The Environment Protection Authority has been advised to consider lowering the proposed height of a new cell at Werribee’s Wests Road tip to ease community concerns.
The advice is one of eight recommendations made by PCB Consulting following a public hearing about Wyndham council’s application to the EPA to build a new cell at the landfill.
The council is seeking permission to build cell 4C to 25 metres above ground.
The hearing was held last month, after the EPA received 673 submissions in six weeks about the application.
As reported by Star Weekly, opponents of the council’s plan have called for the cell to be kept at tree level.
In her recommendations, hearing chairwoman Cath Botta said the council needed to justify to the community the need for the new cell to be 25 metres above ground.
She also advised the EPA to investigate complaints about odour issues at the tip and assess the council’s plans to rehabilitate the site. It was also suggested the council consider making compliance and monitoring reports from the landfill publicly available to address concerns about compliance breaches.
While the council and EPA are not bound by the recommendations, Western Region Environment Centre’s Harry van Moorst said he hoped they would be given serious consideration. “We hope we can find a way forward with the EPA.”
The EPA did not respond to questions about whether any of the recommendations would be adopted before the Star Weekly deadline.
THE STORY SO FAR
Landfill mountain gets tribunal green light
VCAT ruling raises ‘no appeal’ fears
Council under gun for tip response
Group battles plans for ‘waste mountain’
Toxic mound to rise to 45 metres
