Today the Environment Centre NT has released a summary of events at the Ranger Uranium Mine through the recent wet season titled Mismanaging Contaminated Water – a summary of the 2010/11 wet season at Ranger Uranium Mine. The summary is to be presented to key Government regulatory agencies.

The summary highlights serious concerns about mismanagement at the Ranger site, especially ongoing, unresolved seepage from the tailings storage facility and an inability to effectively deal with the millions of litres of contaminated process water that is generated as part of the mine’s operation.

The summary also questions why ERA and government regulators are responding to water management problems at Ranger by allowing ERA to create and store even more process water.

Nuclear Free campaigner Cat Beaton said: 'The "keep producing" approach to the operations at Ranger will only ensure that the problem of contaminated water continues to haunt Ranger and Government.'

Ms Beaton continued by saying, 'For many years now, the Environment Centre NT has beared witness to poor management at the Ranger site.  Ranger tailings came within centimeters of capacity last wet season, this summary ensures that this will not be forgotten and the incidents collated in the summary should be a major reason not to approve ERA’s proposal to expand its operations.'

'ERA's heap leaching plans are a desperate gamble at the cost of Kakadu and Kakadu communities.' Concluded Ms Beaton.