Environmental concerns are intensifying over a spoil pond at Port Hinchinbrook in Queensland.

Environmentalists have called for immediate government intervention to repair a two-metre-deep breach in a local bund wall. 

The site, located near Hinchinbrook Island and bordering the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, was historically used to store potentially hazardous dredge spoil. 

There are concerns that a hole in the wall is allowing toxins, including acid sulfate soils and heavy metals, to leach into the environment.

The property is currently managed by a liquidator after the site's latest developer folded. The liquidator, Michael Brennan, stated the company that owned it lacks funds for repairs and has urged the Queensland government to acquire the land, citing ongoing environmental and commercial issues. 

The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation placed an environmental order on the liquidator in 2022, but progress remains slow. 

Efforts to dredge Port Hinchinbrook’s clogged channel resumed this month with $1.5 million in federal emergency funding, but the spoil’s disposal remains unresolved. 

The local government says Lot 170 - where the breach is located - is not under consideration as a disposal site, citing its existing contamination issues.

The Queensland government is reportedly reviewing potential remediation strategies for the site. 

More details are accessible here.

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