Question On Notice No. 194 asked in the Legislative Council on 23 June 2021 by Hon Brad Pettitt
Question Directed to the: Minister for Mental Health representing the Minister for Environment
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer
to the impact of acid gas emissions on the Murujuga Rock Art on the Burrup
Peninsula, and I ask:
(a) has
there been an assessment of the impacts of acid gas emissions from the existing
Pluto liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the Murujuga rock art under part IV of the Environmental
Protection Act 1986:
(i) if
yes to (a), could the Minister please table this assessment; and
(ii) if
no to (a), why not;
(b) has
there been an assessment of the impacts of acid gas emissions from the proposed
Pluto LNG facility expansion on the Murujuga rock art under part IV of the
Environmental Protection Act 1986:
(i) if
yes to (b), could the Minister please table this assessment; and
(ii) if
no to (b), why not; and
(c) has
the Minister asked the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to review the
Ministerial Statement 757, originally published in 2007, regarding the Pluto LNG facility to ensure
that those conditions are sufficient to protect the Murujuga rock art from the
impacts of acid gas emissions:
(i) if
yes to (c), when was, or will that advice be
provided;
(ii) if
yes to (c)(i), will the Minister please table any advice received; and
(iii) if
no to (c), will the Minister commit to making such a request to the EPA:
(A) if no to (c)(iii), why not?
Answered on 18 August 2021
(a) – (b) The Pluto LNG Development, Burrup Peninsula Report and recommendations of the Environmental Protection Authority (Bulletin 1259),including trains one and two, was undertaken in 2007 and is publicly available on the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) website. Section 3.6 of Bulletin 1259 addresses the assessment of air quality, including the consideration of rock art.
(c) On 4 June 2021, the Minister for Environment requested the EPA to inquire into and report on the matter of changing condition 12 of Ministerial Statement 757 to align it with contemporary greenhouse gas conditions reflecting the content of the Pluto LNG Facility Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program.
The EPA is currently carrying out this inquiry and will provide a report with recommendations to the Minister for Environment when completed.
In regard to the potential impacts to rock art from emissions, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, in partnership with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, is implementing the Murujuga Rock Art Strategy. This Strategy includes the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program, a world-leading scientifically rigorous approach to monitoring, analysis and management of the rock art. The outcomes of this Strategy and Monitoring Program will inform any future reviews of emission regulation.