A soil-works operator has been ordered by the state’s planning tribunal to clean up a controversial, contaminated dirt mound in Bangholme’s Green Wedge.
ESI Projects Pty Ltd must remove the contaminated soil at 576 Frankston Dandenong Road by 29 December, as a result of the VCAT decision.
Its category B contamination – the second-highest level of hazardousness – includes asbestos fragments.
The stockpile stands behind a flower farm and 400 metres away from worried residents at Willow Lodge retirement village.
According to ESI’s submissions, the remediation will cost between $4-6 million.
ESI had a permit to accept ‘clean fill’ only on the site as well as an exclusive contract with landowner Jakupi Flowers to accept a minimum 400,000 cubic metres of soil over three years.
ESI was paid by customers who deposited their soil, and in turn paid Jakupi $4 plus GST per cubic metre.
It sought a VCAT review of an Environment Protection Authority notice to clean-up by 28 February this year, arguing it was “not the appropriate person” to receive the Environmental Action Notice.
It submitted it did not know of the importing of contaminated material, and had went “above and beyond” required protocols in order to prevent it.
ESI also identified the category B waste was sourced mainly from soil recycler Renex in Ordish Road, Dandenong South, as well as a rail crossing works site in West Parkdale, the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade project and the Kananook Stabling yards.
It relied on testing results supplied from Renex that “misrepresented” the soil was ‘clean fill’.
ESI argued it would be “irrational”, “impractical” and “inefficient” for it to undertake its own sampling and independent analysis of all soil brought onto the premises.
However, EPA said Renex was licenced to process Category A soil and was hence a “high risk” of contamination requiring ESI to do additional testing.
In a finding on 24 September, VCAT senior members SM Dhojan and Ian Potts noted that it was “common ground” between ESI and EPA that the site was not authorized to receive the “priority industrial waste”.
They found that there was a “paramount duty to minimize the risk of harm”.
“Nothing that has been submitted or put to the Tribunal by ESI persuades us that the action of the (EPA) should be set aside.”
ESI submitted that the cease-and-clean-up order would risk insolvency, after recording a $382,000 operating loss for the ten months up to 30 April.
VCAT stated that it was open to ESI, in a later action, to seek to costs from others who were responsible for the contamination.
