New funding to clean up flood debris

THE flood cleanup and recovery in the Lismore area has received a significant boost, with Lismore City Council getting a grant of $928,350 from the NSW Environment

Protection Authority (EPA) to remove absestos contaminated debris from public land.

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin said cleaning up after disasters such as the 2022 flood takes time.

“Natural disaster clean-up and recovery is a long-term process. Those with experience of disaster recovery will know that bulky and contaminated waste often remains for some time after the initial clean-up,” Ms Saffin said. “Often this waste isn’t revealed until way down the recovery track, so this money is very timely.”

Ms Saffin said the city was

awarded the grant under Round 2 of the EPA’s Illegal Dumping and Flood

Waste Recovery Program, which is designed to help public authorities resolve flood waste issues remaining after the initial clean-up phase, including illegally dumped flood waste and bulky

flood waste.

“Lismore City Council will use the grant money to safely remove and dispose of residual fragments of flood waste containing asbestos. The clean-up works will be project managed by the council using specially trained local contractors and are expected to be completed in 2025.

“Significant amounts of hazardous debris were generated by severe flooding events that inundated the Northern Rivers in the early months

of 2022.

“The EPA has led several clean-up and recovery programs in the region to ensure waste left behind following the floods is removed safely and efficiently.”

Lismore mayor Steve Krieg thanked the EPA and the state government for the grant.

“As everyone knows, the 2022 natural disaster did a great deal of damage to the natural environment as well as the built environment,” Cr Krieg said.

“The grant is specifically intended to cover the removal of flood-generated waste containing asbestos that has been found on public land in the Lismore LGA which will make a safer place to live, work and raise a family.”