The mining company Adani released water into the Caley Valley wetlands during a week of intense monsoonal rain and flooding in north Queensland.
The company issued a statement saying it had suspended operations at Abbot Point this week because the extreme weather had made it unsafe for workers.
It said an inspection on Thursday had found floodwater had been released into the wetlands from an authorised release point, but a spokesperson said no water had gone into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
“The inspection indicates there has been no release of waters into the marine environment or the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, however flood water has been released to the Caley Valley wetlands from an authorised release point,” the official said.
“Abbot Point Operations promptly reported these preliminary inspection findings to the Department of Environment and Science.”
The spokesperson said the company “is confident that no environmental harm has or will occur” and the company would continue to monitor releases and inform the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
The Queensland government took legal action against Adani last year for breaching an amended licence for the release of polluted water during cyclone Debbie in 2017.
The coordinator of the Mackay Conservation Group, Peter McCallum, said the government had given an undertaking in September that it would monitor emissions at Abbot Point to ensure Adani was complying with its environmental conditions.
He said the monitoring needed to occur in real time.
“We know that the government is intending on visiting the site today to do some testing of the water flow,” he said.
“But the government has not put in place the monitoring regime they said they would back in September.”
McCallum said the current monitoring was “like testing a drunk driver several days after they finished drinking”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Science said Adani had advised it about the release of stormwater at an authorised release point in the Caley Valley wetlands.
Officers from the department were to inspect the site on Friday.
“The stormwater release is currently occurring from a dam spillway as a result of recent heavy rain associated with the monsoon trough,” the spokesperson said.
“DES officers will be onsite at the coal terminal this morning to assess the situation and ensure compliance with environmental conditions.”
The spokesperson said the department “continues to implement a long-term monitoring program in the Caley Valley Wetland to determine any adverse impacts on environmental values”.
The department also confirmed that the Sun Metals zinc refinery, 15km south of Townsville, had been granted a temporary emissions licence to manage flood water this week.
“DES will continue to work closely with the operators of the Sun Metals refinery to manage the risk in the current conditions,” the spokesperson said.
