US mining company Alcoa\u2019s strip-mining of Western Australia\u2019s jarrah forest is under further investigation after its \u201cdeliberate repeat breach\u201d of environmental laws that destroyed habitat for protected species \u2013 including black cockatoos, quokkas and numbats \u2013 and cost it $40m to avoid prosecution.<\/p>\n
The ongoing inquiry into Alcoa\u2019s clearing at its Willowdale mine was revealed in\u00a0talking points\u00a0for federal ministers prepared ahead of the February announcement of a\u00a0record $55m settlement\u00a0for clearing at its Huntly mine.<\/p>\n
News of another federal investigation piles more pressure on Alcoa\u2019s bauxite mining in south-west WA, which threatens Perth\u2019s water supply, has destroyed about 280 sq km of jarrah forest, none of which the company has rehabilitated in 60 years, and when refined into alumina, results in mercury-laden emissions, contaminated groundwater and millions of tonnes of unstable toxic bauxite residue.<\/p>\n
Alcoa is pushing the WA and federal governments to approve an expansion of its northern Huntly mine, much of it around Perth\u2019s largest drinking water dam, the Serpentine.<\/p>\n
The February deal included Alcoa spending $40m to remedy what the government called \u201ca deliberate repeat breach \u2013 318 hectares cleared while under investigation\u201d in 2023 and 2024, according to the talking points released in response to a freedom of information request.<\/p>\n
Jess Boyce, director of the WA Forest Alliance, said the federal government\u2019s labelling of Alcoa\u2019s clearing as a \u201cdeliberate repeat breach\u201d indicates the company was \u201cwell aware that it was acting with blatant disregard for environmental law\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is, why did the federal government not only let this continue for two years, rather than halt clearing, but has now given Alcoa an exemption to continue clearing despite proving it can\u2019t be trusted?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcoa acknowledged\u00a0it destroyed the known habitat of protected species, but denied it breached the law.<\/p>\n
The breach created an \u201coffset liability of 3,000 hectares\u201d, and the federal government has imposed an enforceable undertaking on Alcoa to spend at least $40m on land purchases by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n
Another\u00a0undertaking\u00a0to spend $15m covers Alcoa clearing 1,777 hectares of jarrah forest \u2013 equivalent to four of Perth\u2019s Kings Park \u2013 from 2019 to 2023.<\/p>\n
An Alcoa spokesman said its mining, which started in the early 1960s, has historically been undertaken in accordance with WA legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur operations predate the (federal) EPBC Act, and we have always maintained we were operating under grandfathering provisions (section 43B \u201ccontinuing use\u201d at Huntly and section 43A \u201cprior authorisation\u201d at Willowdale) of the act,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSection 43B was amended as part of the recent package of revisions made by the government to the EPBC Act, meaning it could no longer be relied on at Huntly. Section 43A remains in the act and was unchanged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Huntly mine, which is mainly in water catchments, supplies Alcoa\u2019s Pinjarra alumina refinery.<\/p>\n
The newly revealed investigation is into possible illegal clearing at Alcoa\u2019s southern Willowdale mine, which feeds its Wagerup refinery, where a\u00a0gallium plant, backed by the Australian, Japanese and US governments, is planned.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said its investigation into land clearing at Alcoa\u2019s Willowdale mine is ongoing and it would not comment further.<\/p>\n
Greens WA upper house member Jess Beckerling said the 59,000 submissions to the EPA about Alcoa\u2019s proposed expansion indicated a \u201cprofound level of discontent with continued clearing of the highly biodiverse Northern Jarrah Forests\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a serious problem in this country with multinational corporations destroying places we love and our laws and governments being completely inadequate to rein them in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n