QUESTIONAIRE (what is a ‘Bin Chicken’ and a ‘Tip Rat’?)

‘BIN CHICKEN’ (urban dictionary definition of the Australian White Ibis that happily gorges itself on all the delicious ingredients in a suburban rubbish bin.)

‘TIP RAT’ (urban dictionary street talk relating to people and waste disposal)

‘Tip Rat’ in particular is an expressive US colloquialism with an Australian usage. It is a fundamental reference to the human species, mostly unflattering.

It varies from describing a Collingwood AFL footballer, a characterization of a person who patrols an area of land designated for the storage of human wastes, an underachieving public servant who, through lack of ability, is destined to remain in the stultifying atmosphere of a government agency and someone that is not liked at all.

The Minister for Local Government, David Templeman, has called many of the WA local government councillors male (sexist), pale (racist) and stale (age prejudiced).

So the Hon. Minister should accept the fact that environmentalists may feel that some of the upper echelon of the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) is male, pale and stale, and the added descriptive colloquialism.

That is when their scientific evaluation is adversely adjusted to the monetary valuation of the project at hand.

And then there is the recent problem of DWER’s failure to provide important documents on their website during the Allawuna Sunset Clause consultative process. Just unimportant information like Works Approval Application’s citing supporting geotechnical data, noise, odour and dust assessments and hydrological site characterization. 

Rationalists may feel the bigger the project, the more money to be spent, the more State Government pressure, the more likely these environmental regulators will not give a ‘rats’ about any potential for environmental disaster and provide their approval.

Of course this could make the Hon. Stephen Dawson, the Minister for Environment the head of a rat pack, which includes David Kelly (Water) and Rita Saffioti (Land) who are hardly likely to be on any environmentalist’s Christmas card list.

Those who care understand there is a company trading as Alkina Holdings Pty Limited with its principles being Sam Mangione and Jake Hickey.

The company is using the coattails of SUEZ, the former applicant for the use of Allawuna Farm as an enormous Perth rubbish dump while the Shire of York sat twiddling its thumbs and collectively sucking one.

SUEZ bowed-out, claiming it would be cheaper to dump its waste elsewhere.

So how do Mr. Mangione and Mr. Hickey intend to store your rubbish bin treasures and make lots of cash out of trash?

Alkina Holdings Pty Limited’s corporate background could be described as eclectic, but hardly impressive to the astute finance analyst.

It commenced trading as Alternative Living Pty Limited on March 1, 2007, lasting 9 months until December 18, 2007. It changed to Alkina Holdings on the same day

The Company has used business names such as Solid Rock Homes and Muchea Constructions.

You can only buy a Solid Rock Home in Tacoma, Washington State, USA, so it probably is not the same business, but is currently listed as an Alkina business name.

Unless there is another Sam Mangione, the Alkina one is also the co-owner and managing director of the largest, privately owned, waste management company in WA, Instant Waste Management.

So it will be interesting to see how the moon, the stars, the power of money and political influence align in the future.

The other alignment would be local dust, odour, noise and pollution of potable water supplies, including rain and ground water by airborne gases such as methane and CO2 and what other chemicals combine together in the bowels of a putrescible (decaying) waste dump.

Methane and CO2 are major contributor to ‘Climate Change’. However Methane is a 25 times more dangerous ‘Global Warming’ pollutant than CO2- if that is any comfort to anybody. In Donald Trump’s America CO2 and Methane are the ‘Greenhouse Gasses’ responsible for one/third of the country’s foul air.

To all of the above, with methane, you can add the risk of fire.

The toxic financial fall-out could be crop and soil damage, the reduction in the price of surrounding farmland and lots of other special defects. Maybe lamb quads with one leg each.

Through the auspices of the Greens Robin Chapple MLC, seven questions were raised in parliament with the Minister for the Environment Stephen Dawson. These questions were created by me with the collaboration of Mrs. Kay Davies.

