COODE
ISLAND COMMUNITY
CONSULTATIVE
COMMITTEE
Adopted
Minutes
Thursday,
7th August, 2008
|
PRESENT |
|
|
Robin Saunders: CICCC / Chairperson |
Quentin Cooke: Environment. Protection |
|
Ian Thomas: Community Rep./Committee |
Peter La Rose Terminals Pty Ltd |
|
Deborah Macfarlane: Community Rep./Committee |
Carlo Fasolino State Manager Victoria, |
|
Michael Isaachsen: Community Rep./Committee |
Paul Hayward Engineering Manager, |
|
Bro Sheffield-Brotherton |
Geoff Millard Safety Environment & |
|
Theo Pykoulas City of Maribyrnong |
Colleen Hartland |
|
Faye |
Susan Chatterton Minute Taker |
ITEM 1. WELCOME
BY THE CHAIR, APOLOGIES & CONFIRMATION OF DRAFT AGENDA
Robin Expressed
a brief welcome to everyone. George Horman was an apology.
As
Colleen is not feeling well we will suspend the agenda and give Colleen the
floor.
Colleen Robin
asked me to attend tonight to discuss what had happened in parliament in terms
of the motion I put up around Community Alerting which while the motion was
successful it has been a complete and utter failure since; the minister has
refused to meet with myself or with any of the residents. As far as we can
ascertain the government does not intend doing anything about Community
Alerting they are wanting a national process and will be discussed again at the
National Police and Emergency Services meeting in November and it will be on
the Agenda but there is no terms of reference and no guidelines about how it is
going to happen, none of those things. Theo when he speaks tonight can talk
about what council is deciding to do. It is fairly disappointing after the
success of the actual motion in parliament that the governments has now gone on
to completely and utterly ignore everything that happened out of that incident,
it was the agencies who took the West Point incident quite seriously
The
incident involved a storage facility on the edge of residential area at
Tottenham. One of the main things that went badly wrong was that people were
as is standard practice told to shelter inside; that what the fire brigade did
not quite realise was that people’s houses were actually filled with chlorine
gas.
Colleen The
residents were reporting that information on to 000 but 000 has no capacity to
pass the information on to the combating agencies so therefore the people were
left in a fairly difficult situation.
Yet
again council was not informed of what was going on, they set up a place where
people could actually go to but residents weren’t told that there was anywhere
that they could go to and so it was just one of these hideous “nothing worked
properly” situation.
Of
course with our community alerting system we had no way of telling residents
Unfortunately
if we have another incident like this next week probably the same thing will
happen.
Council
are actually forging ahead with council alerting system, which I think is
really good but do not think council should have to do it, I think it should be
a state government responsibility.
Robin Thank
you for that. Yes I have a copy of your paper and I thought it was extremely
informative and well presented. Found it quite refreshing to read. Theo has
kept us advised on what council has been doing. In fact after our last meeting
the committee wrote to the council and complimented them on the work they had
been doing and the initiative they had taken because in the context of the
state government saying they will support it but they want it to be a federal
issue with federal funds and put it through COAG. City of Maribyrnong is fairly
brave to say they are going to do it on their own.
Deborah It
is annoying that a working class council has to fund such a program when it
should be state government.
Colleen The
fire brigade did learn lessons from the Tottenham incident and were extremely
honest with the community at the community meetings. They just don’t know if
exactly the same things are going to happen again.
Deborah I
remember when a mock exercise was conducted the same things happened.
Colleen The
solutions are there, the technology is there just a lack of will, a lack of
will by the state government.
Deborah For
me it has far more ramifications than just chemical fires, bush fires are also
a major concern.
Colleen With
bush fires it is slightly different as you get several hours lead time to make
a decision.
Theo Our
own feeling is that people are more concerned with the day to day concerns such
as getting trucks off the road, too noisy at night and those sort of things.
