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April 2011
MPNEWS (1300 676 397) or email: team@mpnews.com.au www.mpnews.com.au
Civic warrior gets green send-off A WHO’S who of the region’s environmental and citizen activist movements farewelled Friends of Frankston president Richard Laverack last month at an afternoon soiree in Samuel Sherlock Hall. Richard, an architectural draftsman, is travelling by sea and train to Spain to fulfil a lifelong dream – working on Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí’s famous Sagrada Família church in Barcelona, construction of which started in 1882 and is expected to be completed in 2026. Enjoying a cuppa or beverage were Friends of Frankston founders and members Pat Bentley, Mary McConnell, Cr Alistair Wardle, former Frankston councillor Judy Wachendorfer, Hilary Poad, Jim Kerin, Greg Wishart and incoming president Peter Anscombe. Continued Page 2
Casey may sue over gas tip By Mike Hast CASEY Council is likely to eventually sue Frankston Council for part of Casey’s compensation settlement of $13.5 million for residents of Brookland Greens estate affected by the methane gas leak. Frankston Council chief executive George Modrich has consistently stated Frankston has received legal advice that it is not liable for any remediation costs. More than $100 million is being spent on excavating the tip and installing a clay liner on the two sides closest to homes as well as more gas vents and other works. Frankston Council has already contributed at least $3 million to the clean up costs. Last year Casey asked Frankston for about $10 million. Last year it was reported Frankston
would not be liable as there was a clause in its legal agreement with Casey that allowed it to opt out with no liability if the other party was negligent. The Times believes Frankston will have to find a new law firm as it and Casey used the same one during the class action. Casey Council and the Environment Protection Authority on Friday 25 March agreed to an out-of-court settlement that will see estate residents share $17.5 million after lawyers are paid about $6 million. A class action involving about 750 residents was run by Slater and Gordon, which will receive about $3.9 million of the $6 million legal costs. Casey and the EPA, which agreed to pay $10 million, continue to pursue claims against nine other parties in the Supreme Court.
They include technical consultants and landfill managers who provided advice or managed the landfill on behalf of Casey. Frankston and Casey dumped household rubbish at the Stevensons Rd landfill in Cranbourne until it closed in 2005. In August 2008, the EPA advised about 30 residents to evacuate the estate when methane gas from the former tip, which was operated by Casey on behalf of the two councils, reached dangerous levels. Rubbish dumped by Frankston Council took up 28 per cent of the landfill and now Casey will attempt to force Frankston to pay compensation. The tip was established in 1992 by the former City of Cranbourne at a sand quarry in Stevensons Rd. The first “cell” or hole was filled by 1994 at about the
time when Cranbourne amalgamated with Berwick to form the City of Casey. As sand was extracted and other holes became available, Casey and later Frankston dumped rubbish there. Up to 10 cells were used between 1999 and 2005, but none were lined with clay to stop methane gas escaping. Methane is created by decomposing rubbish. The EPA allowed the tip to operate without lining the cells based on a landfill established by the former City of Camberwell in the 1980s. This tip had a basalt base. By 1994, world’s best practice for landfill management was for tips to be lined. At Stevensons Rd, Casey installed vents after the tip closed, but some methane gas escaped laterally and was detected in a section of the Brookland Greens estate, which was first
established in 1999. In 2004 the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal allowed Brookland Greens developer Peet and Company to reduce a buffer zone between a new part of the estate and the tip from 500 to 200 metres, but in 2008 and 2009, gas was found up to 1000 metres from the old landfill. Casey and the EPA agreed to pay $23.5 million last week, but the deal is yet to be confirmed by estate residents and must be signed off by the Supreme Court by the end of April. About 750 Brookland Greens property owners will get between $6000 and $130,000, with the 30 households evacuated in 2008 expected to get the highest amounts. Some property owners claimed their homes were worth up to $200,000 less at the height of the gas scare.
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