Proposed project site

The Bell Bay Pulp Mill, also known as the Tamar Valley Pulp Mill, is a proposed $2 billion pulp mill which Gunns Limited is planning to build in the Tamar Valley, near Launceston, Tasmania. A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber source into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a Paper mill for further Gunns Limited ( is a major Forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. The Tamar Valley is a picturesque valley in Tasmania. It runs north-west from the northern city of Launceston to the coast either side of the Tamar River Launceston ( (short first vowel /ˈlɔːnsəstən/ is often incorrectly heard in other parts of Australia is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia The proposed mill will use the Kraft process, Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) bleaching, and be fed with eucalypt forest timber. The Kraft process (also known as Kraft pulping or sulfate process) describes a technology for conversion of wood into Wood pulp consisting of almost pure Construction of the mill is supported by the State Government who argue that the project will generate $6. The form of the Government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution which dates from 1856 although it has been amended many times since then 7 billion in spending over 25 years and create 2000 temporary jobs during the construction phase. Gunns claims its development could create 300 direct jobs and over 1,000 indirect jobs in the George Town area. George Town is one of the larger towns in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River.

The proposed site is near the main shipping port in northern Tasmania, and is zoned heavy industrial. Industry already located at the site include an aluminium smelter, ferro-alloy processing plant, a power station, two operating woodchip mills and other timber processing operations.

Included in the proposed development is construction of a large and associated warehouse and wharf within the Tamar River Conservation Area as well as the insertion of a supply pipe to be 'jet trenched' into the bed of the Tamar River and across it. The Tamar Conservation Area covers approximately 4633 ha on the Tamar River estuary in Tasmania. Named for the River Tamar in Great Britain, the Tamar River in northern Tasmania is formed by the merging of the North Esk River and South

It is not the first pulp mill proposed for Tasmania. In 1989 Wesley Vale pulp mill was debated, but did not go ahead. The Wesley Vale pulp mill was a planned Kraft process Pulp mill was to be built near Wesley Vale in northern Tasmania in the late 1980s

Project assessment and approval

The Tasmanian Government has employed the Finnish consultants, Sweco Pic, to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the proposed mill. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Community groups opposed to the mill criticised the choice of this company. ^[1]

On 4 October 2007 federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources Malcolm Turnbull gave Commonwealth approval for the mill which had previously been given approval at a state level by the Tasmanian Government. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954 is an Australian politician the current Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Parliament, and parliamentary He said an extra 24 conditions would be imposed on the mill which will be built by Gunns Limited at a cost of $2 billion. Gunns Limited ( is a major Forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. He said the decision was based on science and recommendations made by the Australian Governments chief scientist Jim Peacock. ^[2] Tasmanian Premier, Paul Lennon said the federal conditions duplicate permit conditions already voted for in the Tasmanian parliament. Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955)is an Australian Labor Party politician He has also noted that benchmarks have been relaxed from draft conditions in the monthly limit of chlorate effluent. ^[3]

Opposition and criticism

Anti-pulpmill rally (April 2007)

In 2006, 8000 people participated in this Launceston rally. Launceston ( (short first vowel /ˈlɔːnsəstən/ is often incorrectly heard in other parts of Australia is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia

Opponents of the mill argue that as well as environmental impacts, there will be economic costs, including taxpayer subsidies and most of the jobs are likely to be taken up by non-Tasmanians. Opponents include a number of environmental and political groups including The Wilderness Society^[4], Tasmanians Against the Pulpmill Inc.^[5] Rainforest Action Network^[6] and the Tasmanian Greens^[7]. The Wilderness Society (TWS is an Australian Not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy whose mission is protecting promoting and restoring Wilderness The Tasmanian Greens are a political party in Australia who developed from numerous environmental campaigns in Tasmania, including the flooding of Lake Pedder

There are claims that the pulp mill is dangerous to the environment as effluent released into Bass Strait may harm local marine life. Bass Strait (bæs is a sea Strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland ( Victoria in particular

On 16 September 2006 A protest rally against the proposed pulp mill was held in Launceston with estimates ranging from 3,000 to 8,000 people attending. Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Speakers included Greens politician Christine Milne and TV gardener Peter Cundall. Christine Anne Milne is an Australian Senator from the Australian Greens. Peter Cundall AM (born 1 April 1927 in Manchester, England) is a Horticulturalist and television personality in Australia. On 16 June 2007, an opposition rally to the mill attracted a crowd in excess of 10,000. Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[8]