Robin Carlo
was involved at Geelong with meetings on this very subject held at the
emergency services headquarters with the community members. The CFA are very
concerned about bush fires and they seem to have a good conceptual handle on
what was needed with regard to bush fires. With regard to chemical fires there
seemed to be a vacuum of information. Residents are concerned there was no understanding;
there was a real need to communicate, to give people some reassurance.
Theo Since
the West Point issue council has felt introducing a single number for all
incidents would be a good thing. There is a commitment at state government
level through the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner, whom is
preparing a business case to put to the government on implementing a community
information line or number. Do not have timelines or anything like that at
this stage.
Colleen I
will follow that one up.
Theo Passed
around a letter from the Attorney General regarding a nationwide emergency
community warning system
Robin That
would be a good start. Thank you Colleen for attending and it is great that
the community has you in parliament. No action from us at this stage is
necessary.
Confirmation
of draft agenda – adopted
ITEM 2. CONFIRM
DRAFT MINUTES FOR THE MEETING 12 JUNE 2008 AND REVIEW ACTION
ITEM LIST
Draft
Minutes of the 12 June 2008 adopted.
Robin It
may be of interest to know that we have received nothing in writing from the
Port of Melbourne Corporation in response to the media release or 3 action
items.
Action Items
09/07-2 Remaining
open until EPA are in a position to make a report. I don’t suppose that has
happened yet Quentin?
Quentin Only
that it is still under investigation.
06/08-1, 06/08-2, 06/08-3
Relating
to the Port Of Melbourne Corporation, nothing has happened on those
06/08-7 Inspection
of all valves with rubber couplings similar to the one that failed were
inspected and found to be in good working order.
06/08-8 Complete.
Theo has sent an electronic copy of the Ministers submission which I have
circulated.
06/08 -9 Complete
– Robin wrote to council and congratulates the council on its initiative with
regard to the telephone messaging service.
ITEM 3. HEAVY
METAL MONITORING RESULTS, AND TERMINALS REQUEST TO EPA
FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE MONITORING REQUIRED.
Carlo Presented
graphs showing heavy metal readings
The
results were taken from the different bore holes around the site.
Robin Was
there any result that stuck out?
Carlo No
the results appear to be all over the place.
Geoff Heavy
metals are awkward to get a reading from, the results show a general decrease
and elevated readings are generally a “one off”.
Robin Are
they any where near a critical level or are they well down?
Carlo No
the results jumped all over the place
Ian If
the results showed a definite flow it would make more sense.
Geoff We
are talking very low levels here very low numbers in the perspective of things.
Ian What
is the criteria of the waters?
Geoff Fresh
and marine waters
Robin Carlo
have you made any progress with the EPA.
Quentin There
is an established groundwater management plan. Proposed that on going analysis
of these heavy metal bores was not really beneficial so Carlo requested that
they might like to stop doing them.
Robin How
much is it costing Carlo?
Geoff They
are fairly cheap, the major thing is that Terminals does not impact on heavy
metals. It not something that is going to change a lot with time, but the big
issue is we are trying to focus on what Terminals can impact on within the
site, and make sure there are no adverse affects on the ecosystem. Heavy metals
are just a nuisance that does not add any value to us or the authorities and in
the event becomes meaningless to Terminals.
Ian Suggest
we see if Terminals is prepared to have this information put on the website.
Robin I
am forming a view that while it is great to have the openness to providing the
data the data itself is meaningless. EPA taking no particular notice of the
data. Could well be a case of getting data for data sake. More inclined to
put meaningful data on website as this not really going to affect anything.
Bro I
think there is arguably a genuine public good to have the data on the website.
I think it really is the Port of Melbourne Corporation responsibility to
present the information. I do not see it as being Terminals responsibility.
Quentin On
the other side of the river Whitehall side contribution there was not a major
concern. Similar sort of history, the conclusion at the time was that the
flows are not big enough to pose a major threat, were not significant and not
having a big impact.
