Rehabilitation works to the old Violet Town Landfill site will be completed at a $2 million saving to ratepayers after Strathbogie Shire Council successfully applied for approval to have the site classified as low risk.
It is an incredible result given the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) rarely approves this classification for rural landfill sites.
The works included in the 2022/23 Budget will now cost $3 million, instead of the $5 million original estimate.
Council recently appointed Goulburn-Valley based Apex Earthworks Pty Ltd as the contractor to carry out rehabilitation works to the old Violet Town Landfill site.
The project was included in the 2022/23 Budget capital works program due to requirements outlined by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Strathbogie Shire Council Mayor Cr Laura Binks said the project was an important one to ensure Council meets all requirements outlined by the EPA for the management of the site.
“At Council, we want to ensure the environment can prosper and flourish into the future,” Cr Binks said.
“The project has been budgeted at $3 million due to significant reshaping and importation of soil material to build the area up to the approved specification.
“It is great news to note that Council received approval from the EPA for a “type 3 cap” which indicates that the site is a low-risk rural landfill. As a result, there has been a $2 million saving in the cost for Council to complete the works.
“It is something that Council is required to do, and to continue to put it off, would have resulted in further cost increases for something that would have inevitably had to have been completed.”
Council is also required, as stipulated by the EPA for the management of the site, to rehabilitate the former Violet Town Landfill and monitor for leachate, groundwater, surface water and settlement for the next 30 years.
This ongoing monitoring is part of the preventative management of the site to ensure that Council can deal with any environmental issues before they become significant in future.
Works are due to start in late October, 2022 and are expected to be completed by mid-March, 2023, dependant on weather and other conditions.
There will be no risk or interruption to the Violet Town community while the works are being carried out.
Hours at the Violet Town Transfer Station will remain the same during the works and traffic will be redirected to avoid any impact to Transfer Station users.
