GROUNDWATER MONITORING — BASSENDEAN
493. Hon LYNN MacLAREN to the
minister representing the Minister for Environment:
I refer to a letter in the Echo News of 5 April 2014 and the stockpile of toxic fertiliser
waste in Bassendean.
(1) Why is this contaminated mound still there today?
(2) Is the government monitoring the groundwater
contamination levels?
(3) What impact has it had on the Swan River?
(4) Why has
the Department of Environment Regulation stated on its website that the nearest
freshwater receptor is the Swan River, five kilometres to the south, when, in
fact, the Ashfield Flats adjacent to the Swan River is 800 metres from the
mound and the Swan River is 1 200 metres from the mound?
Hon
HELEN MORTON replied:
I thank the member for some notice of the question.
(1) It is assumed
that Hon Lynn MacLaren is
referring to the former Tonkin Industrial Park. The mound the member refers to
is located at lot 857. The site was subject to ministerial statement 82, dated
October 1989, and in subsequent revisions of the ministerial statement, most
recently ministerial statement 701, dated 25 November 2005. Approximately 250 000
square metres of contaminated pyritic cinders and demolition wastes are
encapsulated in a purpose-built, permanent containment cell.
(2) The site
owner of lot 857 has conducted monitoring of groundwater since January 2003 as
a requirement of the ministerial statement.
(3) Based on
the available information to date, the groundwater contamination does not
extend to the Swan River, which is located 1.2 kilometres to the south coast.
(4) The Department
of Environment Regulation advises that it cannot locate this reference on its
website. The classification of the site under the Contaminated Sites Act 2003,
which is publicly available from DER's website, does not indicate the
distance to the Swan River.