Deborah Arsenic
was a concern wasn’t it?
Quentin Arsenic
was a concern on the Whitehall Street side as there were particular hot spots
and those hot spots were best dealt with by remediation. There is still a lot
of ongoing work on removing arsenic and mercury which are all subject to a
major clean up.
Robin There
has been big money spent on this hasn’t there?
Quentin 10’s
of millions of dollars already
Deborah Who
has spent it?
Quentin The
Port of Melbourne Authority
Faye Given
that any of these heavy metals are going to be consumed they are usually
consumed as a load by marine life so the total level load would probably be
approaching significance.
Robin What
is Coode Island contributing to the heavy metals in the bay?
Quentin What
the auditor was looking at was the health of the river not so much the health
of the bay. The movement of water in and out of the bay and the movement of
contaminants out of the bay. The water is getting refreshed to some extent.
Robin Faye’s
question was how much of the Coode Island heavy metals is contributing to or
what sort of impact to the bay. Is Coode Island significant compared to what
is happening on the other side of the river?
Quentin My
take on that is the other side looks worse than this side. Contribution from
Coode small amount of metal gets into the rather large flow of the river.
Faye Is
there any likelihood of being able to eat fish from the Maribyrnong River?
Theo Yes
but there are safety warnings near the river for pregnant women and the like.
One meal a week would be sufficient. There are signs.
Robin Carlo
would that be of any difficulty for Terminals if the information was put on the
website?
Action Carlo
to select 5 graphs and send to Robin with a sentence or two that gives them
relevance and puts them in context. Detailing that such monitoring has been
done for the past 5 years.
Ian In
fairness to Carlo what we have now been talking about has to be approved by
George. The issue with heavy metals in groundwater is as I understand it is
that once you have established there are heavy metals in ground water above the
criteria, the next thing to do is to establish the source of heavy metals and
deal with that source.
Ian What
is known about concentrations about heavy metals in the soil at the site on the
West side?
Peter The
West side is more natural
Ian Is
there any data, because invariably this is why groundwater is analysed as it
can move offsite.
Geoff Just
as criteria for soil compared to groundwater levels the groundwater levels are
extremely sensitive.
Quentin Might
be useful to keep monitoring near the water edge. Suggest annual monitoring
around the 5 sites around the water edge.
Deborah Has
any monitoring been done closer to the West Gate bridge. I know it is not
relevant to this committee but I think the fishermen that fish there every day
should have the warnings in Vietnamese.
ACTION Theo
to report back on signs warning fishermen regarding contamination of the marine
life.
Ian Current
metals analysis in the groundwater is not an EPA requirement but a self imposed
activity. I think it would be good to continue. Once a year is not that vigorous
an activity.
Faye Would
be a point of interest once the dredging has finished.
Michael Thankful
to Terminals having an undertaking to analyzing the groundwater samples for
some 5 years and not having found anything. Monitoring of limited number of
bores next to river would on an annual basis would be a good thing.
Michael Is
there any monitoring on Port of Melbourne Corporation territory?
Quentin Port
of Melbourne Corporation monitoring was presented at the last meeting.
Terminals site has a history of industrial use.
Michael In
what form are the metals found?
Geoff Ionic
form.
Summary There was general agreement that Quentin’s proposal for Terminals to
continue monitoring heavy metals for about 5 sites on the perimeter of their
site.
ITEM 4. REPORTS
FROM AGENCIES AND TERMINALS
TERMINALS REPORT
Peter Bentley
tanks are now in and bases have been extended upwards.
Drug
and Alcohol Policy – Random breathalyzer tests are being conducted.
Quarterly
Orica and Exxon meetings went okay
Shell
conducted HS&E audit of site, went okay stated Terminals were very
competent.
Faye Drug
& Alcohol Policy is it .05 for alcohol and 0 for drugs?
Peter Yes
we spoke to the solicitors and gained their advice with the limits.
