Tasmanian taxpayers could be slugged with a multi-million dollar bill for a pipeline used to supply water to the Gunns pulp mill planned for northern Tasmania.
The Government is considering whether to declare the pipe to Trevallyn Dam a piece of critical state infrastructure, and pay for its construction.
The Premier, Paul Lennon, says it could also be used by industry and farms to obtain more water for industrial and irrigation uses.
He says the government may also build the effluent pipe from the mill to Bass Strait, which could be used to help dispose of sewage from Launceston.