By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
On Monday 29 August, EPA Victoria announced that it had revoked the approval granted to MBC back in April 2021, for its resubmitted proposal.<\/p>\n
The approval was revoked at the request of MBC itself, after their bid to store the soil was unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
Hi-Quality\u2019s Bulla site, near Sunbury, was selected as the preferred site in June 2021, over both MBC\u2019s site and the Cleanaway site in Melton.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMEG is relieved that there will no longer be holding bays built right where endangered growling grass frogs are, that was part of MBC\u2019s 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\u2019s connection to important waterways,\u201d Dr Valpied told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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 \u2013 they should not have been treated the way they were and still are.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a report published on 31 May this year, Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass slammed the EPA\u2019s approval process for the three sites, arguing the local communities were \u201cleft in the dark\u201d, and the EPA only \u201cachieved the bare minimum required by legislation\u201d in terms of its obligations to consult the community.<\/p>\n
Dr Valpied said those findings echoed what the three affected communities had been saying all along.<\/p>\n
\u201cMEG agree with the Ombudsman\u2019s critique of the EPA\u2019s handling of this issue. We hope the EPA will implement her recommendations with sincerity and transparency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA 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\u2019t happen, yet they have happened. Even though it\u2019s not coming here, it\u2019s still not good that it\u2019s going to Bulla either, and a lot of the promises that were made regarding sealed trucks have been broken.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. […]<\/p>\n