Moorabool Shire Mayor fears community shut out of toxic West Gate Tunnel soil plan

Sarah Jane Bell

ABC

9 May 2020

A south-west Victorian mayor said he feared his council was being shut out of any decisions around the dumping, in his shire, of contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel project.

Key points:

  • Maddingley Brown Coal Mine (MBC) in Bacchus Marsh is pushing to step up a soil processing facility to take toxic spoil from the West Gate Tunnel Project

  • The community has expressed concern about the facility's likely proximity to a school, market garden and creek.

  • The local mayor fears MBC's latest application to the State Government will shut the council and community out of the decision-making process

Maddingley Brown Coal Mine (MBC) in Bacchus Marsh has applied to the State Government for a permit that would allow it to store, categorise and dispose of toxic spoil from the tunnel.

MBC is considered one of the frontrunners to take on the contaminated soil, and this is the latest step in its plans to open a soil processing facility in the mine.

A community group has formed in Bacchus Marsh to oppose the plans.

A State Government spokesperson said Planning Minister Richard Wynne would "consider all relevant matters under the planning laws (and) no decisions have been made".

MBC wants to store, categorise and dispose of toxic spoil from the tunnel.(Supplied: West Gate Tunnel Project)

Moorabool Shire Mayor David Edwards said he feared MBC's latest move would mean his council and the local community would not have any input on the issue.

"If the Minister is to accept that application (from MBC) it will bypass council, which means the community won't get an opportunity to be properly consulted with," Cr Edwards said.

"There's a lot of fear within the community about what this might mean to the reputation of our market gardens, what this might mean to the reputation of our towns, our schools.

"We're concerned there's a lot of pressure on the West Gate Tunnel Project to proceed in a hurry, and we're concerned that proper due process won't be followed and the Government will be rushed into making a decision that the residents of Bacchus Marsh might have to live with."

Bacchus Marsh residents have held protest rallies to air their concerns about the location of the proposed soil processing facility, saying it is within close proximity to a school, a market garden and a creek.

A State Government spokesperson said the EPA would also need to sign off on MBC's application.

The Maddingley Brown Coal Mine site is used for some landfill.(Supplied: Ben Courtice/Moorabool Environment Group)

Shadow minister for transport infrastructure David Davis said that if MBC's application was successful, it would take planning powers away from the local community.

"This is clearly an attempt to get around the council and the community," Mr Davis said.

Liberal Party MP for Western Region Bev McArthur said that MBC's application was "a shocking development".

"MBC have gone behind the backs of the Bacchus Marsh community and Moorabool Shire Council — they promised transparency at every stage, yet informed no one of this latest bid," she said.

MBC have said they are consulting with the community over their plans.