Unsuccessful bid sees approval revoked

By Lachlan Ellis

Maddingley Brown Coal (MBC) has had its approval to store contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel Project revoked, almost two years after its initial proposal was approved.

On Monday 29 August, EPA Victoria announced that it had revoked the approval granted to MBC back in April 2021, for its resubmitted proposal.

The approval was revoked at the request of MBC itself, after their bid to store the soil was unsuccessful.

Hi-Quality’s Bulla site, near Sunbury, was selected as the preferred site in June 2021, over both MBC’s site and the Cleanaway site in Melton.

The Moorabool Environment Group (MEG) and other community groups, both in Moorabool and near the other two proposed storage sites, have protested storage of the soil near their communities for over two years.

Jodie Valpied is Vice President of MEG, and said that while it was a relief to see the long battle come to an end, none of the three sites should have been approved in the first place.

“MEG is relieved that there will no longer be holding bays built right where endangered growling grass frogs are, that was part of MBC’s plan. We maintain that the site was not appropriate for this type of facility given the presence of those growling grass frogs, its close proximity to residences and schools, and the site’s connection to important waterways,” Dr Valpied told the Moorabool News.

“We think this announcement by the EPA can give the Bacchus Marsh community some good closure on the issue after such a long and difficult fight over the past few years. We still stand with the Bulla and Sunbury communities, where the spoil is now going – they should not have been treated the way they were and still are.”

In a report published on 31 May this year, Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass slammed the EPA’s approval process for the three sites, arguing the local communities were “left in the dark”, and the EPA only “achieved the bare minimum required by legislation” in terms of its obligations to consult the community.

Dr Valpied said those findings echoed what the three affected communities had been saying all along.

“MEG agree with the Ombudsman’s critique of the EPA’s handling of this issue. We hope the EPA will implement her recommendations with sincerity and transparency,” she said.

“A more appropriate solution for disposing of the spoil should have been found. For example, the truck spillages that have occurred on route to the storage site are things we were told wouldn’t happen, yet they have happened. Even though it’s not coming here, it’s still not good that it’s going to Bulla either, and a lot of the promises that were made regarding sealed trucks have been broken.”