Download the complete article in PDF format.
Draft PRP 4.2 Monitoring Report – 24 May
ARTC strongly refutes claims in today’s media that the Pollution Reduction Program 4.2: Particulate Emissions from Coal Trains report, conducted by an expert environmental consulting group was doctored.
At no time did ARTC request any changes to the data or statistical analysis in any of the drafts of the report.
ARTC engaged environmental consultants to undertake this study on our behalf to satisfy the terms of our licence with the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA).
The work plan, draft and final reports were provided to the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) for their review and comment before its final release.
The environmental consultants that undertook the research and prepared the reports on ARTC’s behalf corrected their technical calculations while preparing the final report and adjusted their findings accordingly. Some comments provided by the NSW EPA also resulted in changes to the final report.
Both the draft report and the final report concluded that: “Loaded coal trains operating on the Hunter Valley rail network, when measured at Metford, did not have a statistically stronger association with elevated particulate matter concentrations than other trains.”
This finding is consistent with the first report conducted by a different environmental consultant and released in September 2012.
ARTC will be publishing the 24 May 2013 draft report on its website later today.