Court papers were served on Delta Energy Macquarie Generation and Minister for Planning Tony Kelly in relationto cases lodged in the NSW Land and Environment Court challenging the concept approval of the Mount Piper and Bayswater B power station expansions.

Ned Haughton, represented by the EDO, has brought the case. Haughton is an activist working with Rising Tide Newcastle. Haugton will argue that the Minister's approvals are invalid through a failure to consider ecologically sustainable development in the decision.

26 March 2010

Justice Pain of the Land and Environment Court has allowed Gray & Hodgson v Macquarie Generation to proceed to trial on the issue of whether Macquarie Generation is allowed to emit unlimited levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Justice Pain found that the applicants argument that Macquarie Generation is not authorised to emit any carbon dioxide at all is "unlikely to succeed" and dismissed that part of their case.

The case has been brought by the Environmental Defenders Officer (EDO), acting on behalf of Rising Tide members Mr Peter Gray and Ms Naomi Hodgson. Gray and Hodgson argue that as Macquarie Generation is not expressly authorised to emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere under its environment protection licence (a licence which authorises and regulates pollution), its emission of carbon dioxide is unlawful.

In its strike out application, Macquarie Generation argued that even if its environment protection licence does not expressly authorise the emission of carbon dioxide, its authority to emit carbon dioxide should be implied on the basis that the production of carbon dioxide is a necessary part of generating electricity.

Background on the case can be found here.

A full copy of the judgment can be found here.