Angair was represented at the recent Alcoa Community Consultation Network meeting, as were several other Community Organisations.
Alcoa will continue to convene regular meetings to inform the Anglesea Community on rehabilitation and decommissioning progress. A draft time scale of activities was outlined. Most of the coal face will be covered under a metre of soil and clay by the end of August 2015. There will be a small area of exposed vertical coal-face that cannot be easily covered in the short term. Alcoa will continue to provide fire fighting equipment and capacity on site. Fire preparations at Anglesea for the coming summer are being investigated by the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry. Angair and the local CFA will be well represented at a public meeting to be held by the Inquiry on Thursday, 30 and Friday, 31 July, at the Great Ocean Road Resort, 105 Great Ocean Road, Anglesea.
Rehabilitation of mined areas will commence once a rehabilitation plan is completed. The plan may take more than 12 months to be developed and approved. Air quality monitoring stations around Anglesea will be dismantled after the Power Station ceases to operate.
Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning representative Helen Vaughan announced at the Alcoa CNN Meeting that it will conduct public conversations on possible future uses of the mined area quite soon. The Victorian Government is committed to protecting the Anglesea Heath, by placing much of the leasehold land into the Great Otway National Park. Alcoa has not made any decisions about the future of its freehold land.
A recent press release from the Premiers Office announced that the summer flows of about 4.5 mega-litres per day of ground water into the Anglesea River, formerly associated with mining and power generation at the mine site, will be maintained this summer. Alcoa has generously agreed to cover the costs associated with maintaining this flow.
Work is under way to relocate the Indigenous Plant Propagation Unit closer to our Angair Office hopefully by March next year. Site and building plans are being developed to obtain planning permission.
Angair was represented at the recent Anglesea River Working Group, which reviewed a draft “acid event” response plan, and also discussed future flows in the Anglesea River after the closure of the Power Station.
Peter Forster
Anglesea and Aireys Inlet Wildflower and Art Show
We’re approaching spring, and with it, Angair’s event of the year. The Wildflower and Art Show will be on Saturday and Sunday, 19 and 20, September 2015, from 10.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. each day, at the Anglesea Memorial Hall, McMillan Street, Anglesea.
Helpers will be needed, so if you are interested and able, please contact our Secretary, by phone 5263 1085 or e-mail: admin@angair.org.au or email.
Show Bookstall
We are still looking for books that we can sell at the September Angair Wildflower Weekend & Art Show in aid of Angair’s work in caring for our environment. Books on on natural history subjects, such as birds, animals, weeds, native and indigenous plants/gardens, geology, environmental issues, bush walks etc. would be most welcome. If you have any books you would like to donate to Angair, please leave them at the Angair Natural History Centre, or call Mandy on 0403 136 670 for collection.
Mandy Mitchell-Taverner