TAMWORTH Regional Council has no more funding to clean-up contamination at the airport and says the federal government needs to come to the party.
Tamworth Regional Airport was identified as one of 25 sites “under investigation” in NSW for elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS).
However, Ross Briggs, council’s manager of regulatory services, believed there could be more contaminated sites, yet to be uncovered.
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Mr Briggs said council had spent $120,000 testing and containing PFAS contamination at the airport, which was allegedly caused by fire-fighting drills carried-out at the facility when it was run by Commonwealth air services for 32 years.
He said council was now in limbo, left to manage the issue it only became aware of in 2016.
“We’ve gone as far as we can with funding,” Mr Briggs told The Leader.
He had previously said requests for financial help had fallen on deaf ears and with no money cash in the clean-up coffers, the Tamworth issue appeared unresolved.
“We’re waiting for the federal government to take responsibility and come to the party,” he said.
Council was preparing to make a submission to a current inquiry on PFAS contamination on defence sites, to make sure its voice was heard on the issue.
“We want to keep the matter front of mind for the federal government,” Mr Briggs said.
“The mayor and councillors have been working with our MPs to make sure its kept front of mind.
“We don’t want to be left holding the bag for the federal government.”
He said the PFAS was “reasonably well-contained” and there were no new warning for residents “above and beyond” previous communication.
“What we’ve told the community before is: not to consume the groundwater, not to use it to irrigate vegetable crops you’re planning to eat and limit the types of fish caught and eaten from the Peel River,” he said.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
