NEARLY 30 Port Douglas slipway users have met with Douglas Shire Council and members of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines to discuss the current closure of the facility.

The slipway has been closed since April for not meeting its environmental obligations which has affected many local users and businesses.

The council again said in a statement yesterday that they’d provided advice to The Reef Marina - the operators of the slip - on methods that could be used to make the facility compliant, and were still waiting for a response. Better waste management is believed to be one of the key conditions of the Environmental Authority, which was also reported last month.

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The marina has been waiting for an engineers report to be completed before determining its next course of action.

Mayor Julia Leu, who chaired the meeting yesterday, said in a statement that the onus was on the marina to meet its environmental requirements and reopen the slipway as soon as possible or risk being in breach of its lease conditions, and possibly face action in relation to the lease by the lessor, the State Government.