MEDIA RELEASES 24 September 2001

1. Meeting notification
The Editor
Bay Post

Please note that the next public meeting informing the public of details of the proposed Charcoal plant south of Mogo, in the Eurobodalla shire, is planned for 26th September at 7pm at Old Mogo Town.

Yours
Dr Elise Stutchbury
for Charcoalition
4471 8578

2. Background material
The Editor
BAY POST

Please find below material for inclusion in your paper. Note that background information is provided after the media release, including website details and other contacts if needed.

yours
Dr Elise Stutchbury
for Charcoalition
4471 8578

Nature Coast Threatened By Charcoal Factory

A comprehensive coverage of pertinent information can be found at the recently established web site: http://www.acr.net.au/~coastwatchers/charcoalition. The site includes links to other relevant sites.

Charcoal Plant Proposal. Locals are outraged by a proposal to build a huge charcoal production plant close to popular beaches south of Batemans Bay.

The company wants to build a plant to produce charcoal for use at a silicon smelter at Lithgow. It would have five enormous stacks, 11 storeys (33 metres) high, to dispense the emissions from burning 200,000 tonnes of wood each year to produce charcoal. Emissions would be "cleansed" before they are released, but without any filtration to prevent toxins and carcinogens from being released into the atmosphere.

Most of this is in Aust Silicon's press coverage. "Cleansed" covers the "volatiles get flared off" and the "gathering to go to sludge" parts of the process, the bit about no filters came out at Nola and Debra Ford's meeting Thursday 13 September 2001. The plant reps felt there was no need for filter. Please refer to Charcoalition web-site for information about the emissions from a similar plant in Wellesley WA. http://www.acr.net.au/~coastwatchers/charcoalition

For more information follow the link to the Forestry Paper 63 published on the web site of The "Food and Agriculture Organisation of the Untied Nations". This publication is a table of Contents on "Industrial Charcoal Making Technologies" and step by step details, including continual reference to the "Lambiotte" system which is the proposed technology.

Several individuals are gathering together more information about the possible health risks associated with the operation of a Charcoal plant.

Community Opposition Swells. Hastily called public meetings have seen venues overflowing. A coalition of diverse interest groups has been formed to fight the proposal, concern is growing daily as more people learn about what's happening.

Local Council Denies Allegations. The Mayor of Eurobodalla, Chris Vardon, has moved quickly to deny claims that the Eurobodalla Shire Council had given approval in principle for the proposed plant. He stated "I reiterate to you that Council has not given any in principle agreement". This quote is from the Mayor's letter to Judy Fisher on 12 September 2001, the full sentence is: "It is unfortunate that rumour and innuendo seems to take over on these matters and I reiterate to you that Council has not given any in principle agreement but in fact has encouraged the proponents to undertake the proper studies and to conduct full community consultation."

State Government Bypasses Local Government . Many residents who moved to the Nature Coast from a smoke-stack environment are furious to find that bureaucrats in Sydney now plan to dump a charcoal plant in a region renowned for its pristine waterways, unblemished bushland, sparkling beaches and champagne air. But the NSW State Government has deemed the plant to be part of a Project of State Significance, as such the local council's role is limited to merely making its position known to the State Government. This quote is from the Mayor's letter to Judy Fisher on 12 September 2001, the full paragraph is: The New South Wales State Government will be the determining authority for this matter. Council will have no part in the process whatsoever but once we are in possession of the facts we may well make a position known to the State Government, whose responsibility it will be to make the decision as to whether the processing plant goes ahead or not."

Trucks and More Trucks. The plant would need up to eighty truck movements daily, forty on the Princes Highway between Nowra and Eden, and forty on the Kings Highway. From Bay Post September 12 2001 Page 6 "Some answers from Australian Silicon. How many trucks will there be? We expect about 46 truck movements a day. The volume will not be a large increase on what traffic there is now. One third of the trucks carrying timber will come from the south, one third from the west down the Kings Highway, and one third from the north." However, at the meeting at Peter Fatches' we were told "30 timber trucks a day, 10 charcoal trucks as well, doubled for empty trucks going back, it's a total of 80". I got the Kings Highway figure from 10 timber trucks, and 10 charcoal trucks, doubled for empties.

These highways have already been identified as below standard. The trucks would be carting charcoal, and timber collected from state forests. This timber would be a by-product of saw log harvesting, currently left as waste although it does provide a habitat for native fauna.

Jobs Won, Jobs Lost. A promise of up to 20 permanent jobs at the plant is seen as cold comfort. A spokeswoman for a large tourist complex said that the proposal threatens all the good work that has been done by the community to make the Nature Coast a model of environmentally responsible development. "If the natural attractiveness of the area is not protected, then the job losses in the Nature Tourism industry will be many times more than any jobs created by a charcoal plant" she said. Kerry-Ann Benton: Oaks Ranch. Also Maureen Nathan: Old Mogo Village

As well, the effect of spoiling the Nature Coast would lead to loss of interest in local holiday homes, including on-site caravans. The local economy has been strengthening over the years, and any downturn would jeopardise jobs.

Contacts.
"Charcoalition" mogocharcoal@bigpond.com
Peter Fatches Mogo Progress Association: 02 4474 4842
Chris Kowal: 02 4474 3335
Charcoalition - Community and residents against a charcoal plant
C/- PO Box 521, Batemans Bay, 2536