12-19-2016, 10:22 PM
"Hey Barnaby, is that PFOS I can see on your willy"?
It would seem that Tamworth is a bit of a bad luck port for Bad Skin Barnaby and the NFI chromosome deficient Chester? First was the so-called verbal assault on them by the aviation IOS. Second was the infamous piss trough selfie shenanigans. And how we have a Council trying to make sure that no mitigation costs or blame be levelled at them;
Tamworth Council seeks action from Federal Government on PFAS contamination
Due to concerns the community will be "held to ransom" and forced to fund a clean up of contamination from a toxic firefighting foam at the airport, Tamworth Regional Council will ask the Federal Government what it plans to do to remediate the site in the northern New South Wales city.
But Deputy Prime Minister and the local MP, Barnaby Joyce, has not been quick to offer support, saying an assessment of liability and impact was needed first, and the Government is doing its "due diligence".
Council has started testing in an area north of the airport, to determine if the elevated levels of PFAS contamination have leaked off the site.
The chemicals are the same as those known to have leaked off some defence force bases around the country but the Environment Protection Authority said in this case the risk for potential exposure to the surrounding area appeared low, but more testing was needed.
Council had originally planned to start discussions with the Federal Government about recovering costs already incurred and any future costs incurred in addressing the contamination issue.
Council is blaming the Federal Government for the contamination as, according to a timeline it's prepared, various Commonwealth agencies had control of firefighting services at the airport from when it was established in 1956 to 1993.
At the urging of councillor Glenn Inglis at a meeting last night, councillors decided to ramp-up their approaches to the Federal Government.
Council will formally deny any liability for the contamination, and write to the Department of Defence and Air Services Australia to ask what those bodies will do to contain the pollution and clean up the site.
The issue is totally out of Tamworth Regional Council's control, he said, as "airport operators do not have control over ... firefighting services".
He said it was pointless for any single authority affected to try to find a solution and responsibility needs to lie with the Federal Government.
Government undertaking due diligence: Joyce Speaking at the Tamworth airport this morning, Mr Joyce said the Federal Government was doing its due diligence in determining a response.
The issue first came to light more than 12 months ago, when people living near the Williamtown RAAF base near Newcastle were told not to drink bore water after the discovery of chemical contamination.
"There has to be a diligent assessment, there is a process of assessment going on through the Defence Department," Mr Joyce said.
He said there would not be case-by-case assessments as a national approach was needed.
"We will have an assessment across the nation — it can't just be one airport — it has to be across the nation, we have to assess where the liability lies and who's responsible for it, and we also have to assess, what is the actual affect," he said.
"We have to also ask, is there a liability of the chemical companies, I mean, there's a whole range of questions, and what is the actual effect. We haven't actually had one person, who we can prove there's a clear connection between an ailment they have and this chemical.
"Not that we deny it, it just hasn't been proven that there is one, so just due diligence on behalf of the Government says you can't assume, you have to prove."
Burden of cost should fall on the Federal Government: Mayor
The council's Mayor, Col Murray, said council was seeking to ensure the community was not held to account for the cost of any work needed.
"The Australian Government and the Defence Force, who were the contributors to the contamination, should be the ones to bare the cost and not our community," he said.
"I think the Federal Government has quite a bit of work to do before they navigate a way forward on this one.
"We're just quite keen to see that our community's not held to ransom or held to account to fund any restoration, whatever that might look like.
"It's a very expensive program of testing that's required to quantify the extent of the contamination, so council's very concerned that there is ultimately somebody there that caused the contamination that should pay for the remediation."
Council will ensure all correspondence is provided to New England MP and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce.
Link here;
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14...fmredir=sm
Nothing scares a Council, it's Councillors and the Mayor and CEO more than bad publicity or having to shell out some precious $$$.
Tick Tock goes the airport contamination clock
It would seem that Tamworth is a bit of a bad luck port for Bad Skin Barnaby and the NFI chromosome deficient Chester? First was the so-called verbal assault on them by the aviation IOS. Second was the infamous piss trough selfie shenanigans. And how we have a Council trying to make sure that no mitigation costs or blame be levelled at them;
Tamworth Council seeks action from Federal Government on PFAS contamination
Due to concerns the community will be "held to ransom" and forced to fund a clean up of contamination from a toxic firefighting foam at the airport, Tamworth Regional Council will ask the Federal Government what it plans to do to remediate the site in the northern New South Wales city.
But Deputy Prime Minister and the local MP, Barnaby Joyce, has not been quick to offer support, saying an assessment of liability and impact was needed first, and the Government is doing its "due diligence".
Council has started testing in an area north of the airport, to determine if the elevated levels of PFAS contamination have leaked off the site.
The chemicals are the same as those known to have leaked off some defence force bases around the country but the Environment Protection Authority said in this case the risk for potential exposure to the surrounding area appeared low, but more testing was needed.
Council had originally planned to start discussions with the Federal Government about recovering costs already incurred and any future costs incurred in addressing the contamination issue.
Council is blaming the Federal Government for the contamination as, according to a timeline it's prepared, various Commonwealth agencies had control of firefighting services at the airport from when it was established in 1956 to 1993.
At the urging of councillor Glenn Inglis at a meeting last night, councillors decided to ramp-up their approaches to the Federal Government.
Council will formally deny any liability for the contamination, and write to the Department of Defence and Air Services Australia to ask what those bodies will do to contain the pollution and clean up the site.
The issue is totally out of Tamworth Regional Council's control, he said, as "airport operators do not have control over ... firefighting services".
He said it was pointless for any single authority affected to try to find a solution and responsibility needs to lie with the Federal Government.
Government undertaking due diligence: Joyce Speaking at the Tamworth airport this morning, Mr Joyce said the Federal Government was doing its due diligence in determining a response.
The issue first came to light more than 12 months ago, when people living near the Williamtown RAAF base near Newcastle were told not to drink bore water after the discovery of chemical contamination.
"There has to be a diligent assessment, there is a process of assessment going on through the Defence Department," Mr Joyce said.
He said there would not be case-by-case assessments as a national approach was needed.
"We will have an assessment across the nation — it can't just be one airport — it has to be across the nation, we have to assess where the liability lies and who's responsible for it, and we also have to assess, what is the actual affect," he said.
"We have to also ask, is there a liability of the chemical companies, I mean, there's a whole range of questions, and what is the actual effect. We haven't actually had one person, who we can prove there's a clear connection between an ailment they have and this chemical.
"Not that we deny it, it just hasn't been proven that there is one, so just due diligence on behalf of the Government says you can't assume, you have to prove."
Burden of cost should fall on the Federal Government: Mayor
The council's Mayor, Col Murray, said council was seeking to ensure the community was not held to account for the cost of any work needed.
"The Australian Government and the Defence Force, who were the contributors to the contamination, should be the ones to bare the cost and not our community," he said.
"I think the Federal Government has quite a bit of work to do before they navigate a way forward on this one.
"We're just quite keen to see that our community's not held to ransom or held to account to fund any restoration, whatever that might look like.
"It's a very expensive program of testing that's required to quantify the extent of the contamination, so council's very concerned that there is ultimately somebody there that caused the contamination that should pay for the remediation."
Council will ensure all correspondence is provided to New England MP and Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce.
Link here;
http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14...fmredir=sm
Nothing scares a Council, it's Councillors and the Mayor and CEO more than bad publicity or having to shell out some precious $$$.
Tick Tock goes the airport contamination clock