Radioactive waste site bound for Napandee farming property at Kimba
A farming property in the SA Outback has been selected to house a radioactive waste dump following years of debate and community division.
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Farming property Napandee, near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula, has been selected to host the Federal Government’s contentious radioactive waste storage facility.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan, pictured, will today (Saturday, February 1) announce the plan for the site, following years of community division over the proposal.
It will be used to permanently store low-level waste, and also keep intermediate-level waste on a temporary basis, for several decades.
“I am satisfied a facility at Napandee will safely and securely manage radioactive waste and that the local community has shown broad community support for the project and economic benefits it will bring,” Mr Canavan said.
Minister for Energy and Mining Dan van Holst Pellekaan said: “The South Australian Government has consistently said one best practice national facility is appropriate for the storage of this medical and research waste and Kimba has clearly expressed its willingness to be the host community”.
Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll said a poll showed 61 per cent of Kimba residents - who have been thoroughly consulted - supported the site.
“We believe that it is appropriate to host a facility of this nature around Kimba,” Mr Knoll said.
“At the moment material is being housed in hospitals and other facilities right across the country, so there is an opportunity here to improve safety for all South Australians by putting it in a fit for purpose facility in a community that, by on its own admission, supports the proposal.”
About 45 people will be employed at the site and the community will receive a $31 million package from the Government, including some money already earmarked for local projects in the lead-up to a ballot to determine the level of local support.
In November, 62 per cent of voters in a Kimba ballot said they supported plans to build the facility at either the Napandee or Lyndhurst agricultural properties.
Another potential site – Wallerberdina Station – was already ruled out after it was rejected during a vote in Hawker, in the Flinders Ranges.
About 80 per cent of Australia’s radioactive waste is associated with nuclear medicine.
The country’s nuclear waste is currently spread over more than 100 places including hospitals and science facilities.
The Government will use a 160ha section of Napandee – volunteered by owner Jeff Baldock – to host the storage site.
Mr Canavan said the proposal for Napandee had stronger support than a separate bid to host the facility at Lyndhurst.
“The facility has broad community support in Kimba but I acknowledge there remains opposition, particularly amongst the Barngarla People and their representative group,” he said.
“We will work with traditional owners to protect culture and heritage, and to maximise economic opportunities and outcomes for local Aboriginal communities near the future facility.”
The announcement comes as waste dump opponents had stepped up their campaign to block the waste site.
No Radioactive Waste on Agricultural Land in Kimba or SA is planning a rally in Kimba on Sunday and recently released an emotional video sharing the stories of farmers other community members worried about the dump’s impact on the environment and businesses.
Many traditional landowners also opposed the project. The Barngarla community held a separate ballot, rejecting the proposal.
The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation last year lost a court battle against Kimba Council’s plan to host a community vote.
It had argued it was discriminatory because traditional landowners were excluded if they did not live in the area.
However, Mayor Dean Johnson had said the project would bring an employment boost for the region, which had been hit hard by the drought.
Almost $55 million has been invested in finding a site for a national radioactive waste dump since 2014.
Mr Canavan said he acknowledged concern about potential agricultural impacts.
“Experience around the world is that waste and agricultural industries can coexist, but we will work to provide more assurance,” he said.
MORE NEWS
Aboriginal vote unanimously rejects Kimba radioactive waste storage site proposal
Federal Government denies claims it has a preferred site for radioactive waste storage
Kimba residents vote to support nuclear waste dump near town
Hawker residents reject radioactive waste storage proposal for Wallerberdina Station
The Government says technical studies and work to examine the area’s seismology, hydrology and geology, found that all three flagged sites could safely and securely secure radioactive waste.
However, the complexity and costs associated with the Wallerberdina and Lyndhurst would have been greater than at Napandee.
Mr Canavan will in the coming weeks introduce legislation to make way for the project.
A Government spokeswoman said it would take at least two years to build the facility, and it was too early to say when construction would start.
TIMELINE OF SELECTION
March 2017: Federal Government announces Napandee, Lyndhurst and Wallerberdina properties have been short-listed as potential radioactivewaste sites.
August 2018: Community ballots to determine the level of support for a dump near Kimba or Hawker are delayed following the Barngarla DeterminationAboriginal Corporation launching a court battle.
July 2019: Federal Government says it is yet to select a favoured site for its proposed dump, rebuffing claims from a source close to the project that Napandee is the frontrunner.
November 2019: Resources Minister Matt Canavan announces Wallerberdina proposal has been abandoned.
February 1, 2020: Mr Canavan says Napandee will host the facility.