3/7/2009

Bass Coast Shire Council has raised concerns that the recommendations of the Environment Effects Statement (EES) will not be complied with in the construction of the desalination plant.

In June, the Minister for Planning amended the Bass Coast Planning Scheme to include the Victorian Desalination Incorporated Document, establishing himself as the Responsible Authority for any planning decisions associated with the project.

Council Chief Executive Officer, Allan Bawden, said that the Incorporated Document did not provide reassurance for Council or the community.

“When the Minister made his announcement in June, we said we needed to see the full details of the incorporated document to be able to assess whether all the requirements from the Environment Effects Statement (EES) are addressed or potentially will be addressed,” said Mr Bawden.

“Unfortunately the only requirement in the document relates to the underground power supply. It does not contain any conditions that show how the desalination plant will comply with the recommendations of the EES.”

Mr Bawden said utilising the Incorporated Document under the auspices of the Planning and Environment Act was flawed.

“The Planning and Environment Act provides clear guidance in how planning matters should be considered, particularly in relation to the objectives of planning in Victoria,” said Mr Bawden. “The Act has a stated objective to provide for fair, orderly, economic and sustainable use and development of land."

“We do not believe the State Government’s approach is fair, given there is no opportunity for transparency of process with this document,” continued Mr Bawden.

“It is not orderly, as it does not provide for people to understand the entirety of the proposal."

Mr Bawden said it was vital that there was a clear process to ensure that the desalination plant met the requirements of the EES.

“The EES documents provided detailed discussions and recommendations on how the proposal should proceed, particularly in relation to environmental management and visual amenity,” explained Mr Bawden. “The only matter that appears to have been captured in the Incorporated Document is the underground power."

“The number of detailed recommendations and considerations in relation to plant site itself and the environmental qualities of the surrounding area and Bass Strait have not been considered in this control at all.”

Mr Bawden said that it appeared that any environmental requirements will be contained within documents that are ‘commercial in confidence’ between the State Government and the company who is building the plant.

“This means the public won’t have any access to what is going on or why decisions are being made,” explained Mr Bawden. “Potentially this means no public reporting and no mechanism for the public to understand what actually is to be built, or to know if compliance has been achieved."

“There is nothing in the document that gives a commitment that anyone other than the Government and the company building the plant will be involved, although we assume that relevant agencies will continue to be part of the process."

“There is certainly no commitment to involving the community in any form. At the start of this process, the then Premier, Steve Bracks, assured us that our community would be consulted every step of the way with this project, but there is nothing contained in this document to support that claim,” stated Mr Bawden.

“Not withstanding what the document says, we would urge the Planning Minister to ensure that there is appropriate consultation.”