On 10 August WEPA emailed a letter to the Department of Planning Industry and Environment (DPIE) raising concerns about the management of contamination at Cammeray Golf Course, a major construction site for both the Western Harbour Tunnel and the Beaches Link Tunnel. The Cammeray Golf Course site was identified in the EIS as a site considered to be at moderate to high risk of being contaminated.

In the letter we detail a number of breaches of the Conditions of Approval for the Western Harbour Tunnel in relation to the management of contamination, based on the opinion of a retired Environment Protection agency accredited auditor. In particular the retired auditor identified significant failures to properly assess the site in accordance with the Contaminated Land Management Act, a requirement of the Conditions of Approval.

Our discussions with DPIE have not produced a satisfactory outcome, with DPIE asserting that the parts of the site where preliminary work installing critical utilities is currently occurring are not being “disturbed” and therefore the Conditions of Approval have not been breached. We have produced photographic evidence (see below) we believe contradicts this assertion but, so far, DPIE has not budged. We are currently planning to escalate the complaint to the NSW Ombudsman.