Cockburn Sound Consultation Hub newsletter March 2025

The second edition of the Westport Cockburn Sound Consultation Hub newsletter is out now.

27 March 2025

Consultation on Westport’s Environmental Scoping Document

Following a two-week public comment period, the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has now reviewed and approved Westport’s Environmental Scoping Document.

The Environmental Scoping Document defines the form and content of the Environmental Review Document, which will detail Westport’s environmental impacts and proposed management strategies. The Environmental Review Document is anticipated to be released for public comment in 2026.

For a summary of the State environmental assessment process, watch this 2-minute video. For more information about the next steps visit our environmental impact assessment page.

Public comments received on the Environmental Scoping Document

During the public comment period, 35 public submissions were received. Westport considered each public comment and/or issue raised and made amendments to the Environmental Scoping Document where required. You can review how Westport addressed these submissions in the "Response to Environmental Scoping Document Submissions" document available on the EPA’s Consultation Hub.

You can view the final Environmental Scoping Document here, or on the EPA website under section 3: Assessment and 'Scoping’.

How public comments have influenced the Environmental Scoping Document

Cumulative impacts: it was requested that the cumulative impact assessment specify currently known and reasonably foreseeable projects, and the assessment should consider whether existing projects could still comply with existing approval or Ministerial conditions.

Westport updated the Environmental Scoping Document to strengthen the requirements for the cumulative impact assessment. The Document now also includes an assessment of the spatial extent that Westport may interact with existing operations, including assessing the risk of their non-compliance with any current environmental approval conditions or operational requirements.

Brine dispersion: it was requested the Environmental Scoping Document include an assessment of how the proposal may alter desalination brine dispersion associated with the desalination plant throughout the year.

While this was already included in the Document, Westport amended the wording of the relevant Environmental Scoping Document work item to clarify that potential impacts from Westport's interactions with brine dispersion from the desalination plant will be considered in the impact assessment.

Impacts on businesses and recreational pursuits: Multiple submitters raised the need to ensure an assessment of Westport's impacts on businesses and recreational pursuits in the immediate and adjacent areas to Westport is included in the Environmental Review Document.

This is covered in the work required for the 'Social Surroundings' environmental factor. Westport will assess potential impacts to commercial and recreational activities from changes to the physical or biological environment, including impacts to fish and fisheries.

Emergency management: respondents sought more detail on the monitoring and management of spills, accidents and emergencies during operation.

Westport added a new work item in the Environmental Scoping Document requiring an emergency response plan for construction and operations. This will address elements of the proposal resulting in environmental risks to marine environmental quality (MEQ), including from spills or accidents.

Invasive species: comments called for an assessment of the management of ballast and potential for the introduction of marine pests and invasive species.

Westport amended the relevant sections to expand the assessment to include both marine pests and invasive species. For more information on the work already underway, you can view the WAMSI-Westport Marine Science Program study on invasive marine species .

Thank you to everyone who took the time to make a submission.

Please refer to the "Response to ESD Submissions" document for more information on how these comments were considered. If you have any questions about this process, please respond directly to this email.

Seagrass mapping

Through the WAMSI-Westport Marine Science Program, we now have a detailed map of seagrass habitats from Cockburn Sound through to Gage Roads, including the distribution of different seagrass varieties.

More than 4,000 hectares of seagrass has been mapped across four marine zones – Cockburn Sound, Owen Anchorage, Gage Roads and the northern Deep Water Channel.

This seagrass mapping significantly influenced the design of the port facilities and marine infrastructure, and informs Westport’s avoid, minimise, restore approach:

Your questions answered

Through the registration process for this newsletter we received a range of questions about Westport. We'll try to address as many of these as possible, starting with:

Will the Naval Base shacks be impacted?

No. The Naval Base Holiday Park shacks are located approximately 2.7km north of the new port facilities and will not be impacted by Westport.

Was Geraldton considered as a location for the new port?

Yes. However, studies found that land transport costs between a regional container port and Perth were prohibitive, given most containers had an origin or destination in the Perth metropolitan area. Transporting containers from Geraldton to Perth by truck would create significant additional carbon emissions along with the associated safety risks of high volumes of trucks on the roads.

Why can’t you expand Fremantle Port instead of building in Kwinana?

Options to maintain Fremantle as WA’s main container port have been extensively investigated by Westport. Container trade will continue to grow over the coming decades driven by population and economic growth. The key challenges of remaining in Fremantle while this growth occurs include:

Limited space: the port precinct and surrounding land lack the capacity to support trade growth which would cripple the supply chain in future decades.
Ageing infrastructure: upgrading the port and its transport connections to extend its life by an additional 10 years would require major, disruptive upgrades costing up to $3.4 billion. After this, a shift to Kwinana would still be necessary due to ongoing constraints.
Road and rail limitations: Growing container truck and commuter traffic will require major upgrades, impacting properties and businesses while leaving noise issues unresolved. The single freight rail line to Fremantle Port will reach capacity by the mid-2030s, forcing more containers onto roads. Expanding rail capacity would require an underground line which is cost prohibitive and technically difficult.
Vessel size limitations: due to its width and depth, Fremantle's harbour can only accommodate vessels carrying up to 12,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers. Container ships with a capacity of up to 14,000 TEU containers are expected on shipping routes from 2030 onwards.
Community and safety concerns: by 2051, Fremantle Port would need to accommodate more than double the current truck movements, significantly impacting congestion and liveability on key routes.
Better land use opportunities: Fremantle Port is located on prime land and relocating container trade would unlock opportunities to re-use this land for residential, commercial and tourism purposes.