Nicole Hasham
February 24, 2015
The Millers Point gasworks operated at the Barangaroo site until the 1920s, leaving behind human carcinogens and substances toxic to aquatic life that are thought to be leaching into Darling Harbour.
The government has long believed legal responsibility for much of the clean-up lies with utility firm Jemena, which acquired the company that operated the gasworks.
The Barangaroo Delivery Authority wants to build residential, civic and commercial buildings and public space at Central Barangaroo.
It has sought planning permission to "remediate" more than 2 hectares of contaminated land, which would involve excavating contaminated soil, trucking it away for treatment and dumping it in landfill.
However Jemena says the plan should be refused because the work goes far beyond what is needed, and the company should not be paying to help redevelop Barangaroo.
In a letter to the planning department, Jemena said the planned work matches the shape of proposed development, and future buildings at the site require deep excavations, such as for basement car parks.
Jemena also told Fairfax Media it was in the early stages of legal action over approval to decontaminate land at Barangaroo South, saying the assessment and approval process was "inadequate".
Company spokesman Ian Israelsohn said both the Barangaroo Delivery Authority and Lend Lease, which is developing the land, are parties to the challenge.
The decontamination bill at Barangaroo has previously been put at $112 million. The authority's website states this would come at "no cost to taxpayers". Money would be recovered "from the responsible parties" and developer payments from Barangaroo South would cover any state liability. However the government lost a legal dispute over developer contributions last year and is expected to receive far less from Lend Lease than originally forecast.
A Barangaroo Delivery Authority spokesman refused to say if the public would have to pay for part of the clean-up, citing the legal action.
The authority had been trialling an on-site chemical remediation which is considered cheaper than other methods, however its plans showed the trial was unsuccessful.
The Audit Office of NSW in 2011 warned remediation costs at Barangaroo could rise depending on the method used. It said any money not recovered from the site's previous owners would be funded by the authority, which could slow down construction.
Mr Israelsohn said Jemena would make a "fair and reasonable contribution" to remediation, which should take into account the site's long, complex history, including all previous uses. He called for independent mediation to resolve the issue.
A Barangaroo Delivery Authority spokesman said only preliminary on-site remediation trials have been conducted and full-scale trials will occur this year. He said the cost of remediation and discussions with Jemena were commercial-in-confidence. Neither he nor Lend Lease would comment on the legal action.
February 24, 2015
| The Barangaroo development site seen from King Street wharf Photo: Fiona Morris |
A state government plan to clean up toxic waste at Barangaroo by digging giant holes is a veiled attempt to excavate for future buildings and save money, the company assumed responsible for the contamination says.
It has also emerged that the firm, Jemena, has launched legal action over decontamination at Barangaroo South. The government agency running Barangaroo has refused to guarantee taxpayers will not foot part of the hefty bill for stripping deadly chemicals such as benzene and cyanide from the harbourfront land, despite previous assurances to the contrary.The Millers Point gasworks operated at the Barangaroo site until the 1920s, leaving behind human carcinogens and substances toxic to aquatic life that are thought to be leaching into Darling Harbour.
The government has long believed legal responsibility for much of the clean-up lies with utility firm Jemena, which acquired the company that operated the gasworks.
The Barangaroo Delivery Authority wants to build residential, civic and commercial buildings and public space at Central Barangaroo.
It has sought planning permission to "remediate" more than 2 hectares of contaminated land, which would involve excavating contaminated soil, trucking it away for treatment and dumping it in landfill.
However Jemena says the plan should be refused because the work goes far beyond what is needed, and the company should not be paying to help redevelop Barangaroo.
In a letter to the planning department, Jemena said the planned work matches the shape of proposed development, and future buildings at the site require deep excavations, such as for basement car parks.
Jemena also told Fairfax Media it was in the early stages of legal action over approval to decontaminate land at Barangaroo South, saying the assessment and approval process was "inadequate".
Company spokesman Ian Israelsohn said both the Barangaroo Delivery Authority and Lend Lease, which is developing the land, are parties to the challenge.
The decontamination bill at Barangaroo has previously been put at $112 million. The authority's website states this would come at "no cost to taxpayers". Money would be recovered "from the responsible parties" and developer payments from Barangaroo South would cover any state liability. However the government lost a legal dispute over developer contributions last year and is expected to receive far less from Lend Lease than originally forecast.
A Barangaroo Delivery Authority spokesman refused to say if the public would have to pay for part of the clean-up, citing the legal action.
The authority had been trialling an on-site chemical remediation which is considered cheaper than other methods, however its plans showed the trial was unsuccessful.
The Audit Office of NSW in 2011 warned remediation costs at Barangaroo could rise depending on the method used. It said any money not recovered from the site's previous owners would be funded by the authority, which could slow down construction.
Mr Israelsohn said Jemena would make a "fair and reasonable contribution" to remediation, which should take into account the site's long, complex history, including all previous uses. He called for independent mediation to resolve the issue.
A Barangaroo Delivery Authority spokesman said only preliminary on-site remediation trials have been conducted and full-scale trials will occur this year. He said the cost of remediation and discussions with Jemena were commercial-in-confidence. Neither he nor Lend Lease would comment on the legal action.
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