A coal company is taking legal action over Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett's rejection of a $5.3 billion coal project in central Queensland wetlands.
Waratah Coal wanted to establish a rail line and coal port at Shoalwater Bay, north of Rockhampton but Mr Garrett rejected the proposal on the grounds it would destroy Shoalwater and Corio Bay wetlands.
Company president Peter Lynch said Waratah would be mounting an immediate challenge to Mr Garrett's ruling in the Federal Court.
"This proposal, at current contract prices, would have potentially generated over $A10 billion of export revenue and over $900 million in royalties per year for Queensland," Mr Lynch said.
"Waratah does not believe the proposal has been properly considered or its impacts properly assessed. Waratah considers its proposal should have been afforded the opportunity of scrutiny under a properly directed and formatted Environmental Impact Study and its economic significance properly assessed."
Mr Garrett said the proposal would have unacceptable impacts.
"The impacts of the rail line and port facility are simply too great to effectively mitigate, and would destroy the ecological integrity of the area," Mr Garrett said.
"This decision does not prevent an alternative proposal being lodged that does not have unacceptable impacts on Ramsar (an international treaty to conserve wetlands) and heritage values."
He said he had encouraged Waratah Coal to consider alternative sites for the port.
Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne has praised Mr Garrett's decision.
"It would have been a travesty if the community had to go through a stressful, expensive and drawn-out assessment process when from the beginning it was obvious that this coal development was globally and locally irresponsible and destructive," Senator Milne said.
Queensland Minister for Infrastructure and Planning Paul Lucas said the rejection of the rail and port that would have serviced mining in the nearby Galilee Basin did not hinder coal mining in the area.
"The ball is now in the court of Waratah Coal and other proponents to come up with rail and port proposals that don't involve Shoalwater Bay," Mr Lucas said.
"The Galilee Basin has extraordinary potential for economic development, to provide jobs and income for Queensland and Australia.
"Minister Garrett has made it clear the decision is in relation to the port at Shoalwater Bay and rail access to it, not the enormous potential for coal mines in the Galilee Basin."
