The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area faces a critical challenge presented by Hydro Tasmania. Environmental conditions have been breached, threatening delicate ecosystems and unique biodiversity. The legacy of Lake Pedder, the Huon and Serpentine Valleys — a pristine alpine environment drowned for hydroelectric development — reminds us of irreversible damage when environmental concerns are ignored.
What’s going on at Lake Pedder?
Hydro Tasmania plans to spend millions of dollars of public money strengthening the Edgar Dam to reduce its chances of breaching during an earthquake. Hydro estimates the strengthening of Edgar Dam will cost $35million (likely to be exceeded), and Scotts Peak to land anywhere between $50-100million.
Edgar Dam is one of three dams containing the impoundment, built in 1972 as part of the Gordon-Pedder scheme, and the first to begin strengthening works over 50 years on.
The strengthening project began in January 2025 and is expected to continue until mid-2026. The risk of a major earthquake (6.8 magnitude or greater) on the Lake Edgar Fault is around a 1 in 10,000 event, or 0.0001 in any year. The risk to downstream communities is exponential. If Edgar Dam were to fail, flood waters could reach up to 9 meters in the downstream town of Huonville. If Scotts Peak were to also fail, waters could reach up to 15 meters even days after the events.
Why are we concerned?
Restore Pedder has raised extensive concerns about the Edgar Dam Works across multiple fronts:
Federal Environmental Law Violations: Public submissions during the consultation process stated that these works need to be a controlled action under the EPBC Act due to impacts on the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. These concerns were dismissed and the Edgar Dam Works were listed as uncontrolled. Both the Restore Pedder campaign and the Greens have written to Federal Environmental Minister Tanya Plibersek, calling for urgent intervention due to allegations that Hydro Tasmania is breaching Federal environmental conditions. No apparent investigation or intervention has been carried out by the department, with no repercussions for Hydro Tasmania.
Endangered Species Impact: The Lake Pedder Restoration Committee appealed the Edgar Dam ‘strengthening’ works permit, with confirmation the works site is habitat for threatened flora and fauna species. The construction activities pose direct threats to unique native plant and animal populations in an area of high conservation significance.
World Heritage Area Impacts: The Edgar Dam Works are occurring within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, raising serious questions about whether proper environmental assessments have been conducted. The failure to trigger federal environmental approval processes suggests potential regulatory gaps in protecting this globally significant landscape.
Legal Process Concerns: The rushed approval and commencement of works without addressing environmental appeals demonstrates a concerning disregard for proper legal and environmental processes. The project proceeded despite ongoing legal challenges and unresolved questions about compliance with federal environmental law.
Precedent Setting: Allowing these works to proceed without proper environmental oversight sets a dangerous precedent for future developments in Tasmania’s protected areas, potentially undermining the integrity of environmental protection laws more broadly.
Cost-Benefit Questions: The expenditure on strengthening infrastructure for a dam that contributes minimal power generation raises questions about whether this represents the best use of public funds, particularly when restoration alternatives exist with possible exponential environmental, climate, and socioeconomic benefits.
Why should we decommission the dams?
Instead of strengthening Edgar Dam, the Restore Lake Pedder campaign advocates for:
- Ecological Restoration: Restoring beneficial and unique ecosystems within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, restoring both ecological and world heritage value to the area
- Economic Sense: Avoiding $85million to $135million expenditure on aging infrastructure when the dam contributes minimal power output
- Heritage Value: Restoring one of Tasmania’s most iconic natural features, along with the surrounding ecosystems including temperate rainforest, grasslands and peatlands, that was lost over 50 years ago
- Climate Action: Demonstrating genuine commitment to environmental restoration rather than perpetuating past environmental damage and Tasmania’s legacy of extractivism
How You Can Help
The Edgar Dam Works represent potentially the last opportunity to restore Lake Pedder without the additional complexity and cost of dismantling newly upgraded infrastructure. Every voice matters in this critical period for Tasmania’s environmental heritage.
Restore Lake Pedder 