AUSTRALIA is about to see its first legal challenge to carbon emissions from a coal-fired power plant, after a Land and Environment Court case was initiated yesterday against Macquarie Generation, a NSW Government-owned utility.
An environmental group that opposed the development of the Anvil Hill coal mine in the Hunter Valley is now targeting Bayswater power station in the Upper Hunter, one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the state.
Lawyers from the NSW Environmental Defender’s Office believe the case has the potential to toughen emissions laws across the country.
In the civil court proceedings it will be alleged that the company is "negligently disposing of waste at their Bayswater power station by emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a manner that has harmed or is likely to harm the environment", which could be a contravention of the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.
The court action will also seek to have the system of environmental protection licences modified. They now require that some companies monitor, but do not control, carbon emissions.
A Macquarie Generation spokesman said: "Bayswater is one of the most efficient and cleanest coal fired power stations in Australia, and it operates within its development approval and environmental operating licence."
The court case is being brought by Peter Gray and Naomi Hodgson, members of a group called Rising Tide.
Mr Gray said: "The reason we are doing this now is that the NSW Government is looking at expanding Bayswater as well as tripling coal exports from Newcastle coal port."
The matter is listed for a directions hearing on August 21.
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