Minister for the Enviroment
response to letter
20 May 1999
....Conditions in the provisional licence issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 for the Landsborough Sewage Treatment Plant have been based on minimising any discharge of treated effluent to the Ewen Maddock Dam as far as practicable. Under the licence, temporary release of treated effluent to the Dam is permitted only:
(i) when wet weather precludes the irrigation of effluent;
(ii) the irrigation storage pond fills to capacity., and
(iii) tankering of effluent from the site would be impractical.
This is the short term effluent disposal strategy adopted by the Caloundra City Council until it implements an alternative effluent disposal strategy. Conditions of the provisional licence issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require that the Council commence planning for the alternative strategy and to provide regular progress reports to the EPA on the planning exercise.
The licence application under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 has not yet been finalised and specific requirements of the Landsborough Sewage Treatment Plant are still under negotiation between the EPA and the Council.
The Minister is aware of the various recommendations in respect to direct potable reuse that are contained in recognised guidelines. The EPA and DNR are not considering direct potable schemes at this time. This does not mean that the research and educative aspects of potable reuse cannot be undertaken.
Your letter raises a number of issues in relation to an Urban Water Management Workshop held on 16 February 1999. Representatives of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the EPA participated in the workshop in order to provide input to discussions on various wastewater reuse options. However, officers' attendance at the workshop, organised by the Sunshine Coast Environmental Council (SCEC) and Australian Water and Wastewater Association (AWWA), is not an indication of EPA or DNR support for a particular wastewater reuse option.
The EPA is of the view that the aim of the workshop, that is to "identify impediments to achieving rational and sustainable urban water management for the conununity in 2020", are issues that the EPA and DNR have an interest in and therefore cannot be seen as a conflict of interest......
signed
Steve Moriarty
Senior Policy Advisor
(Environment and Heritage)
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