Channel deepening in Port Phillip Bay seems unavoidable now

DIVING operators are gearing up to sue the Port of Melbourne Corporation over the damage they say will be done to their industry by channel deepening.

Premier John Brumby said yesterday he expected bay dredging to start in January. The Port Corporation had put together a "watertight" case for channel deepening, he said, and should be allowed to proceed.

But the diving industry disagrees. Divers reacted angrily this week to the State Government's decision to give conditional approval to the project, which will enable larger ships to enter Port Phillip Bay.

The Government has admitted that the diving industry faces up to $14.6 million in economic damage.

"We will have a pretty clear-cut case for compensation," said Jason Salter, director of Dive Victoria, which is the state's largest employer of diving instructors with around 50 staff.

"In Portsea and Queenscliff, where we are, we are directly in the line of the dredge," he said. "But even suburban dive shops are going to be affected."

Diving sites around the bay will be affected for up to 15 months, because of huge plumes of sediment that will be stirred up by dredging.

More at The Age on-line:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/deeply-unimpressed/2007/11/01/1193619061354.html

Contributed by Tim Hochgrebe added 2007-11-09