Coal port expansion near Great Barrier Reef wins approval

Australia's federal government formally approved a plan on Tuesday to dredge vast swathes of seabed sediment from an area near the Great Barrier Reef as part of a major coal port expansion, after rejecting arguments by environmentalists that it will hurt the area's fragile ecosystem.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt initially approved the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port in Queensland in 2013, but the process has been repeatedly delayed and the plan repeatedly revised amid protests by conservation groups.

The expansion requires a massive dredging operation to make way for ships entering and exiting the port, which is located 20 kilometers from the nearest coral reef. The original plan called for more than 3 million cubic meters of dredged mud to be dumped on the reef.