The environment minister, Murray Watt, has handed a $55m penalty to the US mining giant Alcoa for unlawful land clearing for bauxite mining in Western Australia\u2019s northern jarrah forests, south of Perth.<\/p>\n
As Watt announced the \u201cunprecedented\u201d remediation order, he said he had also granted the company an exemption to clear further habitat for 18 months while the government considered a proposal for an extension of the company\u2019s mining operations to 2045<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watt said the penalty \u2013 known as an enforceable undertaking \u2013 was for clearing that occurred from 2019-2025 in known habitat for nationally protected species without an approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.<\/p>\n WA\u2019s northern jarrah forests are habitat for species including the endangered carnaby\u2019s and baudin\u2019s black cockatoos<\/a>.<\/p>\n The $55m penalty, which relates to more than 2,000 hectares of cleared land, requires Alcoa to fund environmental and research measures, including $40m to secure permanent ecological offsets to compensate for the habitat destruction.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the largest conservation\u2011focused commitment of its kind,\u201d Watt said.<\/p>\n A further $5m will go to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy for conservation programs for affected species, $6m to state government invasive species control projects, and $4m to the University of Western Australia for research into invasive fauna control in the northern jarrah forests.<\/p>\n Alcoa said in a statement that while it \u201cmaintains it has operated in accordance with the EPBC Act\u201d it had agreed to pay for the measures.<\/p>\n \u201cThe funding supports the health of the Northern Jarrah Forest, including programs and research that improve habitat for threatened species and control invasive flora and fauna,\u201d the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n Watt said he had used an existing national interest provision in Australia\u2019s nature laws to allow for further clearing for bauxite mining for 18 months.<\/p>\n It would appear that this is the first time the exemption<\/a> has been used in a way that benefits the commercial interests of a mine.<\/p>\n