FORRESTFIELD–AIRPORT
LINK — SOIL CONTAMINATION
835. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to soil excavated from the
Forrestfield–Airport Link project, the answer to question without
notice 738 asked by me on 6 August, and question without notice 771 asked by me
on 7 August and answered on 8 August about FAL soil transported by the Public
Transport Authority from 777 Abernethy Road, Forrestfield, to the Kenwick rail
freight facility project.
(1) Was any
consideration paid for the excess fill material contaminated with PFAS and
transported from 777 Abernethy Road, Forrestfield, to be used as engineered
backfill in the NorthLink project and the Kenwick rail freight facility
project?
(2) If yes to
(1), who were the parties involved in the transactions, and for how much?
(3) If no to (1),
was the excess fill material provided free of charge; and, if no consideration
was paid, on what basis is that material not waste?
(4) Was
processing and/or transport of the excess fill material involved in the
arrangements?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question. The following information has been provided by the
Minister for Transport.
(1)–(4) The
PFAS levels being encountered by the Forrestfield–Airport Link project
are comparable with the low levels present in soils in most urban areas around
the world, including in Australia. Transfer of soil from one site to another is
routinely undertaken on land development and infrastructure projects in Perth
and around Australia. The Public Transport
Authority contributed to transport of excess fill from the FAL project
to the NorthLink project and the Kenwick rail freight facility project with the
remaining balance paid for by the recipient.
The Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation's factsheet ''Assessing whether
material is waste'' provides guidance to persons in possession of
material about determining whether it is waste. Regarding the use of excess
fill from the FAL project at the Kenwick rail freight facility project site and
the NorthLink project site, the PTA does not consider the soil to be waste as
consideration was paid for the soil and the soil is wanted for use on another
project. The PTA has informed DWER that soil excavated during construction of
the Forrestfield–Airport Link will be used as engineered backfill at
the Kenwick rail freight facility and the NorthLink project site.