29-05-2025
NT government rejects call for federal intervention in Project Caymus US military fuel tank facility
The Northern Territory government has rejected a call for federal regulatory intervention at a beleaguered US military fuel storage facility.
The ABC revealed this week that 11 massive tanks on Darwin Harbour were not built to withstand a category three cyclone.
Sitting on NT government land, the fuel tanks were also constructed unlawfully without US owner-operator Crowley obtaining a building permit.
Dubbed Project Caymus, the facility was announced in 2021 and was meant to be operational in 2023.
However, the tanks have never held fuel, in part because water is intruding into their base.
An engineering report found if the tanks failed during a cyclone, while operational, up to 200 million litres of flammable and/or combustible liquid could be released.
The scenario would have "catastrophic consequences" for people, property and the environment, the report said.
Considering the risks referenced in the report, the Environment Centre Northern Territory (ECNT) has called on the Commonwealth to intervene under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act.
"There is an ability, for when there is a significant new event or variation of this nature, for a new environmental impact assessment to be called for," Kirsty Howey, the ECNT's executive director, said.
"That should happen immediately and the proponent, the US Department of Defense and its contractors, should want to undertake that process as well so that this project gets some kind of social license."
Dr Howey said an environmental impact assessment (EIS) was not undertaken before approval was granted by the NT government.
According the NT Environment Protection Authority, it only conducts an EIS if "the proposal has the potential to have a significant impact on the environment".
"A lot of these problems could have been avoided had [an environmental impact assessment] occurred from the get-go," she said.
Dr Howey also said cyclone risk was not assessed before environmental approval was granted.
The NT Minister for Lands Planning and Environment, Josh Burgoyne, dismissed the calls for federal intervention.
"This [NT] government has no intention of revoking the project's environmental approval and there is no evidence that any offence under NT environmental laws has occurred, given the tanks remain empty and the use of the facility has not commenced.
"The department has been working with Crowley to ensure they provide independent evidence that the tanks meet safety, construction, and environmental standards."
An NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment spokesperson said an [EIS] was not required for Project Caymus because "the proposal met the threshold for assessment by the 'referral information' method".
"Consistent with the requirements of the [NT] Environment Protection Act 2019," they said.
"The NT Environment Protection Authority found that the proposal had the potential to have a significant impact on the environment and made its decision about method of assessment as required under the Act and Regulations."
In March, the NT government passed legislation giving a bureaucrat the powers to override dozens of laws to fast-track projects of "economic significance".
Under the legislation, the territory coordinator can override regulation associated with the NT Building Act and Environment Protection Act.
Asked whether the territory coordinator could remove regulation requirements at Project Caymus to help get the facility operational, NT Attorney-General Marie Clare Boothby said: "That is something he may want to look at."
Territory coordinator Stuart Knowles said: "There has been no engagement with the territory coordinator in relation to Project Caymus."
The US Department of Defense was contacted for comment and referred the ABC to the Australian government.
The Australian Department of Defence did not respond to the ABC's questions by deadline.
