FULL-SCALE channel deepening in Port Phillip Bay is one step closer after an environmental report found that the project would cause “no long-term effects on the health of the bay”.
The Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement on the controversial channel deepening project, released last week after several delays, said any damage to the bay would be “confined in scale and temporary, with recovery expected in the short term”.
The statement also concluded that of all the commercial operations using the bay, only the dive industry would be seriously and adversely affected by the channel deepening project.
Work to be carried out in the Hobsons Bay project area would include dredging the Williamstown Channel and the lower Yarra River, installing and modifying navigational aids and alterations to berths.
The statement found that:
THE main effects of dredging work on fish populations would be related to “removal of seabed, creation of a plume and creation of underwater noise”;
THERE would be a “minor effect” on protected freshwater fish, including the Australian grayling and the Australian mudfish;
REMOVAL of the seabed would disturb the food chain in the short term and was likely to displace some fish species including black bream;
TURBIDITY from dredging would have a “minor effect on fish populations due to the potential for clogging of gills” in species including snapper, anchovy and short-finned eel, “with fish larvae and juvenile fish most at risk”.
The report also found that “impacts on fish populations in … Hobsons Bay are predicted to have a moderate effect on recreational fishing”, particularly around the Newport Warmies, a popular local fishing spot.
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“While catch levels may be reduced in the short term, anglers are able to move to other unaffected areas in search of fish, and recovery of fish populations is expected to be rapid,” the statement said.
The dredging process will also disturb contaminated material on the seabed, but the statement concluded, “no significant concerns were identified for recreational swimmers or consumers of fish”.
The State Government seized on the report, claiming it vindicated the channel-deepening project, and would result in future economic benefits for Victoria at little cost to the environment.
“This (statement) confirms the strong need for this vital project to go ahead, subject to full environmental processes,” Treasurer John Brumby said. “To do nothing is to forgo billions of dollars in missed opportunities.”
However, long-time opponents of the dredging project, including the outspoken group Blue Wedges, said the environmental effects would be far greater than outlined in the statement, and the economic benefits far fewer than government and industry claimed.
“The channel-deepening project is suffering from a dose of hyper-spin, but nothing can change the reality that the project would damage the bay and cost Victorians lots,” the group said in its own statement.
The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) criticised the statement, describing it as “unfair on both the public and the environment”.
“All in all, the proposed dredging represents a massive disturbance in the bay. It’s hard to believe that something won’t go wrong and permanently damage our precious marine assets,” association director Charlie Sherwin said.
The Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the statement supported its position in favour of dredging.
“Economic studies show that the benefits of the (channel-deepening) project outweigh the costs by three to one on a very conservative basis,” chief executive officer Neil Coulson said.
The statement can be viewed at the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre, 115 Civic Parade, Altona, and the Williamstown Library, 104 Ferguson Street, Williamstown, until Monday, 7 May.
The document can also be accessed online at www.channelproject.com r by calling the Port of Melbourne Corporation on 1800 731 022.
