DEAR CITIZENS AGAINST THE CARLTON RIVER TOXIC DUMP...
Please use this pro-forma letter to write or email everyone listed below, outlining your concerns with this Toxic Dump and the way it has been handled, including the fake consultation & submission process we have been offered. It is ludicrous to offer this process but at the same time remain adamant it will go ahead regardless.
Letters to the Editor need to be sent often - every day if you can. A few new points each time. We need this topic to be in the media everyday.
Use our letter as it is; as a guide; or write your own. Don't forget to add the correct details where you see red text.
LETTER
Your name
and address here
Date in September 2012
RE: Help stop the Carlton River Toxic Waste Dump
Dear elected Councillor,
The company Southern Waste Solutions has recently received approvals from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Sorell Council to construct and operate a controlled waste C-cell or high level hazardous waste disposal site between Copping and Carlton River – we refer to it as the Carlton River Toxic Waste Dump.
The local community is united in its demand that the permit for the Carlton River Toxic Waste Dump be revoked and we ask you to assist us to achieve this.
The proposed dump has the potential to receive virtually all types of ‘level three’ or high level non-liquid hazardous waste including many substances which are toxic to humans.
We fear there is a high risk that many toxic materials will escape into the environment and cause serious damage to human health, the natural environment and local industries, in particular tourism, aquaculture and farming.
Most materials which are likely to be dumped will never break down or become less hazardous. Most materials will remain a hazard well beyond the 100 year life span of the dump and perhaps last in the ground for ever.
Our primary concerns relate to the risk of toxic materials escaping into the ground water or streams and ending up in the nearby Carlton River, Fredrick Henry Bay and onto Carlton Beach.
It seems almost certain that some dust will escape from the dump during strong winds, especially as toxic materials are off-loaded and while the active dump face is exposed.
There is also a possibility that trucks carrying waste to the dump site could have accidents and release toxic materials in nearby towns or even in Hobart.
We are not at all convinced by the methods proposed by the proponent to prevent material leaching into the ground water or waterways. Also many of the risks from dust are not even acknowledged and the measures that are proposed are unlikely to totally contain it.
The company claims that their approach is world best practice but we have found many serious flaws in their proposal.
The site proposed for the Carlton River Toxic Waste Dump is not ideal in many respects as it is within 200m of tributaries of the Carlton River and the main river is only 800m away. The water table at this site is known to be very close to the surface, the area is subject to high seismic activity and it lies over a significant geological fault. Seismic activity was not considered in the assessment and the geological risks were glossed over. The threat from rising water tables was addressed solely by a commitment to pumping water which is clearly not failsafe.
There is a real possibility of a catastrophic failure of the leachate barrier through a major breach caused by the water table rising, seismic activity or an accident involving heavy machinery or use of explosives but this possibility was never considered in the assessment process. Consequently, the project was approved without any contingency plans for catastrophic failure. This may have been because there is no way of repairing a landfill leachate barrier after it has hazardous material in it and neither the proponent nor the regulators wanted to draw attention to this fundamental flaw.
Even though the Copping-Carlton area is clearly not ideal, it appears that virtually no effort was made to assess other potential locations for a toxic waste dump.
To make things worse, hardly any one in the local community, including Copping, Dodges Ferry and Sorell knew about the proposed toxic waste dump until after it was approved. It appears that both the Sorell Council and the Environment Protection Authority did the bare minimum which was required of them by advertising the development in newspapers and on their web sites and by notifying the immediate adjacent land owners. This is the first high level hazardous waste dump ever proposed for Tasmania and everyone in the local municipality and perhaps across Tasmania should have been made aware of it and had an opportunity to comment prior to a development application being made and before Copping-Carlton Beach area was chosen.
The local community is united in its demand that the permit for this toxic dump be revoked. The permit holder, Southern Waste Solutions, is a company entirely owned by the Sorell, Clarence, Tasman and Kingborough councils and is therefore owned by the ratepayers and should be operated in their interests. It is entirely reasonable for the community to insist that the permit be revoked by the proponent. The board which controls Southern Waste Solutions simply needs to listen to the community and decide to tear up the permit for the Carlton River toxic Waste Dump.
We have written to all state Members of parliament and Councillors of the Sorell, Tasman, Clarence and Kingborough councils. We ask you to do all that is within your power to assist the local community to stop the Carlton River Toxic Waste Dump.
We understand that currently the proponent does not have funding but they are hopeful of receiving government funding. We urge you to make every effort to prevent any local, state or Australian government funding being offered to assist with this project. We further ask that you directly pressure the board of Southern waste solutions to tear up its permit.
Whilst we acknowledge that there is a need to securely deal with toxic waste in Tasmania, we believe the disposal of hazardous waste is clearly a state-wide issue and therefore needs to be carefully considered from a state-wide perspective to ascertain the most suitable way of dealing with this waste with respect to both environmental and public health risks.
We are calling on State Government and politicians to develop a state-wide hazardous waste policy for Tasmania, similar to what was recommended in the 'Current and Future Controlled Waste Practices in Tasmania Draft Report' which was written for the Tasmanian State Government in 2008 by Sustainable Infrastructure Australia. We believe such a policy should give careful consideration to a range of issues including, but not limited to:
- Putting the onus back onto business and industry to reduce their hazardous waste outputs;
- Encouraging innovation and technological advances in the fields of reprocessing, recycling and reusing such waste;
- Investigating more environmentally friendly methods for disposing of such waste - of which there are many; and
- Research into alternative sites for hazardous waste disposal facilities where the impacts and possible risks to both the environment and public health are minimised.
The Government must acknowledge and guarantee that dumping hazardous waste into a landfill site is an absolute last resort, to be considered only when all other options have been exhausted. If this toxic waste dump is built in the Carlton River Catchment without other measures in place, then dumping toxic waste into landfill will become the first option rather than the last.
Yours sincerely,
(sign then type your name here)
CONTACT DETAILS TO SEND THE LETTER TO
Sorell Council
PO Box 126, SORELL, TAS 7172
MAYOR (Acting)
COUNCILLORS
Mike Purdon does not have an email address but can be contacted by post
Letters to the Editor - must be short and sweet to be published.
POST: Level 1, 2 Salamanca Square, Hobart, Tasmania 7000
ONLINE FORM: http://www.themercury.com.au/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-submit.html
