Local politicians and Central Coast Council both say that they are waiting for more information from the EPA about the presence of PFAS fire-fighting chemicals in surface water, ground water, soil and in the Tuggerah Lakes system, before they can give the local community more information.
“Really, all we got out of them, was that they had directed, as they are able to do, the owners to go away and do more testing, and I don’t remember a timetable,” Mr MacDonald said. “They did undertake to talk to the owners about putting signage up, but there is no more clarity about risk or the levels of PFAS detected.” Mr MacDonald said that the EPA did not give the politicians briefed the test results that had already been conducted.
“At this point, the EPA makes a judgement about risk pathways and whether there is a direct pathway to human intake,” Mr MacDonald said. One of the major direct risk pathways identifi ed when the same chemicals were found at Williamtown, was that the surrounding community did not have access to reticulated water and was dependent on bore water for drinking, gardening and domestic use.
Central Coast Council has confirmed that all neighbourhoods surrounding the contaminated land have access to reticulated drinking water.
“The EPA has every right and every power to direct what gets tested, where, who does it and how it is reported.
Central Coast Council is directing all inquiries about the presence of PFAS fire-fighting chemicals in ground and surface water at Colongra and Munmorah power station sites back to the EPA.
“Central Coast Council has been informed that the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has directed Generator Protection Property Maintenance and Snowy Hydro to conduct further testing at the Munmorah and Colongra Power Stations as part of the state-wide investigation into PFAS (per- and ploy- fluoroaklkyl substances),” a statement from Council in response to the Chronicle’s questions said. “Any questions or concerns should be directed to the EPA’s NSW Environment Line on 131 555,” the statement from Central Coast Council said.