Coramba Groundwater Contamination
History
Groundwater contamination was discovered in Coramba in 2002 when fuel odours were noticed by a resident near the Orara River.
Actions were taken immediately by Council and the government agencies responsible to safeguard the village's reticulated water supply and introduce environmental monitoring.
Subsequent investigations discovered that a fuel tank at the service station at 33-35 Gale Street was leaking and it was removed. In all, around 3,000 litres of unleaded fuel are believed to have leaked from the tank. This is the only facility which has been storing fuel since the 1980s and the only local site that stored unleaded petrol. Unleaded petrol was introduced in the mid 1980s.
Responsibilities
The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) has overall statutory responsibility to deal with the contamination.
Environmental Assessment
In February 2009 Council submitted a Major Project Application and Detailed Environmental Assessment under Part 3A of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act (EP&A Act), to the NSW Department of Planning, seeking the Ministers Approval to construct and operate a groundwater remediation technology in Martin Street, Coramba. View the Environmental Assessment documents.
Reports
A number of reports have been written on the contamination. The following four (4) reports were prepared in late 2006:
- 'Environmental Assessment Report' prepared by WSP Environmental Pty Ltd;
- 'Remedial Action Plan', prepared by WSP Environmental Pty Ltd;
- 'Site Auditors Report' prepared by an Accredited Site Auditor with HLA Envirosciences Pty Ltd; and
- 'Airborne Benzene Monitoring Report' prepared by Workplace Environment Consultants Pty Ltd.
These reports are available for viewing at Coffs Harbour City Council's Administrative Centre at the corner of Coff and Castle Streets, Coffs Harbour.
Community Working Party
Following a public meeting in December 2006, DECC, the NSW Department of Health, Council and the Premier's Office formed the Coramba Fuel Contamination Interagency Community Working Party with members of the Coramba community to progress remediation of the groundwater contamination.
The first meeting of the Community Working Party was held on 26 February 2007.
At that first meeting, the Working Party asked Council to consider becoming the applicant to the NSW Environmental Trust so that it could apply - on behalf of the Coramba community - for funding to enable remediation work to begin and to project manage the work, subject to receiving the necessary grants.
Following approval of that request at a subsequent Council meeting in April 2007, Council agreed to apply to the Trust for funding to cover the costs of the first stage of the remediation works. The first stage includes the installation of an 'air sparge' system. This involves injecting pressurized air into the water table to strip away the contaminants, plus air, river water and groundwater monitoring - as per the recommendations of the Community Working Party. Environmental studies will also be carried out to gain consent for the remediation works from the NSW Department of Planning.
A grant funding application was submitted to the NSW Environmental Trust by Council on 2 May 2007. A second public meeting was held in Coramba on 14 June, 2007, which heard that Phil Koperberg, the NSW Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, had made $895,000 available for the above work.
View the Environmental Assessment and submissions.
Pilot Trial - Phase 1 of Remediation Works
Work began on the Pilot Trial, the first stage of the proposed remediation works, in February 2008. The initial phase will see the installation of a Pilot Trial Air Sparge/Soil Vapour Extraction System (SVE) on land at the lower portion of Martin Street. The pilot-scale installation will assist in designing the full-scale Air Sparge and SVE system, which requires Project Approval from the NSW Department of Planning. Groundwater monitoring also began at the end of January 2008 as part of the remediation works.
A public Information Session on Phase 1 was held at Coramba Hall on Thursday, January 17. An information sheet on the Pilot Trial was sent out to local residents prior to the meeting. Copies are also available at the Coramba Post Office and below:
Pilot Trial - Frequently Asked Questions Jan 2008 (509KB)
A programme of air, river water and groundwater monitoring will also continue in 2008 as part of the remediation work. The preliminary timetable for the remediation project is:
- Phase 1: Pilot trial testing program - January to March 2008
- Phase 2: Base monitoring: air, river water & groundwater - continuing throughout 2008
- Phase 3: Full scale Air Sparge and SVE installation - second half 2008, subject to receiving Project Approval from the NSW Department of Planning
- Phase 4: Operation of the full scale Air Sparge and SVE - 2 to 3 years from 2008
WSP Groundwater Monitoring Report May 2008 (2.58MB)
Air Sparge Trial Reports
WSP Coramba Air Sparge Trial Report July 2008 (1.62MB) WSP Response to initial Auditor's Comments - July 2008 (34KB) ENSR Site Auditor's Review of WSP Sparge Trial - Final Comments - August 2008 (45KB)
Coramba Water Health Risk Report
Below is the Coramba Water Health Risk Report undertaken in 2007 by North Coast Area Health Service Director Paul Corben.
Coramba Health Risk Assessment June 2007 (194KB)
Coramba Orara River Water Monitoring
River Water Monitoring to October 2009 (86KB)
Frequently Asked Questions:
Below is a document produced for the community in March 2007 which answers a series of commonly asked questions on the issue.
Coramba Groundwater Contamination FAQs (519KB)
Minutes of the Community Working Party:
| Date | Minutes |
|---|---|
19 December 2006 |
Coramba Working Party Minutes - 1 (46KB) |
26 February 2007 |
Coramba Working Party Minutes - 2 (48KB) |
29 March 2007 |
Coramba Working Party Minutes - 3 (46KB) |
1 May 2007 |
Coramba Working Party Minutes - 4 (55KB) |
| 14 June 2007 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 5 (773KB) |
| 27 Sept 2007 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 6 (44KB) |
| 29 May 2008 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 7 (48KB) |
| 31 July 2008 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 8 (51KB) |
| 13 November 2008 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 9 (95KB) |
| 7 May 2009 | Coramba Working Party Minutes - 10 (361KB) |
Media releases on the subject:
| Date | Media Release |
|---|---|
27 February 2007 |
Coramba Working Party media release - 1 (57KB) |
4 April 2007 |
Coramba Working Party media release - 2 (18KB) |
13 June 2007 |
Coramba Working Party media release - 3 (57KB) |
18 December 2007 |
|
| 11 January 2008 | Community Invited to Coramba Remediation Works Information Session |
Further information:
If you have further questions about the groundwater contamination please contact:
John Coffey, Manager Special Projects Contaminated Sites Section, DECC
Ph: 02 9995 5621, Fax: 02 9995 5930
Email: john.coffey@environment.nsw.gov.au
Department of Environment & Climate Change (DECC)
Contaminated Sites Section
PO Box A290
South Sydney NSW 1232
You can also contact DECC via the "Environment Line" by phone: 131 555 (local call cost in NSW)
Jeff Green, Manager Resource Recovery (Acting), Coffs Harbour City Council
Ph: 02 6648 4670, Fax: 02 6648 4667
Email: jeff.green@chcc.nsw.gov.au
Coffs Harbour City Council
Locked Bag 155
Coffs Harbour NSW 2450
Paul Corben, Director of NCAHS Public Health Unit, NSW Health
Ph: 02 6588 2750, Fax: 02 6588 2837
Email: Paul.Corben@ncahs.health.nsw.gov.au
North Coast Area Health Service - Public Health Unit
PO Box 126
Port Macquarie NSW 2444
The information provided on this website is provided in good faith by the Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC), Coffs Harbour City Council (CHCC) and NSW Health (North Coast Area Health Service - NCAHS). You should be aware that in making this material available, we are not providing professional advice and accept no liability arising in connection to or from reliance on this material.
