Matthew Denholm Australian
A TIMBER company’s plans to build a $1.4 billion pulp mill in Tasmania yesterday struck an expensive hurdle, with an independent report finding it had failed to address adequately concerns about air and water pollution. UniQuest, consultants hired by the state’s peak planning body, found that Gunns Ltd had to conduct new studies on emissions if it was to “achieve credibility” for the biggest industrial project in recent Tasmanian history. The report, commissioned by the Resource Planning and Development Commission, which is assessing the ambitious project, means Gunns will effectively have to redo its key environmental assessments if the mill is to proceed. After being posted on the commission’s website, the report was yesterday seized on by critics of the mill as vindication of their concerns about the project’s impact on air quality in the Tamar Valley.
Tasmanian Times:
A KEY strategic issue surrounding the proposed Tamar Pulp Mill is the underlying concern regarding contribution to an existing air quality problem in the valley.
