Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers will release an Environmental Impact Statement into its proposed multi-purpose wharf at Smith Bay within months. Source: Timberbiz
The independent Development Assessment Commission released guidelines for the project, which require KIPT to prepare a full EIS.
In welcoming the guidelines, KIPT Managing Director John Sergeant said a large amount of research had already been undertaken in anticipation that an EIS would be required.
“We will now look to fine-tune this work to meet the requirements of the EIS,” he said. “We have some of Australia’s leading experts working on issues ranging from protection of the marine environment to quantifying the economic and social impact of our proposal.
“We have real-time monitoring stations in place in Smith Bay to measure water movement and water quality and have accumulated a significant volume of data to inform coastal process modelling. We are committed to protecting the marine environment.”
Mr Sergeant said that, once the EIS has been released, it would be available for public comment over a six-week period, after which KIPT would have the opportunity to respond to any submissions made.
“The company remains focused on completing its responsibilities under the development assessment process to a high standard, and in sufficient time to enable the SA Government to make a final decision this calendar year,” he said.
The Smith Bay wharf would cost between $25 million and $30 million and take between six and nine months to build.
The project is fully funded and does not rely on any financial contribution from government.
KIPT plans to develop a sustainable forestry industry to unlock the value of mature softwood and hardwood plantations on the Island.
It is expected to harvest about 500,000 tonnes of timber and woodchip a year, valued at about $60 million, creating 286 direct and indirect forestry and related jobs on Kangaroo Island.