Deborah Not
speaking in a legal sense, just talking practically. If we made it less than
.05 what right have you say I can drive a car so why can’t I load chemicals.
Peter A
truck driver has to be 0, we followed the Australian Standards.
Geoff It
is a big initiative.
Peter Competency
Assessments are being completed again renewing after five years.
Safety & Environment – 5
incidents
1.
Whilst
loading road tanker the male API coupling on compartment leaked when
disconnected.
2.
Whilst
loading road tanker compartment overfilled into the vapour recovery duct.
3.
Combustor was
not working when operators came to work. Unable to start till 9:15am which
prevented truck loading
4.
Whilst
loading into road tanker leak was detected underneath compartment
5.
Wharf hose
leaked during ship unloading
Deborah It
is interesting that 3 out of the 5 incidents were caused by trucks.
Peter Unfortunately
we have no control over trucks.
Deborah Does
the EPA have control over trucks?
Quentin Trucks
come under the Dangerous Goods transport regulations
Peter Tankers
are tested every year
Paul Concern
to me
Peter I
would be more concerned if incidents happened off site.
Robin To
what extent does the EPA have a concern on the maintenance of trucks?
Quentin Worksafe
is responsible for dangerous goods and their transportation
Deborah There
is a potential for a major incident with trucks, more so than from Terminals.
Quentin There
is more risk from trucks than anything else. More concerned from an EPA point
of view of a hose failure.
Peter We
will be conducting a visual inspection of the hose and investigating the cause.
The hose was pressure tested prior to connecting to ship. Worksafe check the
hose pressure testing records .
Quentin It
gets to a point where material passes its use by date.
Paul The
hoses are replaced every 10 years
Action The
committee requested Terminals to have the ruptured wharf hose returned to the
supplier for further testing. Terminals agreed and will further investigate the
failure of the wharf hose.
Peter No
environmental problems. Will report back next month on environmental
monitoring during the burning of waste in the combustor.
Peter We
are investigating turning the combustor off during the night. A Modification
Form is to be raised prior to conducting tests.
ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION AUTHORITY
Quentin Not
much to report tonight.
As
far as Coode Island is concerned business as usual.
Well
advanced with EPA restructuring. The restructure is not meant to cause any
major level of staff numbers but more for providing better customer service.
More focused towards energy resource efficiency with a reduction in red tape.
EPA
has concerns about the movement of waste interstate.
Peter How
did the dead fish incident go?
Quentin A
small number of dead fish were found and EPA could not determine cause. The
fish were found at the back of the Newport Power Station where the warm cooling
water is released into the river.
Ian Was
reported of cars being retrieved from the river.
Quentin The
EPA was concerned about the spill of oil into the river but found it was not
having an adverse impact on the river itself.
CITY OF MARYIBYRNONG
Theo Community
Awareness Communication – 16,000 copies printed.
Mayor
wants another paragraph about keeping in contact with your neighbors.
The
initiative so far has been cost effective – $30,000 together with the EPA, Port
of Melbourne Corporation and Terminals who have all contributed financially to
make it a sustainable initiative.
It
will be interesting to see what level of interest will be generated out in the
community.
The
information given is more geared towards where to turn for information and is a
springboard to get the community on the alert telephone system.
Michael With
regards to the initial telephone contact. When people ring the council how
many people can get through at the one time?
Theo There
are 20 inward lines which flicks over to an after hours service which has more
lines. We do not have all the answers or resources but what we do have is a
point of call.
Ian I
think it is brilliant. Council is very welcome to approach CICCC to contribute
to such endeavors’ in the future.
Theo The
council would have no problem with presenting the information through all the
community groups we deal with.
Ian Are
the contributors acknowledged on the pamphlet
Theo Yes
they are together with those that have provided support.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETINGS:
Meeting dates for 2008 – 6th
November, 2008.
MEETING CLOSED 8:30 PM