澳洲一引海济湖工程遭遇环评争议

eiarookie

Murray seawater plan to be scrutinised

A controversial plan to flood the lakes at the mouth of the River Murray with sea water has hit a snag - there has to be an environmental impact study first.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett referred to his "strong views" about the environment as he ordered the six-month study on Thursday.

He has refused to give the green light until he has seen the study.

South Australia's lower lakes, at the end of the ailing Murray-Darling river system, are bearing the brunt of the drought and water over-allocation.

The freshwater lakes are below sea level, and walls are keeping the ocean out.

Their water levels are so low the lakes risk turning to acid.

The South Australian government is seeking permission to let in the ocean next year, to keep the acid at bay.

But some conservationists and South Australian residents oppose the move, saying it will do irreparable harm to the environment.

They want upstream states - Queensland, NSW and Victoria - to use less water, so more can flow down to the basin's mouth.

Mr Garrett said his green past - he's a former protest rocker and conservation spokesman - had created certain expectations.

"My strong views about the environment, my background ... sometimes means that people, including the media, think that I'm very aware of the fact that there's an issue that's raging," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Garrett said the lower lakes study would be "comprehensive and exhaustive".

It would look into the impact of the seawater flooding plan on wetlands and threatened species, and would examine other ways to save the lower lakes. The public will have four weeks to comment on it.

South Australian Premier Mike Rann praised Mr Garrett's decision and said letting in the ocean was an "absolute last resort".

"I mean, basically the last thing any of us want to do is put sea water in the lower lakes," he said.

The earliest the sea water might be let in was February next year, he said.

A spokesman said the SA government would probably hire consultants to do the study, which could take about six months.

The federal opposition and the Greens united to declare the lower lakes should never be flooded with sea water.

Opposition water spokesman Greg Hunt said it would "destroy the fragile ecology of these Ramsar-listed wetlands".

He said he was pleased the study would take place as it bought more time to find another solution.

Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said Mr Garrett should have ruled out the seawater flooding option altogether.

"His announcement is simply another nail in the coffin for the lower lakes," she said.

But the Australian Conservation Foundation praised Mr Garrett's insistence that a study take place.

Arlene Buchan, the ACF's healthy rivers campaign coordinator, said it was a good thing the study would look for other ways to save the lower lakes.

The federal government has set aside $3.1 billion to buy up Murray-Darling irrigators' water rights to try to restore river flows.

If the government could not save the lower lakes with this amount of money then it was "simply not trying hard enough", Dr Buchan said.