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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/nov/15/queensland-may-pursue-linc-executives-for-cleanup-costs
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| Queensland may pursue Linc executives for cleanup costs Queensland may pursue Linc executives for cleanup costs | |
| (21 days later) | |
| The Queensland government may use its new power to pursue executives of Linc Energy for the cost of cleaning up its failed underground coal gasification site if the fallen company’s coffers are used up paying out employee entitlements. | The Queensland government may use its new power to pursue executives of Linc Energy for the cost of cleaning up its failed underground coal gasification site if the fallen company’s coffers are used up paying out employee entitlements. |
| Liquidators of Linc are challenging in court an environmental protection order (EPO) for the company to fund rehabilitation of alleged serious contamination of farmland around its trial plant near Chinchilla, west of Brisbane. | Liquidators of Linc are challenging in court an environmental protection order (EPO) for the company to fund rehabilitation of alleged serious contamination of farmland around its trial plant near Chinchilla, west of Brisbane. |
| Queensland taxpayers risk being left with the bill if the court agrees with liquidator PPB Advisory that Linc, which faces charges of breaching its environmental licence, cannot afford the cleanup. | Queensland taxpayers risk being left with the bill if the court agrees with liquidator PPB Advisory that Linc, which faces charges of breaching its environmental licence, cannot afford the cleanup. |
| A spokesman for the environment minister, Steven Miles, told Guardian Australia that the government would have scope to seek to recover those costs from individual executives of Linc if the liquidator prevailed. | A spokesman for the environment minister, Steven Miles, told Guardian Australia that the government would have scope to seek to recover those costs from individual executives of Linc if the liquidator prevailed. |
| The former Linc chief executive Peter Bond, who remains the owner of a Dunk Island resort in which he has reportedly invested $27.5m, has been separately issued with an EPO under Queensland’s “chain of responsibility” laws passed in April. | The former Linc chief executive Peter Bond, who remains the owner of a Dunk Island resort in which he has reportedly invested $27.5m, has been separately issued with an EPO under Queensland’s “chain of responsibility” laws passed in April. |
| Bond has challenged the EPO, which demanded he take steps to begin rehabilitation and give a $5.5m bond to the environment department, in the planning and environment court. | Bond has challenged the EPO, which demanded he take steps to begin rehabilitation and give a $5.5m bond to the environment department, in the planning and environment court. |
| Linc was charged after the state’s biggest environmental investigation allegedly found that hundreds of square kilometres of land were at risk from toxic chemicals and explosive gases that escaped from its UCG plant. | Linc was charged after the state’s biggest environmental investigation allegedly found that hundreds of square kilometres of land were at risk from toxic chemicals and explosive gases that escaped from its UCG plant. |
| The environment department last Friday brought charges against another four former Linc executives, as well as three fresh charges against Bond. | The environment department last Friday brought charges against another four former Linc executives, as well as three fresh charges against Bond. |
| Former Linc general managers, Donald Schofield and Darryl Rattai, and former chief operating officers Stephen Dumble and Jacobus Terblanche, as well as Bond, face the risk of up to five years’ jail if convicted of failing to ensure Linc complied with the Environmental Protection Act. | Former Linc general managers, Donald Schofield and Darryl Rattai, and former chief operating officers Stephen Dumble and Jacobus Terblanche, as well as Bond, face the risk of up to five years’ jail if convicted of failing to ensure Linc complied with the Environmental Protection Act. |
| The company faces a total maximum penalty of $8.8m if convicted on five charges of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm in the Brisbane district court. | The company faces a total maximum penalty of $8.8m if convicted on five charges of wilfully and unlawfully causing serious environmental harm in the Brisbane district court. |
| Lawyers for PPB advisory said in court documents that “ongoing compliance with the EPOs would have required Linc Energy to incur significant costs”, the ABC reported. | Lawyers for PPB advisory said in court documents that “ongoing compliance with the EPOs would have required Linc Energy to incur significant costs”, the ABC reported. |
| The company might not even have enough money to make priority payments to Linc employees in a winding up, the lawyers said. | The company might not even have enough money to make priority payments to Linc employees in a winding up, the lawyers said. |
| Miles told the ABC the case showed the significance of his government’s chain-of-responsibility reforms in protecting taxpayers from the costs of failed resource projects. | Miles told the ABC the case showed the significance of his government’s chain-of-responsibility reforms in protecting taxpayers from the costs of failed resource projects. |
| “If we don’t recover cleanup costs from the company involved, it is the taxpayer who ultimately pays,” he said. | “If we don’t recover cleanup costs from the company involved, it is the taxpayer who ultimately pays,” he said. |
| “Environmental legislation in Queensland is based on the principle that the polluter should pay.” | “Environmental legislation in Queensland is based on the principle that the polluter should pay.” |
| Under the laws, the environment department can extend responsibility for rehabilitation of contaminated and discontinued industrial and mining sites to a “related person” if a company goes under. | Under the laws, the environment department can extend responsibility for rehabilitation of contaminated and discontinued industrial and mining sites to a “related person” if a company goes under. |