FORRESTFIELD–AIRPORT
LINK — SOIL CONTAMINATION
816. Hon Dr STEVE THOMAS to the minister representing the
Minister for Transport:
I refer to soil excavated from the
Forrestfield–Airport Link project and the answers 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, on FAL soil transported by the Public
Transport Authority from 777 Abernethy Road, Forrestfield, to the Kenwick rail
freight facility project.
(1) What is the
minimum distance between FAL soil placed at the Kenwick rail freight facility
project site and the Woodlupine Brook?
(2) What is the
minimum distance between FAL soil placed at the Kenwick rail freight facility
project site and any surface water body or wetland area?
(3) What is
the seasonal maximum groundwater level at the Kenwick rail freight facility
project site and the NorthLink WA project site at which the FAL soil was
placed?
(4) Did the PTA, having regard for section 12 of the ''PFAS
National Environmental Management Plan'', seek approval from the
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation to use the FAL soil at these
sites?
(5) If yes to
(4), please table the approval documentation; and, if not, why not?
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) The Kenwick rail freight facility project site is
located approximately 200 metres from Woodlupine Brook.
(2) Yule Brook
intersects the southern portion of the Kenwick rail freight facility project
site. Yule Brook will be modified during construction of the Kenwick rail
freight facility and placed in a culvert.
(3) The
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation's Perth groundwater
map indicates that the groundwater level at the Kenwick rail freight facility
project site is six metres Australian Height Datum and 25 metres AHD at the
NorthLink project site.
(4)–(5) DWER's
''Factsheet—Assessing whether material is waste''
provides guidance to persons in possession of material on determining whether
it is waste or not. In respect of the use of excess fill from the Forrestfield–Airport
Link at the Kenwick rail freight facility project site and the NorthLink
project site, the Public Transport Authority does not consider the material to
be waste. It is not required to seek approval from DWER to transfer excess fill
that is not considered to be waste from one location to another. The PTA has
informed DWER that soil excavated during construction of the FAL project will
be used as engineered backfill at the Kenwick rail fright facility and the
NorthLink project site.