The former owner of the recently shut newsprint mill at Ettamogah has successfully applied to the NSW Government to iron out anomalies relating to discharge of treated wastewater into the Murray River.
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Updated discharge requirements was the major item Norske Skog referred to the NSW Planning and Public Spaces minister Rob Stokes for approval before operations officially ceased on March 31.
Several changes have been made to wastewater discharge since the mill was established in 1978.
But recent consent conditions relate to an old wastewater discharge scheme Norske Skog hasn't participated in since 2017.
The purpose of the Billabong Creek Salt Interception Scheme was to remove the main pollutant, salt, from the river downstream at Walla.
But improvements to plant efficiencies and recycling led to less wastewater being generated and accordingly Norske Skog reverted to its former method of discharging wastewater via irrigation of surrounding land or discharge into the Murray River during wet periods when there was an increased risk of a storage dam overflow.
While the environment protection licence has allowed wastewater to be discharged into the Murray River this way development consents do not offer such flexibility which has led the inconsistency and the need for action.
In reviewing the scope of the application the department has advised it involves "minimal environmental impacts" with Albury Council and Environment Protection Authority raising no objections to the moves.