By Ewen McRae
There is growing community anger at plans to dump contaminated soil near Bacchus Marsh.
Maddingley Brown Coal (MBC) has confirmed it has tendered to act as a receiving facility for unclassified spoil generated from the West Gate Tunnel Project.
However Moorabool council says it has been ‘shut out’ of the process and community concerns are being ignored.
“Bacchus Marsh residents are being left out of the conversation,” mayor David Edwards said last week.
A public meeting will be held at the Bacchus Marsh Hall from 7pm on February 25 to discuss the planned toxic storage.
Bacchus Marsh resident Kat Barlow said the meeting was about sending a message.
“I think everyone’s feeling very frustrated that there’s been no community consultation with regards to huge amounts of toxic soil coming here,” Ms Barlow said.
“There’s 18,000 residents affected, and 6000 within three kilometres of the site. It’s just horrifying.
“We want an environmental impact study done before it’s even talked about coming here.
“We want our voices heard and we want to show that we are a powerful force and are going to come together on this. We may be a small town but we’re important, our children are important and the future of our town is important.”
Councillors met with representatives from MBC, Transurban and the Westgate Tunnel Project last week, but Cr Edwards said they were left frustrated by a lack of transparency.
“Council again asked for technical assessments on environmental, socio-economic, amenity and traffic impacts to be provided, but there was no commitment to do so,” he said.
“For the sake of transparency, we need to see the nine technical impact assessments and the Human Health and Ecological Health Risk Assessment.
“If what we’re being told is true, then these reports could help to alleviate community concern.
“Councils must, under Acts of Parliament, consult with their communities on a whole range of matters. The state government should do the same when it comes to big projects that impact the lives of Bacchus Marsh residents.”
Local MPs and councillors are expected to attend the public meeting, however a Facebook post from councillor Tonia Dudzik last week said that representatives from MBC and Transurban would not attend.
