Search for sand pits explorers against tide of locals

Sydney's northern beaches could support a major offshore sandmining operation if a proposal to explore a large area of the adjacent seabed goes ahead.

A private company, Sydney Marine Sand, has applied to search a 60-square-kilometre section of the ocean floor between Narrabeen and Whale beaches, looking for high-quality sand for the construction industry.

Both Pittwater Council and the State Government oppose the application, but the Federal Government has final say because the project is outside state boundaries, which are generally three nautical miles from the coast.

The Premier, Bob Carr, said sandmining at the northern beaches could cause a "severe risk to the beach".

"Sandmining on the ocean floor could cause significant environmental damage," he said. "It could also have a significant impact both on the animals and plants that flourish on the ocean floor."");document.write("

advertisement

");
}
}
// -->

Meanwhile the council has called for the state and federal governments to stop future exploration or mining of marine and sand resources near Sydney's beaches.

The director of Sydney Marine Sand, Darren Skene, said the exploration, if approved, would take up to three years, and any subsequent mining licence application at least another two years.

Sandmines close to Sydney have either been exhausted or quarantined for conservation or planning, such as Kurnell Peninsula, he said.

The use of marine sand is being investigated to see whether it can supplement diminishing land-based sand resources in the long term, 50 to 100 years, he said.

He believed: "There is a high probability that the impacts may be, on balance, less than currently seen in existing and proposed onshore operations" subject to the results of the exploration.

In 2000 Sydney Marine Sand lodged a similar application to explore the seabed off the coast of Gosford. A decision has not been made on the proposal.

Pittwater Council's manager of urban infrastructure, James Payne, said not enough was known about the coastal processes or the effects of climate change and sea level rise on its beaches, to allow any sandmining off the coast.

A mayoral minute to the council said: "Offshore sand deposits should be quarantined in case they are required for beach nourishment or to mitigate the long-term effects of shoreline erosion."

The exploration proposal also drew criticism from the Humane Society International in Australia, which said species such as migratory whales, dolphins, marine turtles and the endangered grey nurse shark could be harmed by sandmining.

A wildlife campaigner, Averil Bones, said the project could have implications for Barrenjoey Head and ocean water quality along Sydney's coastline.

"More depletion of [sand and other materials] off the coast has the potential to result in quite a lot of damage to coastal properties," Ms Bones said.

The local federal MP, Bronwyn Bishop, said she was "utterly opposed" to the project, both exploration and any potential mining.