West Gate Tunnel toxic spoil dump site given planning tick
Progress is being made to move soil that has delayed the West Gate Tunnel after a new dump site was signed off by authorities.
Victoria
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Builders on the West Gate Tunnel now have at least one potential site to handle toxic spoil from the troubled project, with a site on Bulla given planning and environmental approval.
Hi-Quality Group were on Monday told they had received the tick off from Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
It comes after the Environment Protection Authority Victoria earlier this month also gave approval for the site.
The decision paves the way for the company to sign a contract with the builders of the $6.7 billion project, which would then allow them to accept dirt dug up from tunnel boring machines.
The massive diggers have been laying idle in the ground for more than a year because there has been no approved site to handle the PFAS-contaminated dirt it will dig up.
But the approval does not mean digging can begin straight away, with contract negotiations and site set up likely to still take some time.
A Hi-Quality spokeswoman said the site now had the necessary permissions to build and operate a facility built specifically for the tunnel soil.
“ As the owners of approximately 1000 acres of land surrounding the facility, we have a long-term vision that puts us here beyond 2046, and we’re committed to leaving a positive legacy,” she said.
Hi-Quality has undertaken rigorous assessments as part of our Planning Scheme Amendment application, and our designs meet and exceed the highest environmental, operational, and safety standards.
“While both of these approvals are important steps, the competitive tender process run by CPB John Holland for the contract is still underway, and Hi-Quality will need to undertake a range of works before the site will be in a position to receive and safely manage excavated material from the West Gate Tunnel Project.”
Hume Mayor Joseph Haweil said the decision was disappointing for communities in Bulla and Sunbury.
“Hume City Council cannot be clearer; we do not support the spoil coming to Bulla and continue our opposition to this proposal,” he said.
“Council is now considering the implications of this decision and the reasons the Victorian Government felt it appropriate to side step the usual process and approve the amendment without public consultation and independent review.
“An issue of significant concern of the Bulla site is the major impact it will have on arterial roads that are already under strain - and the additional 6800 truck movements, carrying up to 100,000 tonnes of soil each week.”
A government spokeswoman said the planning approval granted had set strict standards for environmental protection, noise and traffic flow.
“The planning scheme amendment and EPAs approvals are now in place – Transurban and its builder should get on with delivering the West Gate Tunnel,” she said.
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Originally published as West Gate Tunnel toxic spoil dump site given planning tick
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