RRC asbestos update
Last year Wingecarribee Shire Council reported that a small amount of asbestos was confirmed via routine laboratory testing in a sample of crushed concrete at Council’s Resource Recovery Centre.
Since this announcement Council has continued to liaise with the NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and comply with their Clean-Up Notice as issued on 5 August 2016.
The initial focus of this Notice – and as supported by the EPA – centred on the remediation of 24 affected properties.
As remediation draws to close, Council has been advised by the EPA that attention will now shift to investigating how the material came to contaminate the aggregate that was produced and sold from the Resource Recovery Centre.
The EPA will conduct this investigation to determine whether there has been breaches of environment protection licence 10300 and the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (the POEO Act).
As part of this investigation the EPA has issued Council with a Notice to Provide Information and/or Records under Section 191 of the POEO Act.
Council’s General Manager Ms Ann Prendergast is very pleased that the EPA has proceeded to undertake this investigation having previously allowed Council to progress unhindered with the remediation of affected properties prior to the issuing of any statutory notices.
Council will continue to fully cooperate with the EPA and as per the Notice will provide all records and information by 15 September 2017.