require actions during construction but prior to commissioning.

The Panel recommends that the undertaking by the Proponent to carry out the EIMP must be accepted by the Australian Department of the Environment and Water Resources prior to final approval by the Minister for the project to proceed. The undertaking will be legal binding.

The Panel accepted that the proposed mill was likely to conform to world’s best practice, and the Panel considered that this was a strong argument that equally high standards should be expected of the interaction of mill operations with the environment.

And finally, where the Minister put his signature: