“People are struggling to navigate the raft of requirements” related to the community fund. Photo: Supplied.
A $1 million fund to remediate contaminated land in southern NSW has attracted accusations of a lack of clarity as its rollout nears.
Lead contamination was confirmed in Captains Flat in 2021.
The town’s mine closed in 1962, but historical mining activities left parts of the township and surrounding environment contaminated.
In July, a $1 million community fund was announced and intended to help eligible residents carry out voluntary remediation works on their properties.
But Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) Councillor Katrina Willis believes it doesn’t go far enough.
She called for QPRC to abandon a requirement for a development application to be lodged, covering preliminary site investigations and detailed site investigations, when residents seek to remediate their land.
“The $1 million grant to support this work is very welcome, but people are struggling to navigate the raft of requirements, and they need support to work their way through the process if the grant program is to be successful,” she said.
Cr Willis also said the fund’s announcement followed an existing taskforce that had “not delivered” for residents.
She said there needed to be a new engagement process.
“The point [of the motion] was to step outside that process, that forum.”
A desire for consultation was echoed by councillor Ross Macdonald.
“We know that you are going to get unvarnished views, … but they’re going to be the genuinely held views of residents in [Captains] Flat, and then we communicate them to the EPA,” he said.
“I can tell you the EPA are not going to be making the trek down to the Flat, despite its appeal, to meet with residents.”
Mayor Kenrick Winchester hit out at the suggestion that council staff should lead future rounds of consultation.
He said an earlier meeting several years ago “threw [staff] under the bus, big time”.
“This session should be run by the EPA.
“They can come and talk to the residents about the guidelines, get their feedback. … I’m saying we should be writing to the EPA saying, ‘Give us an update. What exactly is happening?'”
During their meeting, councillors also agreed to receive a report with information on possible policy changes that could help Captains Flat residents remediate their land.
Meeting papers state that information will be recieved at a future meeting.
In response to questions from Region, a NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson said work on the $1 million fund’s implementation remained underway.
“The EPA is currently working with Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and NSW government agencies to finalise the design of the program,” they said.
“Residents will be able [to] submit a formal expression of interest (EOI), with details of eligibility and application requirements to be provided in the next few weeks.”
The spokesperson said more information would be available soon, but did not explicitly address a question about whether the EPA intended to accept the council’s offer of a meeting.
