Shark Bay Resources Maintenance Dredging

Overview

The proponent, Shark Bay Resources Pty Ltd, operates two solar salt fields and an associated port facility at Useless Loop in the Shark Bay area of Western Australia. The site is located approximately 25 kilometres west southwest of Denham.

The proponent is proposing to undertake maintenance and capital dredging of up to 100,000 cubic metres from the berth pocket and entrance channel of the port to restore navigable depths.

The berth pocket dredge area is surrounded by, but excised from, the Shark Bay World Heritage Area (SBWHA) and Shark Bay Marine Park (SBMP). The entrance channel dredge area falls within both the SBWHA and SBMP. The offshore disposal area is on an area of bare sand within the SBWHA but outside of the SBMP boundary.

The development envelope, including the dredge footprint and disposal area, is approximately 81 hectares.

The proposal could impact on the environmental factors of benthic communities and habitats, marine environmental quality, marine fauna and social surroundings.

Why your views matter

At this initial stage of the EIA process, comment is simply sought on whether or not the EPA should assess a proposal and, if so, what level of assessment is considered appropriate.

What happens next

Following the seven day public comment period and consideration of any comments received, the EPA will decide whether or not this proposal requires environmental impact assessment and, if so, what level of assessment will be applied.

The EPA's decisions on level of assessment are released each Monday on the EPA's website.