Multiple regulators are working towards the rehabilitation of the Somerset Quarry’s Annandale Road site.
Resources Victoria held an information and feedback session last week at the Overnewton Gatehouse Hall in Keilor, offering the community a chance to ask questions and learn about the work that has been done to this point.
Resources Victoria staff gave a short presentation on how they are regulating the quarry.
The site has now finished extraction and is starting final rehabilitation.
Locals will see earthworks and increased truck movements over the next 12 months as the quarry wraps up.
In April, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) fined the operator of the quarry $9616 after finding industrial wastewater flowing down a hillside towards Arundel Creek and the Maribyrnong River.
Water was being pumped out of a dam on the premises and onto the hillside, and a sample taken by EPA revealed elevated levels of copper, iron, lead, nickel and zinc.
It was then that occupier, Disposabin Pty Ltd was ordered to introduce planned dust management measures and implement controls to prevent the discharging of wastewater or stormwater containing waste from the premises.
Resources Victoria has written a series of notices to prevent a number of unauthorised waste products from entering the site, as mud removal and dust generation are being heavily focused on and managed, with hopes of rehabilitation being complete within the next 12 to 18 months.
Resources Victoria regulatory operations executive director Chris Webb said the overhaul in regulators will see the quarry better managed going forward.
“The key message is that we know this has been a problem for some time, and the frustration is understandable. We acknowledge that, but with a new group of regulators involved our aim is to bring this site to completion,” he said.
“From our perspective the quarrying finished some time ago … so it’s really about pushing the site towards final rehabilitation.”
Gerald Lynch
