Botany Bay and Catchment Alliance

Sydney Water is building a desalination plant at Kurnell powered by wind energy and is calling for nominations from community groups, businesses and the public to take part in Sydney’s Desalination Project Liaison Group.Sydney Water Managing Director, Kerry Schott said the group would provide an important forum for Sydney Water and its partners to work with representatives of the local community.

“The aim of the group is to have open communication about the project, address community issues and provide feedback to group members and the public”, Dr Schott said.

“An independent chairperson will chair the group.

“Sydney Water is committed to working with local communities during the construction of major projects”.

People interested in nominating for the liaison group should read the Terms of Reference and complete an Application Form. For further information call Sydney Water on 1800 685 233 (freecall).

Sydney Water will assess nominations in consultation with Sutherland Shire Council.

Nominations close 3.00pm, Friday, 21 December 2007.

The Botany Bay Coastal Catchments Initiative (BBCCI) is conducting workshops over the next few months to give a brief overview of the BBCCI and to seek stakeholder input into “resetting” or agreeing on some interim environmental values and levels of protection for the estuaries and freshwater waterways of the Botany Bay and its catchment.The workshop only takes about 1 ½ to 2 hours and can be brought to you. It will allow you to have your say on how you use/value Botany Bay’s waterways (including upstream freshwater catchments), what are the main pressures on them, what management measures you think will help protect the waterways. You will also be participating in setting some interim aquatic ecosystem protection levels for Botany Bay, its estuaries, and freshwater waterways.

Please contact John Dahlenburg at the Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority to book a workshop for your council, council area, community group or organisation - Phone (02) 9895 6244 or email bbcci@cma.nsw.gov.au

BBACA held its 6th AGM on 14 November and elected John Tourrier (Save Botany Beach) as its chairperson. John is keen to attend meetings of BBACA member groups and asks that you contact him (chairperson@botanybay.info) to arrange suitable times.
Other members elected to the BBACA executive are:
Jim Towart (Sec/Treasurer) - from Kurnell Regional Environment Planning Council
AJ Jack (Webmaster & Public Officer) - from Save Botany Beach
Gary Blaschke - from South West Enviro Centre
Lynda Newnam - from Botany Bay Explorers

Narelle Towart - Oyster Farmers Association
Milton Way - from National Parks Association (Southern Branch)

The Federal Department of Environment and Water Resources has released a new factsheet on paticulate matter . Small particles as mentioned in this factsheet are found in industrial pollution and diesel exhaust.

The Federal Department of Environment and Water Resources has released a new factsheet on Polychlorinated biphenyls.

These are the chemicals currently awaiting destruction at Orica. 

EcoTransit Sydney have released their 2007 Policy Statement. In contains some excellent suggestions for improving public transport, reducing green house gases, and reducing our oil dependency. It is well worth reading.

Read Environmentally Speaking Issue 11 by Lynda Newnam

Greens MP and ports spokesperson Lee Rhiannon says Premier Iemma’s commitment to an expanded Port Botany will unnecessarily strangle Sydney with an increasing number of trucks and freight trains impacting negatively on Sydney’s traffic, air pollution and health.”The NSW government will never reach its 40 percent rail freight target without adopting a freight infrastructure charge which would create an incentive to move freight by rail. Its decision to duck this initiative shows it has again caved into the road lobby,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“For the government to claim there will be 300 fewer truck movements a day around the Airport, Port Botany and Marrickville and a reduction in CO2 is pure fantasy.” (more…)

Just when Sydney thought the NSW Government’s recent planning and infrastructure debacles could not get any worse, Premier Morris Iemma yesterday announced his plans to increase the number of containers to be transported on trains by up to 40% to alleviate Sydney’s traffic congestion, but this will not prevent the 300% increase in containers being transported on trucks on Sydney’s roads when the Premier plans to increase container throughput at Port Botany to 3.2 million containers per annum.”The Premier’s decision to bulldoze ahead with the Massive Port Botany expansion (which incorporates a 60 ha third terminal expansion requiring the dredging 7.5 million cubic metres of Botany Bay) is another example of gross economic and environmental mismanagement which follows on the back of the Cross City Tunnel, Sydney Airport Rail Link, the M5 and the Lane Cove bypass etc. that will create a sleeping giant and its impact will dwarf the above-mentioned developments and squeeze the last breath of from Sydney’s choking roads”, claims Greg Killeen, Save Botany Beach Deputy Chairperson.

“Transporting 40% of the current throughput of containers by rail will alleviate some traffic congestion in the short term, however, it will just shift the container trucks elsewhere and the extra freight trains will operate 24/7 and have an increasing major impact on residential properties near the freight rail tracks”, he said. (more…)

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, (IPART) is conducting a “Review of the Interface Between the Land Transport Industries and the Stevedores at Port Botany”. They have written an Issues Paper and are asking for submissions.

Telephone Betty Carter,at IPART, on (02) 9290 8483 for a copy of the document.

Submissions are due by 8 June 2007.