Councils call for details on where contaminated West Gate Tunnel soil will be put

Residents and councils in Melbourne’s west are demanding the state government break its silence on where it intends to store contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel project.

Traces of industrial chemicals known as PFAS were found in soil on the West Gate tunnel site.

Residents and councils remain in the dark about where the state government intends to store soil contaminated with industrial chemical PFAS from the West Gate Tunnel project will be stores.

Two suburbs in Melbourne’s west were identified as potential storage sites to take contaminated soil months ago, but following silence from the government on the issue during COVID-19 lockdowns, councils were calling for more information.

Brimbank Mayor Georgina Papafotiou said the state government should release transportation routes and the final destination of contaminated materials from the West Gate Tunnel Project.

It comes after Brimbank and Melton Council wrote a joint letter to the Victorian Government calling for the spoil and contaminated materials to not be stored at a Ravenhall landfill that was being considered.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has previously said that the government had made “significant progress” in finding a site for the soil.

“Our community is really concerned about reports that this contaminated fill could be transported through Brimbank and dumped in the west. Our message to the State Government is that the west is not a dumping ground for Victoria’s contaminated waste,” Cr Papafotiou said.

Following a meeting on April 29 the council will again draft a second letter outlining concerns to the state government urge more transparency.

The $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel faces delay after soil on a work site was found to be contaminated

Premier Daniel Andrews has previously said that the government had made “significant progress” to try and find a landfill site where the soil could be dumped.

“We have a number of possible sites. There has been a lot of work done to have these potentially ready,” Mr Andrews said.

“The advice provided to me is we are not that far away from being able to deal with these soil issues.”

It has been suggested that planning approvals for the chosen landfill site could be fast-tracked because the project is of state significance, but its not yet clear if the government has chosen a destination.

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