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JANUARY 19, 2021 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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(Damjan Janevski) 225056_01
Making a splash Children across Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs made the most of the hot weather last week, flocking to local swimming pools. After a milder than usual beginning to summer, the mercury soared past 30 degrees on multiple days. Many pools – both indoor and outdoor – reported lockouts and queues of people waiting to get in because of COVID-19-related patron limits. With more warm days forecast for this week, swimming pools are expecting to be full as families make the most of their free time before school returns. ISLAH, 5, AMAIA, 4, AND ROME, 6
Tara Murray
Soil bid lodged again By Jessica Micallef
It’s school holidays,
process, Hi-Quality requires approval from the state government on its Planning Scheme Amendment, and the competitive tender for the contract is still ongoing,” Mr Ingrams said. In November last year, Planning Minister Richard Wynne approved Maddingley Brown Coal and Cleanaway’s Planning Scheme Amendments to receive and store toxic soil from the West Gate Tunnel project in Bacchus Marsh and Ravenhall. A decision was not made for Hi-Quality’s proposal to send PFAS and asbestos-contaminated soil to the Sunbury Eco-Hub in Bulla. Transurban, the site operators of the West Gate Tunnel Project, will decide where the soil is to be processed.
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Mr O’Neill said residents only found out about the resubmission on January 8. “We knew this was going to happen, so it’s not news to us, but we are disappointed with how they have done it, without engaging with the community in any way whatsoever,” he said. “There has been no genuine attempt to engage with the community apart from an online portal. “All we need Hi-Quality to do is to make an attempt to speak with us and genuinely want to hear from us but they haven’t even tried.” The EPA is currently reviewing Hi-Quality’s EMP and an outcome is expected in the coming weeks. “While this is an important step in the
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Sunbury and Bulla residents have been left disappointed by the lack of community consultation, as the prospect of toxic soil from the West Gate Tunnel Project being dumped in Bulla moves a step closer. Waste management and recycling company Hi-Quality has resubmitted it’s Environment Management Plan (EMP) to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for approval to send soil to the Sunbury Eco-Hub in Bulla. The company’s original EMP was approved in September. However, Hi-Quality’s Victorian regional manager Lance Ingrams said they were invited by the EPA to resubmit the
EMP last month, after a legal review into the regulator’s process resulted in all tenderers’ EMP approvals being revoked. “Hi-Quality developed it’s EMP with a commitment to upholding its environmental standards,” Mr Ingrams said. “As a result of the quality of the submission, Hi-Quality was able to resubmit its complete EMP prior to Christmas as all information required had previously been submitted and approved by the regulator.” Sunbury resident and creator of the Sunbury Against Toxic Soil Facebook group, Chris O’Neill said there had been no “genuine attempt” from Hi-Quality to engage with the community regarding the resubmission.
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