The unconscionable conduct of the Lake Macquarie Council and the EPA will be the subject of a public meeting on Monday. The community will discuss council's proposal to alter its Development Control Plan, making property owners responsible for cleaning up Pasminco pollution on their land. If these changes are adopted at Lake Macquarie, it may set a dangerous precedent for other areas impacted by pollution, such as PFAS contamination at Williamtown.
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The 100-year existence of a lead smelter at Cockle Creek offers a plausible excuse for government regulators to blame past mistakes and downplay their ineffective regulation of polluting industry. It can be strongly argued that most of the residual contamination on properties near the Pasminco Smelter can be contributed to the last two decades of its operation while regulated by the EPA. Production increases to 110,000 tonnes were approved by the EPA and government despite overwhelming evidence that the industry was polluting surrounding land and affecting children's health.
Twenty years on, Pasminco is gone. The developers of the Pasminco site offer an abatement strategy which is endorsed by the EPA government regulators and commended by the local members of Parliament. The EPA says the abatement work was a success. However, Newcastle Herald journalists revealed that the abatement strategy was a farce and failure. Further agitation by residents forces the government into action. In 2015, Environmental Minister Rob Stokes visits the site with MP Greg Piper. The Minister announces the formation of a government funded Lead Expert Group to ensure proper rectification.
He says: "Looking at the mess, I see it as my role to take whatever steps necessary to sort this mess out...". Greg Piper says: "I am determined to ensure residents are not made to pay for the past mistakes... ".
The government-funded Lead Expert Group makes its recommendations. The government provides $800,000 to assist the community. As a future fund is not set up, a repository for disposal of waste is not identified. Instead the money is used for a new department at the council and the EPA to further regulate the affected community and force them to do the remediation work.
Council re-writes its Development Control Plans setting down rules and procedures not for the polluters but for the land owners/home owners to deal with Pasminco contamination of their land.
This extremely unfair situation will be discussed at Monday's meeting, 6:30pm at Club Macquarie, Argenton.
