EPA chairman Paul Vogel said that while it continued to oppose the location of the plant on a class A nature reserve such as Barrow Island as a matter of principle, the authority recognised that the government had approved construction of a smaller plant and concluded that Chevron's proposal could meet the EPA's objectives provided its conditions were imposed.
Chevron Australia managing director Roy Krzywosinski welcomed the EPA's decision as an important step in the regulatory process, adding the company could now assess the conditions as it worked towards a final investment decision in the second half of this year.
"We are currently reviewing and assessing the EPA's proposed conditions. We acknowledge, however, that under the state's process the government provides final approval for the projects," Chevron Greater Gorgon area manager Colin Beckett said.
He added that the Gorgon joint venture, which includes Shell and ExxonMobil, was committed to moving the project forward and believed that the environmental impacts could be minimised and managed in accordance with environmental best practice.
"We have a 40-year track record of protecting biodiversity on Barrow Island. With proper management and planning, we have demonstrated that development and conservation can coexist," Beckett said.
The EPA said it disagreed with Chevron‘s claims that no additional measures or controls were needed to manage the potential impact on marine fauna, noting that the proposal did not provide a reasonable prospect for the long-term viability of one of the most significant flatback turtle rookeries in Western Australia.
It said the main way to reduce risks to the rookery would be by having an unaltered light horizon compared with current natural conditions from the perspectives of both gravid female flatback turtles and hatchlings.
This could be achieved by relocating flares to an appropriate inland location and shrouding plant lighting and major lighting on the offload facility and jetty, as well as maximum possible shrouding and light source reduction on ships.
The EPA also said the increased potential impact of dredging and marine infrastructure construction on the high-value, coral-dominated habitat of the Lowendal Shelf could be alleviated by real-time monitoring and having trigger levels for corrective action based on levels that did not cause coral deaths.
"Corrective action, including stopping dredging when required, would need to be set out in conditions, following advice to the minister for environment by the Construction Dredging Environmental Expert Panel," Vogel added.
Gorgon's high levels of carbon dioxide were also raised as a concern, with the EPA saying that the project should not be sited on Barrow Island if the aquifer beneath the island proved to be unsuitable for the injection and long-term storage of CO2 produced.
The EPA also noted that its assessment was based on the expansion of Gorgon from a two-train to three-train project and said that any further expansion would require a further assessment.
The full report is available at www.epa.wa.gov.au and will be open for a two-week public appeal period.
