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  "description": "Alcoa acknowledged it destroyed the known habitat of protected species, including black cockatoos, quokkas and numbats.",
  "path": "/feds-probe-more-illegal-clearing-by-alcoa-after-deliberate-repeat-destruction-of-jarrah-forest/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-14T21:30:38.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.boilingcold.com.au",
  "tags": [
    "talking points",
    "record $55 million settlement",
    "threatens Perth's water supply",
    "none of which the company has rehabilitated",
    "mercury-laden emissions",
    "contaminated groundwater",
    "unstable toxic bauxite residue",
    "Doubling of mercury emissions from Alcoa Wagerup prompts appeals“The government is allowing Alcoa to do whatever they friggin want,” according to a long-term campaigner for better regulation of WA’s alumina refineries.Boiling ColdPeter Milne",
    "\"number one\" lever",
    "Alcoa acknowledged",
    "undertaking",
    "considers",
    "gallium plant",
    "reporting on Alcoa",
    "Jean Hort",
    "Noah B Marshall",
    "Maclearite",
    "Warren Garst",
    "Brett Vercoe",
    "Seashalia",
    "Patrick Kavanagh"
  ],
  "textContent": "EXCLUSIVE\n\nAlcoa's strip mining of WA's jarrah forest is under further investigation after its \"deliberate repeat breach\" of environmental laws that destroyed habitat for protected species and cost it $40 million to avoid prosecution.\n\nThe ongoing probe into Alcoa's clearing at its Willowdale mine was revealed in talking points for Federal Ministers prepared ahead of the February announcement of a record $55 million settlement for clearing at its Huntly mine.\n\nNews of another Federal probe piles more pressure on Alcoa's bauxite mining in south west WA, which threatens Perth's water supply, has destroyed about 280 sq km of jarrah forest, none of which the company has rehabilitated in sixty years, and when refined into alumina, results in mercury-laden emissions, contaminated groundwater and millions of tonnes of unstable toxic bauxite residue.\n\nDoubling of mercury emissions from Alcoa Wagerup prompts appeals“The government is allowing Alcoa to do whatever they friggin want,” according to a long-term campaigner for better regulation of WA’s alumina refineries.Boiling ColdPeter Milne\n\nAlcoa is pushing the WA and Federal Governments to approve an expansion of its northern Huntly mine, much of it around Perth's largest drinking water dam, the Serpentine.\n\n> Chief executive Bill Oplinger calls permission to strip mine more of WA's jarrah forest his \"number one\" lever to boost the earnings of the $25 billion company.\n\nThe February deal included Alcoa spending $40 million to remedy what the Government called \"a deliberate repeat breach—318 hectares cleared while under investigation\" in 2023 and 2024, according to the talking points released in response to a freedom of information request.\n\nJess Boyce, director of the WA Forest Alliance, said the Federal Government's labelling of Alcoa's clearing as a \"deliberate repeat breach\" indicates the company was \"well aware that it was acting with blatant disregard for environmental law.\"\n\n\"The question is, why did the Federal Government not only let this continue for two years, rather than halt clearing, but has now given Alcoa an exemption to continue clearing despite proving it can’t be trusted?\"\n\nAlcoa acknowledged it destroyed the known habitat of protected species, but denied it breached the law.\n\nThe breach created an \"offset liability of 3000 hectares\", and the Federal Government has imposed an enforceable undertaking on Alcoa to spend at least $40 million on land purchases by the end of 2026.\n\nAnother undertaking to spend $15 milion covers Alcoa clearing 1777 hectares of jarrah forest - equivalent to four of Perth's Kings Park - from 2019 to 2023.\n\n* * *\n\n⛏️\n\nAlcoa's clearing at Huntly destroyed known habitat of:\n- Baudin's Black-cockatoo - endangered\n- Carnaby's Black-cockatoo - endangered\n- Forest Red-tailed Black-cockatoo or Karrak  __-__ vulnerable\n- Woylie - endangered\n- Chuditch or Western Quell  __-__ vulnerable\n- Numbat  __(WA's fauna emblem) -__ endangered\n-Quokka  __-__ vulnerable\n\n> The Australian environment minister \"considers that the action taken by Alcoa has contravened a civil penalty ... (and) has had, or is likely to have had, **a significant impact** **on listed endangered and vulnerable species**.\n\n* * *\n\nAn Alcoa spokesman said its mining, which started in the early 1960s, has historically been undertaken in accordance with WA legislation.\n\n\"Our operations predate the (Federal) EPBC Act, and we have always maintained we were operating under grandfathering provisions (Section 43B “continuing use” at Huntly and Section 43A “prior authorisation” at Willowdale) of the Act\", he said in a statement to _Boiling Cold._\n\n\"Section 43B was amended as part of the recent package of revisions made by the Government to the EPBC Act, meaning it could no longer be relied on at Huntly. Section 43A remains in the Act and was unchanged.\"\n\nThe Huntly mine, which is mainly in water catchments, supplies Alcoa's Pinjarra alumina refinery.\n\nThe newly revealed investigation is into possible illegal clearing at Alcoa's southern Willowdale mine, which feeds its Wagerup refinery, where a gallium plant backed by the Australian, Japanese and US governments is planned.\n\n****Alcoa's lease extends well beyond its current mining at Huntly (red) and Willowdale (pink).**** Image: Alcoa EPA submission\n\nA spokeswoman for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water said its investigation into land clearing at Alcoa's Willowdale mine is ongoing and it would not comment further.\n\n## Alcoa cleared by three state probes\n\nAlcoa was also under investigation by WA authorities for three alleged violations of restrictions on clearing near trees suitable for black cockatoo nests.\n\nIf just one breach was proven, it would invalidate the 2023 exemption to the Environmental Protection Act's prohibition on conducting an activity that is under review by WA's environmental watchdog, the EPA.\n\nMuch of Alcoa's mining in WA would have had to cease immediately unless the Cook Labor Government granted another exemption.\n\nThe possible breaches were reported to authorities by Greens WA upper house member Jess Beckerling earlier this year.\n\nA spokesman for the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation said it had conducted a thorough investigation into the alleged breaches and found insufficient evidence to substantiate the claims.\n\nOn Friday evening two of the investigation reports were tabled in the WA Parliament.\n\nBeckerling said the 59,000 submissions to the EPA about Alcoa's proposed expansion indicated a \"profound level of discontent with continued clearing of the highly biodiverse Northern Jarrah Forests.\"\n\n\"We have a serious problem in this country with multinational corporations destroying places we love and our laws and governments being completely inadequate to rein them in,\" she said.\n\n__Boiling Cold__ 's unrivalled reporting on Alcoa is free for all to read, maximising impact and accountability.\n\nI need your backing to keep covering stories that would otherwise go unreported.\n\nSupport independent journalism in WA\n\n* * *\n\n**Updates**\n\n15 May - After inital publication, the Department of Water and Environmantal Regulation released a statement that it had found insufficient evidence to substantiate the claims reported by Beckerling. The story was updated to reflect this.\n\n* * *\n\n**Image credits**\n\nBaudin's Black-cockatoo - Jean Hort\nCarnaby's Black-cockatoo - Noah B Marshall\nForest Red-tailed Black-cockatoo - Maclearite\nWoylie -Warren Garst\nChuditch or Western Quell - Brett Vercoe\nNumbat - Seashalia\nQuokka - Patrick Kavanagh",
  "title": "Feds probe more illegal clearing by Alcoa after 'deliberate repeat’ destruction of jarrah forest",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-20T02:15:05.939Z"
}