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Council calls on Gippsland Water to inform the community

Wellington Shire Council has called on Gippsland Water to come clean on its sudden push to get Works Approval for Stage 3 of the proposed Soil and Organic Recycling Facility (SORF) at Dutson Downs in the next eight weeks.

By Wellington Shire Council - 23rd September 2005 - Back to News

Wellington Mayor Peter Gault said the latest proposal and timeframe was contrary to community expectations and totally unacceptable.

Cr Gault said: "The Council and the community know very little about exactly what Gippsland Water has planned for Stage 3 of the facility."

The Mayor said the Council was supportive of the stage 1 and 2 proposals when they were initially presented by Gippsland Water.

"At a briefing Gippsland Water gave us in July, they said stages 1 and 2 involved the treatment of various liquid and solid organic waste streams and contaminated soils using in-vessel composting but they didn’t tell us what was proposed for Stage 3 because it was not on the horizon.

"So now we find just two months later, that Gippsland Water is seeking approval to proceed to Stage 3 without having made any move to brief the Council on what is proposed in this stage. How are we expected to comment? How can we advise the community?

Cr Gault said the only real information the Council had about what was to be treated in Stage 3 was in a Gippsland Water brochure that says the process includes indirect thermal desorption and solvent extraction, but the types of solvents are unknown. Other information indicates that Stage 3 will treat soils contaminated with chlorinated organics.

"While we appreciate the need for facilities to treat wastes from the area, we have not been informed what the wastes are, where they come from, what the quantities are, what the impacts are and if there are any side effects.

Cr Gault called on Gippsland Water and the Minister for the Environment, Hon. John Thwaites, to fully inform the Council and the community about the proposal and "to reassure us that Stage 3 is not a cause for concern".

"With just eight weeks to go, we believe that as a matter of urgency Gippsland Water needs to hold a Public Meeting to provide full information on Stage 3, its processes, the material involved and its potential impact on our community."

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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