Widespread community support exists for the introduction of more incentives for government and industry to increase the use of coal ash, a parliamentary inquiry that examined the costs of remediating sites containing millions of tonnes of the material has found.
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The key finding echoes the calls of many Hunter groups and community leaders who argue coal ash should be regarded as a resource rather than a waste product.
"With the right government policies and incentives, there are genuine opportunities for creating new jobs at the same time as dealing with one of the state's largest pollution risks," Hunter Jobs Alliance spokesman Warrick Jordan said.
"When these win-win job creation opportunities come along it is important that we grab them with both hands. Recommendations that the NSW Government partner with industry to undertake feasibility studies and pilot projects on the viability of new industries and products, for example in construction, is a critical step. Given the Hunter is home to most of the state's coal ash, the region should be first in line in the exploration and development of new projects"
NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean told State Parliament this month that the government planned to use its purchasing power to drive demand for materials containing recycled coal ash.
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Details of the government's plan are expected to be included in the upcoming 20-year waste strategy.
Coal ash has been successfully used in several road construction projects in recent years. These include the Scone Bypass, which used approximately 1500 tonnes of fly ash sourced from the Vales Point power station. Similarly, the M1 upgrade between Kariong to Somersby used fly ash in rigid pavements.
Origin Energy, which operates Eraring Power Station, constructed a private haul road in 1994 that was paved with a pavement product with an ash content of 92 per cent.
Performance testing conducted in 2019 found the road remained in excellent condition and was completely crack-free. In that period an estimated 50,000 coal trucks had passed over the trial sections. The road was estimated to have a further 20 year life expectancy.
The Costs for remediation of sites containing coal ash repositories report, tabled on Monday, also found that the decision to close Myuna Bay Sport and Recreation Centre in 2019 was made with no transparency and that communication with stakeholders and the local community was inadequate.
It also put forward sixteen recommendations acknowledging the wide-ranging pollution impacts of coal-ash waste and the ineffective regulation of the material.
"We welcome the Committee's recommendations and see the report as a strong step in the right direction around transparency and improved regulation of coal-ash waste dumps in NSW," Hunter Community Environment Centre Coordinator Jo Lynch said.
"We are disappointed the inquiry did not identify the costs to the government of remediating coal-ash waste sites, or best practice rehabilitation methods."
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Environmental Justice Australia lawyer and author of Unearthing Australia's toxic coal ash legacy Bronya Lipski said the inquiry's report vindicated the experiences of communities living near coal-fired power stations who are concerned about the impact of toxic waste on their doorstep.
"The inquiry committee is very critical of the ways bodies including the NSW EPA and Dams Safety NSW have treated community concerns. Its comments acknowledge the risks posed by these enormous toxic sites and the need to protect human and environmental health, but they are merely a starting point," she said.
"We welcome the recommendation for NSW Health to immediately undertake an epidemiological assessment of the health of residents near coal ash dams to establish the health impacts of coal ash and publish by 31 December 2022.
"Yet the committee falls short of making robust recommendations to rectify the problems it identifies. It missed an opportunity to detail best practice laws and has disappointed community expectations on what this inquiry would deliver.
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