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20 APRIL, 2021
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Soil sign-off anger By Tara Murray and Laura Michell Moorabool Environment Group is considering further legal action after the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) signed off on a plan that paves the way for toxic soil to be dumped in Bacchus Marsh. Maddingley Brown Coal’s (MBC) Environment Management Plan (EMP) for the storage of West Gate Tunnel Project spoil at the Western Soil Treatment facility was approved last week. In approving the EMP, the EPA found that MBC had appropriate measures in place to keep the environment and community safe. It’s the second time the EMP has been approved, after the EPA reversed its approval for the site’s original EMP last December after it was found to be unlawful.
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angry about plans to store this soil so close to schools and market gardens - Tom Sullivan
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Moorabool Environment Group president Jodie Valpied said they were considering all options to oppose the EPA’s decision. The group is also pursuing legal action in the Supreme Court of Victoria seeking to overturn Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s decision to amend the Moorabool Planning Scheme so the PFAS and asbestos-riddled soil could be dumped in Bacchus Marsh. Dr Valpied said the group had been told by the EPA that it “did not consider that it had any obligation to consult the community“. “Given the high impact of this decision on our community, we should have been consulted. There have been some phone calls with some community stakeholders, but concerns raised weren’t taken on board,“ she said. Moorabool mayor Tom Sullivan also criticised the EPA for not consulting with the community. “Council has been concerned all along with the total lack of community consultation and today’s decision by the EPA fails to alleviate our concerns,” Cr Sullivan said. “Bacchus Marsh residents are angry about
Moorabool Environment Group’s Jodie Valpied and David Laffy at Bacchus Marsh. (Damjan Janevski) 234309_01
plans to store this spoil so close to schools and market gardens and it is extremely disappointing that neither the minister for planning nor the EPA have properly consulted them about this.” An EPA spokesperson said the authority’s decision was based on a scientific assessment of
the EMP. “Wider consultation of the community is built into other parts of the overall government process, including the relevant planning scheme amendment,“ the spokesperson said. “EPA’s approval sets strict requirements to protect the environment and the health of the
community that these sites would have to meet if they are selected to take tunnel soil from the project.“ The approval of an EMP does not mark the final decision on where the spoil will be sent. Project manager Transurban will make the final decision.
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