By Jessica Micallef
Sunbury could become a dumping ground for contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel project if a proposal is given the green light.
Waste management and recycling company Hi-Quality Group submitted a proposal to the West Gate Tunnel project’s consortium in March to expand the existing Sunbury Eco-Hub on Sunbury Road.
Hi-Quality Group is proposing to build and operate a temporary facility that will treat and “safely” dispose of soil excavated from the West Gate Tunnel project and construct 58 engineered containment bays.
If the proposal is given the green light, the soil from the West Gate Tunnel project would be transported to the bays at the Sunbury site, where the soil will be held for assessment and testing.
According to Hi-Quality Group, once tested, water from the soil will be drained and put through a water treatment plant.
Hi-Quality Group expects construction to begin this year if the proposal is approved. The first truckloads of soil from the West Gate Tunnel project would arrive at Sunbury “several” months later. The temporary facility could operate for up to two years.
In a statement released by Hi-Quality Group, the company said the Sunbury Eco-Hub, which is owned by Hi-Quality Group, is certified as a “best practice site for waste management and recovery.”
“It has been approved for recycling, landfill and the processing of contaminated materials for more than 20 years,” the statement read.
“The site is identified as a hub of state significance for waste management.
“The temporary facility is being designed in line with the state government’s best practice environment management guidelines and with oversight from the EPA Victoria.
“Hi-Quality Group has undertaken detailed environmental impact reviews, which showed storage and reuse of the soil will not cause any unacceptable impact or leave any detrimental environmental legacy, either on site or to the local community.”
Western Metropolitan MP Bernie Finn said was outraged at the possibility of “foul substances” dumped in Sunbury or Bulla.
“Material which is dangerous, which is toxic, which is poisonous, we do not want it here,” he said.
“We don’t know what impact this material will have on us until much further down the track.
“I do not want it dumped in the west.”
The state government is trying to find a place to dump soil from the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel, amid an impasse with Transurban and the road builder’s over how to manage the waste.
Residents can have their say on Hi-Quality Group’s proposal until Friday, May 22.
For more information on the proposal and to have your say, visit: hiqualityecohub.com.au/
