EPA APPROVAL FOR HIGHWAY EXTENSION INVALID, WA CHIEF JUSTICE RULES

So what might this mean for Allawuna?

On 17 December 2015, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Wayne Martin ruled invalid the Environmental Protection Authority’s decision to approve the Roe 8 Highway Extension without first undertaking a proper assessment of the proposed development’s impact on the environment, including local wetlands.

You can read a report of Chief Justice Martin’s ruling by Daniel Mercer of the West Australian at https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/30473299/roe-8-error-raises-doubt-on-projects/

It seems from Mr. Mercer’s report that the EPA has form when it comes to shirking its responsibilities to the WA environment.  It’s hard to avoid the conclusion that where environmental concerns collide with big developer interests, the EPA will either find excuses not to run an assessment or will simply ignore its own policies and turn its back on the problem.

In so doing, it’s probably reflecting the attitudes and approach of our premier, Colin ‘Big Picture’ Barnett, who has sworn that Roe 8 will go ahead despite the Supreme Court’s ruling and strong public opposition.

Allawuna

Last year, many York residents twice made submissions to the EPA regarding SITA’s proposal to establish a landfill at Allawuna farm on the Great Southern Highway, about 20 kms from York.  The landfill would operate as a repository for Perth’s waste, including noxious materials like blue asbestos.

They were wasting their time.  No doubt at a nod from the WA government, the EPA decided to approve the proposed landfill without assessing SITA’s proposal—as some assert, without subjecting it even to a cursory assessment to find out if a full assessment was called for. 

It did so despite serious misgivings on the part of knowledgeable and qualified residents regarding the hydrological and seismological ramifications of placing a landfill at that site.

That’s when our local MLA, Mia Davies, Minister for Water and a member of Mr. Barnett’s cabinet, earned the soubriquet ‘Missing In Action’ which is likely to follow her to her political grave.

An EPA bureaucrat told one resident over the ‘phone that the authority wasn’t getting involved in Allawuna because it was too busy dealing with problems ‘up north’, presumably the fall-out from the gas-hub debacle.  Apparently that was an EPA stuff-up as well.

What about York?

At some time within the next few weeks, the State Administrative Tribunal will hand down its verdict on SITA’s Allawuna application.

I’m sure none of us wants to try pre-empting the Tribunal’s decision.  All we can do at present is hope and pray that the universe is pushing for a just outcome, namely a ruling in favour of the people of York and a poke in the eye for grubby French-based multi-national Suez-Lyonnaise and its local avatar, Nial ‘I Thought We Had a Deal With the Shire’ Stock.   

But if the SAT ruling goes the wrong way—should we consider doing as the opponents of Roe 8 did, and applying to the Supreme Court on similar grounds to theirs? 

A message to Albert and Mia

Roma Paton has kindly given me permission to publish an email she sent the other day to the WA Environment Minister and his colleague, the Minister for Water.  Here it is.

Date: 2 January 2016 3:26:02 PM AWST

To: albert.jacob@mp.wa.gov.au

Cc: Mia Davies <Mia.Davies@mp.wa.gov.au>

Subject: EPA/SITA Landfill application

Hon. A.P. Jacob MLA BEnvDes, M. Arch, JP

Minister for Environment; Heritage 

Dumas House, 

West Perth.

Dear Minister Jacobs,

Enclosed below is an article by Daniel Mercer alerting to issues with the Environmental Protection Authorities assessment of various projects within Western Australia and ask you to also consider reviewing the decision of the EPA not to assess the application by SITA Australia Pty. Ltd. for a class 11 or 111 putrescible landfill (Allawuna Farm Landfill) Great Southern Highway, St. Ronans (W5581/2014/1)[*6} in the Shire of York. 

I believe the EPA regulator also ignored its own policies when they chose not to assess SITA's Landfill application given its proximity and potential risk to the Mundaring Water catchment.

The residents of York have been fighting to stop this Landfill a number of years.  Twice it has been through the JDAP process and we are within the 90 day process of a decision being made by the State Administration Tribunal.

In fairness to the people of York and future generations accessing water from the Mundaring Weir, would you please review the process used for the SITA Landfill application, before any decision is handed down by the State Administration Tribunal.

I believe the Town of Tammin want the SITA Landfill and a large amount of Royalties for Regions money has been allocated for a Feasibility Study on this. The rubbish could be railed into Tammin eliminating road transport currently planned for the Lakes to York section of the Great Southern Highway.

Yours sincerely,

Roma Paton

cc Hon. Mia Jane Davies MLA BMM

Minister for Water; Sport and Recreation; Forestry; Deputy Leader of the National Party of Australia (WA)

cc Daniel Mercer, West Australian Newspaper.

Thanks, Roma.  Please let us know how you get on. 

Mia will probably turn up for York’s Australia Day celebrations.  Some of you might like to give her an idea of how you feel about her duplicity regarding the landfill.  Politely worded placard, anyone?

 A nice photo of Mia Davies MLA taken a long, long way from the nearest landfill.  

A NOTE ON MY NEXT ARTICLE:

A few weeks back I reported that I’d received information from somebody using the pseudonym ‘A person who would like to see the truth out there’ regarding a letter dated 27 July 2014 from ex-CEO Ray Hooper to then Shire Deputy President Mark Duperouzel.   I suggested that the person concerned might like to provide me with a copy of the letter.  He or she has done so.  The letter is as interesting as I’d hoped it would be.  It will be examined in my next article, scheduled to appear later this week.