The ‘whole kit and caboodle’ here?

By Caitlin Bewley and Kate Taylor

Rumours are circulating of a potential dumping site in Bacchus Marsh for contaminated soil coming from the West Gate Tunnel Project.
The Maddingley Brown Coal Mine is one of three locations being thrown around by mainstream media as a potential site for the soil.
Moorabool Shire Mayor Cr David Edwards is not happy despite numerous requests for information from relevant government departments.
“We have also asked to be consulted before any decisions are made,” he said.
“The lack of consultation to date has been disappointing. Council is urgently seeking a meeting with the Minister for Transport Infrastructure to ensure the process is far more transparent than it has been to date.”
Cr Edwards told the Moorabool News Council has communicated key issues for consideration about the risks associated with contaminated soil to our community, the environment, and the impact to traffic and safety on our roads.
It is believed possible dangers to these industries may come from the alleged low level PFAs and small amounts of asbestos found in surrounding areas of the Tunnel Project’s soil.
Maddingley Brown Coal responded to questions from the Moorabool News and said they “are working to develop a proposal to receive, manage and dispose of the West Gate Tunnel Project soil in line with best practice.”
“However, as this is a competitive commercial process, we are not able to provide further details,” a spokesperson from MBC said.
A response from a government spokesperson for Minister for Major Projects Jacinta Allan and local MPs Steve McGhie and Michaela Settle, told the Moorabool News, “no decision has been made on a site.”
“Transurban and its builder are working with the EPA and Worksafe to ensure contaminated soil is managed and removed safely,” the spokesperson said.
The proposed dump site is the same property, owned by Maddingly Brown Coal, for which the idea of a putrescible waste dump was floated last year however, the permit amendment was abandoned.