Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper will recommend that a future fund be established to deal with the legacy of lead pollution from the former Pasminco smelter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
“We can’t really go ahead without having a legacy fund,” Mr Piper, chairman of the Lake Macquarie Lead Community Reference Group, said.
Mr Piper’s comments were made ahead of a “community information night” about lead pollution to be held on Tuesday at Boolaroo Public School from 6pm.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority Hunter manager Adam Gilligan said the Lead Expert Working Group was drafting a report to government.
This would include “recommendations on what if any actions are required in the future, informed by recent blood testing results, to further address lead contamination in the area”.
The group was aiming to submit the report to government by mid-2016.
“The call for a future fund will be considered as part of that report,” he said.
Mr Piper believed his call for a legacy fund “will at least be listened to”.
He had a “good relationship with the premier and the relevant minister”.
“I truly believe that part of what comes out has to be a sensible way of assisting people who are carrying a burden not of their making.”
Boolaroo Action Group spokesman Jim Sullivan said the north Lake Macquarie community was seeking a future fund to “assist residents in the cost of remediating their properties”.
They also wanted a “waste facility so residents can dispose of contaminated soil”.
“This is not an onerous request,” he said.
Mr Gilligan said the authority was exploring options “to build a containment cell at an existing waste facility” for contaminated soil.
“The EPA has developed an approval process for a landfill to accept lead slag contaminated materials without further analytical testing,” Mr Gilligan said.
“This will reduce the costs to landowners wishing to dispose of contaminated materials to landfill.”
He said the process would take “some time” to resolve.
