andrew dash court appearance, page-10

Hi all
not sure if this has been put on the forum before its from the DERM website.

http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/media-room/2011/07/carbon-energy-charges.html

Looks to me that we as a company dont have too much to worry about as far as the court case is concerned, DERM are not going to shut us down just might get a slap on the wrist

12 July 2011
The Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has laid charges against Carbon Energy Pty Ltd for allegedly breaching conditions of its environmental authority and failing to report an environmental incident.
The charges relate to a spill and the unapproved disposal of process water (condensed steam brought to the surface during a UCG operation) in 2009 at Carbon�s underground coal gasification (UCG) trial site, 40 km west of Dalby.
Acting Director-General Terry Wall said Carbon Energy had been charged with three offences of breaching conditions of its environmental authority and one offence of failing to notify the department of threatened environmental harm under the Environmental Protection Act 1994.
A director of Carbon Energy has also been charged with one offence of failing to ensure Carbon notified the department of threatened environmental harm.
These charges stem from a series of alleged incidents in 2009.
It is alleged Carbon had a spill of process water from its site to nearby Bloodwood Creek in August 2009 which was not reported to the department as required. It is also alleged that between May and August 2009 Carbon disposed of process water by irrigating it to land within the trial site, without approval. Mr Wall said that whilst Carbon had submitted reports to the department demonstrating no long term impacts at the site, the incidents were considered very serious.
�Despite Carbon being aware of the spill in August 2009, the department was not advised of this incident by Carbon,� Mr Wall said.
�This failure to report an environmental incident is a serious matter which will be pursued by the department in the courts�. The maximum penalty for breaching a condition of an environmental authority is $125,000, and the maximum penalty for failing to notify is $10,000 for an individual or $50,000 for a company. After conducting a site inspection in June 2010, DERM issued an Environmental Protection Order (EP0) in July 2010 preventing the recommencement of UCG activities at Carbon�s UCG trial plant. Carbon was also required to immediately conduct an environmental evaluation to investigate the source, cause and extent of any environmental contamination.
The department lifted the EPO and issued Carbon new environmental authorities in February 2011 after it demonstrated that it had improved its infrastructure and practices at the site and would be able to operate within improved environmental requirements, including improved underground monitoring and risk management practices.
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Mr Wall said the departments prosecution against Carbon for past practices would not impact its continuing operations.
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Departmental Officers closely monitor and attend sites on a regular basis. Officers last visited Carbon Energy in early June 2011. DERM regularly takes duplicate samples to ensure compliance. The most recent samples did not indicate any contaminants of concern
Four proactive site inspections will be undertaken at the Carbon Energy site this financial year.
ENDS