In April 2007, allegations were made that a Gunns lawyer was involved in preparing new legislation introduced by Premier Paul Lennon, which bypasses the Resource Planning and Development Commission^[9] and replaces it with a government-appointed consultant, which raised questions about Gunns influence over the current State Labor government^[10]. Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955)is an Australian Labor Party politician There are other allegations of collusion and co-operation between the company and Tasmania's political leaders. ^[11]

The proposal has also been criticised for not using the best technology for bleaching process, and instead using elemental chlorine (rather than hydrogen peroxide or methanol) in the production of the bleaching chemical chlorine dioxide. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 is a very pale blue liquid which appears colorless in a dilute solution slightly more Viscous than water Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a Chemical compound Chlorine dioxide is a Chemical compound with the formula ClO2 The process has not been approved by the United Nations Environment Programme and is illegal under Tasmanian guidelines. The UN Environment Programme (or UNEP) coordinates United Nations environmental activities assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies ^[12][13] According to, Dr Warwick Raverty, a chemist with over 20 years experience in the Kraft pulping and paper, a hiccup with a waterspray would cause the bleaching chemical chlorine dioxide to be contaminated with elemental chlorine and lead to the release of persistent organic pollutants (organochlorides and dioxins), causing environmental harm, ruining the salmon and seahorse farms in the Tamar Estuary, and breaching the Stockholm Convention. Chlorine dioxide is a Chemical compound with the formula ClO2 Chlorine (ˈklɔriːn from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' ( khlôros, meaning 'pale green' is the Chemical element with Atomic number 17 and Persistent organic pollutants ( POP s are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological, and photolytic Applications The simplest form of organochlorides are chlorinated Hydrocarbons These consist of simple Hydrocarbons in which one or more hydrogen atoms have Not to be confused with Dioxane or Digoxin. Dioxin is a heterocyclic, organic, antiaromatic compound Stockholm Convention is an international legally binding agreement on persistent organic pollutants (POPs Dr Raverty resigned from the now defunct Resource Planning and Development Commission (RPDC) panel on the mill, citing undue political interference. Gunns was unable to find another mill in the world which used the process for one year without problem, when the data was requested by the RPDC.

The Wilderness Society has launched a legal case against the federal government, claiming federal Minister for Environment and Water Resources Malcolm Turnbull acted illegally by allowing the pulp mill to escape proper assessment by the independent RPDC. The Wilderness Society (TWS is an Australian Not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy whose mission is protecting promoting and restoring Wilderness Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954 is an Australian politician the current Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Parliament, and parliamentary Turnbull agreed to withhold a decision on the approval of the mill until after the August 6 conclusion of the case. Gunns director(s?) have previously put pressure on the state government to approve the mill quickly by threatening to take the project interstate or overseas. ^[14] Geoffrey Cousins, former advisor to John Howard, has also been a vocal opponent of the mill, comparing it to the Franklin River Dam. See also Howard Government John Winston Howard AC (born 26 July 1939 was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia that was never ^[15]

Paul Lennon has claimed that the wood supply agreement "will not provide for any old growth timber to be used in the pulp mill. Paul Anthony Lennon (born 8 October 1955)is an Australian Labor Party politician Ancient Woodland Old growth forest, (also termed primary forest, ancient forest, virgin forest, primeval forest, frontier "^[16], while Peter Garrett has said that the tracts of old growth forest that will supply the mill were already earmarked for logging under the Regional Forest Agreement. Peter Robert Garrett AM MP (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian Musician and Politician. The Regional Forest Agreements are 20 year plans for the conservation and sustainable management of Australia 's native forests and are intended to provide certainty to commercial ^[17]

A January 2008 report commissioned by The Wilderness Society estimated the Bell Bay Pulp Mill may run at a $300 million loss to Tasmania. The Wilderness Society (TWS is an Australian Not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy whose mission is protecting promoting and restoring Wilderness ^[18]

References

External links

• Pulp Mill Project Page

Coordinates: 41°8′20″S 146°54′14″E / -41.13889, 146.90389