East Arm Wharf Copper Concentrate Spill Incident, Part 1

In April 2010 a whistleblower alleged that copper concentrate was being allowed to enter Darwin Harbour during ship loading at the bulk export facility at East Arm Wharf. These allegations were published in the NT News and the Environment Centre NT referred the matter to the EPA requesting an investigation.

The EPA acknowledged that the regulatory agency – the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport – had responsibility for any investigation under its legislation and that the matters referred by the Environment Centre were more properly considered in the context of that investigation. However the EPA also recognised that the occurrence of several copper concentrate spill incidents strongly suggested that the systems for environmental management at the wharf warranted examination. Accordingly, the EPA commenced an inquiry under section 6 of the Environment Protection Authority Act to identify and examine any systemic issues that led to or were illustrated by the incident.

The EPA concluded its enquiries in relation to all the terms of reference that are independent of the regulator’s investigation and released Part 1 of the Final Report in April 2011

Final Inquiry Report East Arm Copper Concentrate Incident, Part 1

The report incorporates the submission from the Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport following consultation and review of the draft report.