An independent inquiry into a major dredging project in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area has found environmental conditions on a central Queensland port expansion were too vague to be enforced.

The Federal Government commissioned a scientific inquiry into the Gladstone Port dredging project.

It examined a bund wall that leaked sediment into the harbour from June 2011 to July 2012.

The inquiry has found "aspects of the design and construction of the bund wall were not consistent with industry best practice", and the geotextile layers of the wall eroded under pressure.

The investigation has found water quality monitoring sites in Gladstone were established in the wrong areas, and the federal Environment Department failed to adequately retain compliance records.

It also says environmental conditions imposed by the Commonwealth lacked the specifics necessary to enable their effective enforcement.

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt will hand down the report this morning.

Fishermen in the Gladstone area have been eagerly awaiting the inquiry's findings.

When the bund wall leaked it coincided with an outbreak of fish disease in the harbour and nearby waterways.

However, a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry report released in 2013 found that flooding and a large number of fish spilling out from the Awoonga Dam was the main cause of the problem.