A growing stockpile of debris from Byron’s town drainage system upgrade has been deposited on Council-remediated land at South Byron’s Old Sewage Treatment Plant.
The remediated site, located beside Tallow Creek estuary, was described in a 2019 Council statement as ‘the provision of public open space for community and environmental benefit’ by Council’s then-major projects manager, Phil Warner.
Council’s current Manager of Major Projects, Christopher Soulsby has not provided an end date for the stockpiling and has said the ‘time frame for this project is several years, dependent on grant funding’.
‘We will continue to use our land at the old sewage treatment plant as required,’ he said.
Local resident David Boutkan who cycles and walks his dog at the site is concerned that the amenity of the park has been ‘degraded considerably’ by ‘the movement of heavy vehicles and the dumping of large amounts of waste.’
‘We’re concerned about the nature of the waste,’ he said
Soulsby said that Council knew the community utilised the site stating, ‘Council is aware that the land is valued by the community and any future plans for the site will be a decision of the elected Council.’
He said treated acid sulfate soil was being stored at the site, and that measures were in place to protect the environment.
‘This material is being stored on a specially–constructed impervious pad with stormwater diversions’ he said.
Untreated acid sulfate soil runoff has been linked to a number of cases of sick waterways and fish disease in surrounding areas according to a 2022 report from Tweed Shire Council.
Waterways Program Leader Tom Alletson said in the report, long-term discharge of this runoff can significantly harm ecosystems, having ‘serious impacts on aquatic life, including fish kills.’
Local resident, Matt Drinan has also raised concern about the debris’ environmental impact including dust flying from the site, which is not covered and may pose a ‘risk for the health of residents of the caravan park and surrounding homes’.
‘To my knowledge, there has been no community consultation on this and no attempt to mitigate the environmental impacts before or during the works’, he said.
In another statement from a Byron Shire Council spokesperson, it was said that the site will be ‘returned to public open space’ when the project is complete.
‘The site will be remediated by the contractor following completion of the drainage upgrade.’
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