The spoil from the West Gate Tunnel Project could soon be on its way to Maddingley. On Tuesday Maddingley Brown Coal had a proposal ticked off by the Environmental Protection Authority to allow spoil on the site.

While the EPA is not responsible for the final decision, they will be watching all sites closely. The EPA is not responsible for the final decision. The final decision remains with Planning Minister Richard Wynne

Facebook group ‘Bacchus Marsh says NO to Toxic Waste’ said in a post today they are incredibly disappointed with today’s developments.

“We are still working with Moorabool Environmental Group to be able to make it clear that the MBC site isn’t a suitable location for 1.5 million tonnes of soil that will DECimate our town and our farming communities.”

Moorabool says NO to Toxic Waste – Facebook Page

Months have passed with jobs losses and huge additional cost to the project as a result of the toxic soil issue, an issue that the government is said to have known about in 2015. It has also caused a massive delay to the Project which is now scheduled for completion in 2023.

We had a chat to Kat Barlow, the spokesperson for BM PFAS Coalition about todays news, She said, “The very people who are responsible for protecting the environment and human health impacts are saying that this site, (MBC) is suitable for millions of tonnes of toxic waste.

“This is despite the fact that that waterways that runs through the MBC site are also used to irrigate hundreds of tonnes of produce a week that comes out of Bacchus Marsh.

“That produce then makes its way to every single Coles supermarket in Australia including Tasmania. If the PFAS from the soil was to leach into that waterway all those fruits and vegetables would become contaminated.

“Just like other sites in Australia, who have been told not to eat to eat the fruit and vegetables they grow because they have been grown in PFAS contaminated water, Bacchus Marsh grown produce now faces the same fate.

“It’s a shocking decision. While a motion to disallow the regulations for the tunnel boring soil is pending for debate tomorrow in the legislative council. The EPA is creating a legal mess by providing approvals under regulations that may be disallowed the next day”

Maddingley Brown Coal (Maddingley), Hi-Quality Group (Bulla) and Cleanaway (Ravenhall) have all got applications in to handle the spoil from the Project. All have community groups fighting against the treatment of the spoil in their backyard.

It's with incredible disappointment that we share what we've learnt today.The EPA has approved Environment Management…

Posted by Bacchus Marsh says NO to Toxic Waste on Monday, 31 August 2020

The Moorabool Shire Council Mayor, Cr David Edwards has also released a Facebook post declaring the council and community have not been consulted. He said council have been stonewalled and and blocked from receiving the environmental documentation that outlines the potential impact to the community.

Moorabool Shire Council is extremely disappointed to hear that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has approved the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for Maddingley Brown Coal (MBC) to accept, store and categorise contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel Project.

Mayor Cr David Edwards

ℹ️Statement from Mayor Cr David Edwards:Moorabool Shire Council is extremely disappointed to hear that the Environment…

Posted by Moorabool Shire Council on Monday, 31 August 2020

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Dev
Author: Dev