New EPA powers delayed by a year in coronavirus 'omnibus' bill

Strong new powers promised to the environment watchdog have been delayed by more than a year, sparking fears cowboy companies will persist with unsafe management of toxic waste.

Firefighters on platforms battle the West Footscray factory fire of August 30, 2018.

The new laws to beef up the Environment Protection Authority’s power to crackdown on environmental offenders and tough penalties for polluters were due to come into effect in July this year.

Read the story from The Age by Benjamin Preiss - “New EPA powers delayed by a year in coronavirus 'omnibus' bill.”

White supremacy produces disproportionate environmental pollution

Environmental racism describes the idea that non-white people are disproportionately exposed to toxic waste, agricultural chemicals, air pollution and drinking water contamination. Environmental racism is well-documented. Most of the time, though, instances of environmental racism are described as reckless individual acts of pollution or poisoning, instead of symptoms of a structural problem directly linked to white supremacy.

Jibril Kyser discusses
environmental racism.

White supremacy, unlike the term “white privilege,” destabilizes the innocence of whiteness. It reminds us of the violent domination of Black and brown bodies through genocide and enslavement, which were both necessary in granting today’s white people their unearned rights, privileges and resources. White supremacy is much deeper than the Ku Klux Klan, Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan and Rudyard Kipling’s musings in “The White Man’s Burden.” It is embedded in the consciousness of a large majority of the world’s population, influences the beauty standards and even informs whose lives matter. Most importantly though, white supremacy facilitates the premature death of Black and brown bodies by devaluing their existence.

Read Jibril Kyser’s story in The Daily Californian - “White supremacy produces disproportionate environmental pollution."

Toxic waste could endanger drinking water if Santos CSG project goes ahead – report

Up to 130 spills of toxic waste could occur if the Santos Narrabri coal seam gas project goes ahead, potentially endangering high-quality drinking and irrigation water, according to a leading academic.

An area of bushland being rejuvenated after a spill at
 Santos’ Bibblewindi water treatment facility which is
part of Santos’s Narrabri gas project. 

In a damning report obtained by Guardian Australia, RMIT hydrologist Matthew Currell said he found basic scientific gaps in the 7,000-page Narrabri gas project environmental impact statement (EIS).

Currell, a senior lecturer in environmental engineering, said the EIS was missing analysis of waste water from existing gas wells and contains conflicting information on whether the project area was part of the recharge zone for the Great Artesian Basin.

He said neither Santos nor the New South Wales government had enough monitoring wells to ensure groundwater was properly monitored.

Read Gabrielle Chan’s story on The Guardian - “Toxic waste could endanger drinking water if Santos CSG project goes ahead – report.”