The State Government has backflipped three times in as many weeks on contentious plans to dump toxic sludge from Sydney's Northern Beaches Link project in Newcastle.
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As of Wednesday afternoon the plans to ship 12,000 cubic metres of sediment from Middle Harbour to Newcastle before loading it on to trucks and dumping it to landfill were once again off the table.
The farcical situation began on Monday March 1 when Transport for NSW deputy secretary Camilla Drover told a budget estimates hearing that the sludge would not be transported to Newcastle but would be taken to a tip in Sydney instead.
"There are no plans to take spoil and barge it up to Newcastle for disposal," she said.
But on March 7, the department's customer response director Terry McSweeney wrote to City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath to advise that Newcastle was still the intended destination for the waste material.
"Transport for NSW went through an extensive review of potential sites for the loadout facility before proposing Mayfield No.4 Berth at the Port of Newcastle as the preferred location at this stage of the detailed design and construction planning process. It is currently a proposed site only and is subject to planning approval by the Department of Planning and Environment and agreement with the Port of Newcastle. The final location of the loadout facility may change," Mr McSweeney said.
The plan to transfer the material, which contains lead, mercury, silver, zinc, poly-fluoroaklyl substances (PFAS) and dioxins, was uncovered in planning documents last November.
City of Newcastle and Port of Newcastle immediately expressed serious concerns about the proposal. More than 6000 people signed a petition opposing it.
"As part of the planning submissions for Beaches Link we went through an extensive review of potential sites before identifying previously that the Port of Newcastle was a potential site for a load-out facility.
"The letter that was tabled did indicate in paragraph 6 the location was subject to change.
"We also confirmed in the preferred infrastructure report, which is currently being considered by the Department of Planning and Environment, that the location may change. We have been undertaking further review in collaboration with DPE and we have determined that we will not progress with the proposed plan to transport any materials for the Beaches Link project to the Port of Newcastle. That was decided in March this year. The content of the letter that was prepared prior to the decision being taken was accurate at the time. I think it was 7 March, the date of that letter. On 9 March I have been told that we advised the CEO of the city of Newcastle council that we did make the change and we are now working in collaboration with the Department of Planning and Environment in investigating alternative load-out facility sites for any material that is deemed unsuitable for offshore disposal."
Ms Geraghty did not comment on where the material would be taken after Newcastle was ruled out.
"I do not have any indication at this point, but we are working through that with the Department of Planning as part of our planning submission," she said.
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp described the situation as ludicrous.
"The left hand isn't talking to the right here. This proposal should never have been on the table. The pushback to this ludicrous plan was fierce and rightly so. Newcastle is not Sydney's dumping ground, and we should not take their waste while they get the infrastructure."
Newcastle councillor Declan Clausen, who intended to lodge a Notice of Motion condemning the government's use of Newcastle as a dumping ground for Sydney's waste said he was relieved to hear the latest advice.
"It's reassuring that Newcastle has been finally ruled out as the dumping ground for Sydney's toxic sludge," he said.
"There was no local consultation before this surprise announcement from Sydney, but I'm pleased that they have finally listened to locals and reversed this bad decision.
"Residents, union members, and Councillors and State Members were right to push back on this bad proposal. Newcastle is not a dumping ground for Sydney's toxic waste."
Transport for NSW initially said it had consulted both the port and the council about the storage of the material.
However both organisations disputed the claim.
"Port of Newcastle has raised its concerns and advised clearly that the port gives no guarantee that the material proposed will be accepted, or is suitable, for unloading at the port. Furthermore, if it was to be accepted, the port has specified that the material could not be stored at Port of Newcastle for any period," a port spokeswoman said in November.
Similarly, City of Newcastle said it would not accept the material.
"We explained that in order for any waste to be considered for landfill disposal at the Summerhill Waste Management Facility it must meet our strict requirements set under the EPA's Waste Classification Guideline for general solid waste" Manager of waste services Troy Uren said.
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