DESALINATION PLANTS

In reply to the Hon. M. PARNELL (6 June 2007).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Environment and Conservation is advised:

1. The EPA is the appropriate authority to licence desalination plants. However these are only captured for licensing purposes if the discharges to receiving waters:

raise the temperature of the receiving waters by more than 2 degrees Celsius at any time at a distance of 10 metres or more from the point of discharge: or

contain chemical or antibiotic water treatments; and

the total volume of the discharge exceeds 50 kilolitres per day

2. The EPA is developing new legislation to amend Schedule 1 of the Environment Protection Act 1993 so it has a specific, targeted head power to appropriately regulate desalination activities of a specific threshold which pose a significant risk to the environment.