FISH KILL COURT CASE
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UPDATES
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FISH KILL COURT CASE 〰️ UPDATES 〰️
Delta Electricity’s trial in the NSW Land & Environment Court has been set down for December 2nd - 13th,with a pre-trial hearing scheduled for November 8th.
Sign up via the form below to receive updates and to join Lake Macquarie and Central coast community members to watch the trial live in public gallery of the NSW Land & Environment Court in December:
Two mass fish kills events on August 6 and again on September 5 of 2022 saw an estimated 15, 000 deceased fish and numerous White spotted eagle rays clog the shores of Mannering Park in Southern Lake Macquarie. The second incident prompted a criminal investigation into the role of Delta Elecricity’s Vales Point power station by the NSW EPA.
The concentration of floating fish and rays around the Vales Point power stations cooling water outlet in Wyee Bay after the first event and footage published of Delta Electricity staff retrieving dead marine life by boat from Wyee Bay directly after the second event, sparked community concern about the role the power station may have had in the incidents.
The sale of Vales Point power station to an international company based in Czech, Se.ven was confirmed in December of 2022.
The investigation
One year to the day of the second fish kill, the NSW EPA investigation concluded with criminal proceedings being lodged against Delta for a breach of its licence conditions - failure to maintain plant equipment in a proper and effcient manner - alleged to have allowed a lethal does of chlorine to enter Wyee Bay via the Vales Point outlet canal.
The case
Delta Electricity entered a plea of not guilty in the in the NSW Land & Environment Court, Friday April 19.
The alleged offence constitutes a breach of section 64 of the Protection of Environment and Operations Act and can attract up to a one-million-dollar penalty.
Newcastle Herald, Saturday April 20
Latest News: 2023-24
Delta’s impacts on fish abundance in Lake Macquarie extend far beyond these most recent episodic fish kills to encompass decades of lost productivity of seagrass from exposure to thermal pollution which has entirely stripped Wyee Bay of Zostera seagrass.
Read our expose of Delta’s dirty deeds which delves into the detail of Vales Point power stations long-running pollution impacts on the Lake Macquarie estuary, and our proposals to see the mess cleaned up and the lake restored upon coal power closure.
Power station pleads not guilty to Lake Macquarie fish kill, Newcastle Herald, April 19 2024
EPA alleges Vales Point Power Station caused Mannering Park fish kill, September 6 2023, Newcastle Herald
Community groups welcome EPA prosecution over Lake Macquarie fish kill , September 6 2023, Newcastle Herald
Faulty coal plant valve caused mass fish kill: EPA, Newcastle Herald
EPA to prosecute Delta Electricity over fish kill, Coast Community News
EPA chief executive Tony Chappel hopes the next steps in the Mannering Park fish kill investigation will be known by the end of June, Newcastle Herald, April 22 2023
Mannering Park residents fear for Lake Macquarie's health six months after mass fish kills, Newcastle Herald, February 17 2023
Smart buoy put in Lake Macquarie, as EPA monitors water after two big fish kills around Vales Point Power Station at Mannering Park and Wyee Bay, Newcastle Herald, Damon Cronshaw, Updated October 12 2022
Environment Protection Authority is investigating a second fish kill at Mannering Park in southern Lake Macquarie, Newcastle Herald, 06/09/2022
ABC Newcastle interview with HCEC Coordinator, Jo Lynch, 06/09/2022 (skip to 2:33:00)
ABC Central Coast interview with HCEC Senior Researcher, Paul Winn, 07/09/2022 (skip to 1:38:00)
Mannering Park residents demand answers following the second Lake Macquarie fish kill in a month, Newcastle Herald, 07/09/2022
EPA chief executive Tony Chappel says Mannering Park fish kill at Lake Macquarie is devastating for the community., Newcastle Herald, 08/09/2022
UPDATE ON FISH KILL INVESTIGATION AT MANNERING PARK, LAKE MACQUARIE, NSW EPA, 13/09/2022
Vales Point Power Station licensee Delta Electricity has provided the EPA with new information relating to fish kills at Mannering Park in Lake Macquarie, Newcastle Herald, 13/09/2022
Fish kill at Mannering Park in Lake Macquarie caused by Vales Point Power Station, residents Sue and Kelvin Wynn and Darran Budden allege, as NSW EPA steps up investigation, Newcastle Herald, 17/09/2022
“You can’t tell me the power station is not the culprit.”
Images 5-6, 6/09/2022. Wyee Bay, HCEC.
“The power station was the cause. I saw dead fish coming out the canal.”
“In my years fishing on the lake, fish kills were always something that happened up at the power station.”
FISH KILL #2 COVERAGE: SEPTEMBER 2022
EPA investigates cause of Lake Macquarie fish kill as hundreds wash up dead at Mannering Park, ABC Central Coast, 08/08/2022
‘Alarming’ mass fish kill in Lake Macquarie under investigation by EPA, Guardian Australia, 09/08/2022
LAKE MACQUARIE FISH KILL GROWING LARGER, NBN NEWS, 09/08/2022
Lake Macquarie fish kill raises more questions than answers for Mannering Park locals as NSW EPA investigates, Newcastle Herald, 09/08/2022
Fish kill at Mannering Park still under investigation by NSW EPA, with stratification and destratification being examined, Newcastle Herald, 22/08/2022
Update on fish kill at Mannering Park, Lake Macquarie, NSW EPA, 30/08/2022
Lake Macquarie fish kill: NSW EPA reveals Mannering Park phenomenon's likely cause, Newcastle Herald, 30/08/2022
Water temperature, weather caused mass fish kill – EPA, Coast Community News, 31/08/2022
FISH KILL #1 COVERAGE: AUGUST 2022
The findings of the NSW EPA’s investigation into the first fish kill were released August 30th 2022 an cited a combination of low water temperatures and an unusual wind direction as the cause.
In response, the environment drew attention to the role of thermal pollution from Vales Point power stations cooling water discharge, which enters the bay directly from the outlet canal at up to 35 degrees Celsius, well above ambient lake temperature.
Numerous studies, including the 1996 Estuary Management Study of Lake Macquarie attribute thermal pollution to seagrass loss and species assemblage changes, as well as changes in fish species distribution in the thermal discharge zone.
In 2022, marine scientists at the University of Newcastle commenced research into the possible adverse effects on marine life and the ecosystems of both Myuna Bay (where Origin’s Eraring power station discharges its cooling water) and Wyee Bay when these power stations close later this decade, anticipating that "There will definitely be a period where the fish have to adapt to the change.”
As well as dead fish observed lining the shores and afloat in the bay, the discovery of a deceased Whitespotted eagle ray was made near the Wyee Point Marina by citizen scientists taking part in the seagrass survey.
According to local residents in attendance, the ray was one of four or more seen to frequent the area, suspected to have succumbed to oxygen deprivation related to the fish kill. The second fish kill saw additional ray deaths, including a juvenile observed by HCEC on Mannering Park’s shores in September of 2022.
This species is listed as Endangered globally and protected in the Great Barrier Reef, generally preferring warmer, more tropical waters. Like the Green sea turtle, its residency in Wyee Bay is suspected to be linked to the higher localised water temperatures from Vales Point power stations thermal discharge.
Images: 06/08/2022, Wyee Bay, HCEC.
