Defence land’s groundwater contaminated

THE Queensland Government has listed defence land on its environmental register after chemicals contaminated groundwater.

Aerial view of the former town of Acland, near Oakey on the Darling Downs of Queensland, which has been cleared of most of its houses, due to the establishment of the New Acland Coal Mine, an open-cut coalmine less than 2km from the town centre. Picture: Tran Jack

THE Queensland Government has listed defence land at Oakey on its environmental register after chemicals in firefighting foam contaminated groundwater.

Environment Minister Steven Miles said Queensland had to act, despite the fact the Federal Government has ultimate responsibility for the contaminated land at Oakey’s Army Aviation Centre.

A Senate inquiry is looking at the contamination of the Oakey site and other defence lands across the country from the use of firefighting foam, which has sparked concerns among neighbours about health and property values.

Dr Miles said the foam contained perfluorochemicals, including perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid, and in the case of the Oakey site it had spread to groundwater and off-site.

He said the decision to list the site on the state’s environmental management register (EMR) was part of the Queensland Government’s determination to ensure the site was properly managed and remediated.

“The fact that we have listed this land on our EMR indicates strongly that we will continue to monitor this situation and take very seriously any contamination of land in this state,” the minister said in a statement today.