Toxic tip approved

By Shaun Inguanzo
THE proposal for a 14-metre tall mound acting as a defacto toxic waste tip for materials too hazardous for even the Lyndhurst tip to accept has been given the green light by Greater Dandenong council.
The mound is part of rehabilitation works at the former sewage treatment plant in Greens Road, Dandenong South.
The project will eventually become the Logis industrial precinct but a small residential village is expected to be built as close as 600 metres to the toxic mound.
Melbourne Water requested a permit to seal the site’s hazardous sludge, which is full of harmful dioxins, in a capped and lined mound (CALM) on the site.
The item came before the council in May but councillors deferred the item until this week’s council meeting to learn more about the application.
Councillors John Kelly and Yvonne Herring were vocally opposed to the permit.
Cr Kelly said Dandenong residents did not want a second toxic dump site in their city.
“I see it as a de facto Lyndhurst (tip) in the city,” he told the chamber.
“The fact is this city is getting the raw end of the stick (regarding toxic waste).”
Cr Kelly said extra care would need to be taken when planting trees or shrubs on the mound, to ensure it did not break the protective liner and cause its toxic contents to leech into the surrounding soil.
Cr Herring was concerned about residents’ wellbeing. “We will have houses 600 metres from this (mound),” she said.
“I think we are going to have complaints.”
But councillors Peter Brown and Paul Donovan urged the council to accept the permit.
Cr Brown said containing the waste on site was safer than transporting it to another destination.
Cr Donovan said that even if councillors rejected the application, VCAT was likely to overturn the decision, costing ratepayers valuable dollars.
The vote was won eight to three, with councillors Kelly, Herring and Jim Memeti the only opposed.