Environment Group claims another win in contaminated West Gate Tunnel spoil saga

Moorabool Environment Group (MEG) announced that it has won another battle in its fight against dumping of contaminated West Gate Tunnel soil.

A decision by the Moorabool Shire Council to refuse to disclose information on the proposal for dumping contaminated soil on the doorstep of Bacchus Marsh, last week was overuled by the Office of the Victorian Information Commissioner (OVIC).

In May of last year, the Council was provided with documents by the Minister for Planning as part of his limited consultation that otherwise excluded the community. On 22 May 2020, the Council published a media release stating that it would release all documents to the community to be properly informed about the proposal. But a week later, the Council reversed that decision, saying it had been prevented from doing so by the State Government and the site owner, Maddingley Brown Coal.

In response, MEG applied for access to the documents under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The Council released some minor correspondence but refused to disclose the documents provided by the Minister or Maddingley Brown Coal. It claimed that these documents were internal working documents or contained commercially sensitive information about Maddingley Brown Coal, and that it was not in the public interest to disclose the information.

After a nine-month process, OVIC accepted MEG’s arguments that there was overwhelming public interest in the material and that the exemptions claimed by the Council could not be sustained under the FOI Act. MEG President, Dr Jodie Valpied said, “This is a strong victory for transparency and truth to the benefit of our community.

“OVIC rightly recognised that planning amendments impact the community. This applies even more when the planning amendment is made to enable millions of cubic meters of contaminated spoil to be dumped next to schools, waterways and one of Victoria’s main food bowls.

“Maddingley Brown Coal cannot hide behind spurious claims of commercial interests and put this above transparency about this environmentally destructive plan.

“It is yet a further example where government decisions throughout this substandard process are unable to withstand external scrutiny. The EPA’s original approval of this plan was quashed by the Supreme Court and now OVIC has set aside this attempt to withhold important information from the community. We are confident that our current Supreme Court proceeding against the Planning Minister’s decision to remove community consultation rights will also be successful.”

The toxic soil has been linked to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), along with other pollutants. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe since the 1940s. PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body, meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. According to the USA’s EPA, there is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects.

Members of the community have expressed concerns around these health effects. If humans, or animals, ingest PFAS (by eating or drinking food or water than contain PFAS), the PFAS are absorbed, and can accumulate in the body. PFAS stay in the human body for long periods of time. As a result, as people are exposed to PFAS from different sources over time, the level of PFAS in their bodies may increase to the point where they suffer from adverse health effects.

Studies have indicated that PFOA and PFOS can cause reproductive and developmental, liver and kidney, and immunological effects in laboratory animals. Both chemicals have caused tumors in animal studies. The most consistent findings from human epidemiology studies are increased cholesterol levels among exposed populations, with more limited findings related to: infant birth weights, effects on the immune system, cancer (for PFOA), and thyroid hormone disruption (for PFOS).

The Member for Eltham, Ms Vicki Ward, said in 2018, “I am of the view that there is no safe threshold for these chemicals. They are bioaccumulative — they stay in your body for decades. It does not break down, it does not disappear — it takes forever to come out of your body. It is transmitted through blood, and it is transmitted through breast milk.

“We get it in our bodies through the food we eat and the water we drink. For those communities that have been in areas that have been polluted by PFAS, they are stuck with it probably for life. It will take years for it to come out of their bodies.”

At a time where the Victorians were locked down for the better part of last year, and the link PFAS has to immune system effects, concerns have been raised in many while the Covid-19 Pandemic continues.

In line with usual procedure, OVIC has specified that its decision will not take effect for another 60 days. Both Moorabool Shire Council and Maddingley Brown Coal have the right to appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Moorabool Environment Group has called upon both entities to start treating the community with respect and to be transparent about this crucial matter.