The Minister’s answers are published below on what is called the ‘Great (200,000 tonnes per annum) Southern Landfill’ with 3,800 tonnes delivered, each week, by a never ending polluting procession of tip trucks.

It took the Minister 49 days to provide his response in just 157 words which is mind boggling in itself.

His answers encapsulated questions A to G. It appears the Minister does not know there is b, c, d, e and f in between.

If it is any consolation this dictum was released on Wednesday November 28, 2017, just two days ago, meaning no decision had been made up until then.

He has also suggested Question G be redirected to other Ministers regarding the acceptability of the Great Southern Highway for additional huge, heavy haulage, traffic movements and its death toll that may well be nine since 2000.

Robin Chapple is resubmitting this question to the Minister for Transport but does not expect a retarded response until April 2018.

Hopefully this means that a decision will not be contemplated until 4 months into the New Year.
But don’t count on it.

David Taylor

THE MINISTER’S RESPONSE:

Parliament and Session             40 : 1

House   Council Sitting Date     10/10/2017

Answered On                              28/11/2017

Status                                          Approved and Published

Title: Question Description Great Southern Landfill - York

387. Hon Robin Chapple to the Minister for Environment:

I refer to Alkina Holdings Pty Ltd's application for a works approval for a landfill site, being the Great Southern Landfill of Lot 4869 on Plan 224502 in Certificate of Title Volume 285, Folio 784 at St. Ronan’s York, and ask:

(a) what is the risk of leachate and other pollutants, including the possible storage of crocidolite asbestos fibres, contaminating the Mundaring Weir catchment areas such as St. Ronan’s Well and Conservation Area (Western Australia Government Heritage Commission Listing 04429), local fresh ground water such as at St. Ronan’s Well itself and attendant water courses, creeks and river systems;

(b) what assurance and absolute protection is to be provided to prevent the contamination of surrounding valuable, finite, highly productive agricultural land including under the Australian Government Biodiversity Act 2015 in accordance with, but not limited to, its export compliance regulations regarding contaminated agricultural goods;

(c) what absolute protection is guaranteed against catastrophic breaching of this landfill site by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, creating a 3 metre high fault line, 40 kilometres in length which occurred approximately 40 kilometres from this site 49 years ago;

(d) what viable and adequate emergency contingency plans will be put in place to minimize any environmental, property and personal damage to those persons located within a radius of a minimum of 10 kilometres of the site in case of any breech and who will pay for the implementation of these plans and any infrastructure required including forms of risk insurance, now and in the future;

(e) what is the current traffic volume for both private and commercial vehicles using the Great Southern Highway between The Lakes and St. Ronan’s;

(f) what will be the weekly volume of Alkina Holdings Pty Ltd waste management vehicles and their tonnage using what is considered to be, by its users and the former Premier, Colin Barnett and the former Minister for Water and the Member for Central Wheatbelt, Mia Davies, as a possibly dangerous, narrow, winding road, potentially unsuitable for large increases in heavy haulage traffic movements; and

(g) what has been the death and serious injury toll on the Great Southern Highway, between The Lakes and St. Ronan’s since 2001?

Answer:

(a–g)

The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation is currently assessing a works approval application (W6077/2017/1) for the construction of a class II putrescible landfill site on Great Southern Highway, St Ronans.

I understand that the application has proposed an annual throughput of 200 000 tonnes which equates to approximately 3 800 tonnes of waste being delivered to the site each week.

The Department is currently assessing potential risks to the environment and public health posed by landfill emissions including leachate and asbestos fibre release. Part of this assessment includes consideration of risk to sensitive receptors, such as groundwater, surface water bodies and conservation areas. The potential for ground disturbance, including the probability of earthquakes occurring and impacting on the proposed landfill is also being considered.

I am advised that the Department has consulted with a range of stakeholders on the application and received a number of submissions which will be considered prior to making a determination.

Questions related to traffic increases and road safety should be referred respectively to the Ministers for Transport and Road Safety.