Madden under fire over pipeline

By Melissa Meehan
RESIDENTS fighting the Sugarloaf Pipeline have been dealt yet another blow in their fight against the Brumby Government.
Planning Minister Justin Madden has decided that an Environment Effects Statement (EES) would not be required for the controversial pipeline.
Mr Madden said that the decision was made using criteria from the Ministerial Guidelines for Assessment of Environmental Effects under the Environment Effects Act 1978.
“Having reviewed all the information from Melbourne Water, I have concluded that an Environmental Effects Statement is not required for the Sugarloaf Pipeline,” Mr Madden said.
“The flexible alignment of the pipeline means potential environmental effects can be avoided or mitigated as has been the case with the construction of other pipelines in Victoria including the Goldfields Superpipe and the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline which didn’t require a EES.”
The Sugarloaf Pipeline is a key component of the $1 billion Food Bowl Modernisation Project, which will transfer up to 75 billion litres of water each year from the Goulburn River to the Sugarloaf Reservoir.
The project will allow for Melbourne to access a share of the 225 billion litres of water saved in the food bowl each year.
Mr Madden said that a condition of his decision that the pipeline would not require a EES was that further assessments could be conducted when the route was finalised by Melbourne Water early this year.
“There are some environmental issues which warrant further investigation and further community consultation, which will be work through as part of this environmental process,” Mr Madden said.
Malcolm Calder of the 3775 Pipeline Group said he was not surprised by the minister’s decision that an EES was not necessary.
“The government is fast tracking the whole project. But it makes me angry when the government can override EES legislation like this when normal citizens would be required to comply,” Mr Calder said.
Spokesperson for Plug the Pipeline, Jan Beer agreed with Mr Calder, and said that the Sugarloaf pipeline was in desperate needof an EES.
“There isn’t sufficient water and it could lead to a disastrous effect on the Murray Darling Basin,” Ms Beer said.
Ms Beer said she could not understand why the minister had made the decision not to push on with the studies, as the proposed route would cross 180 waterways and go under the Yea River three times.
“They say that they will continue studies throughout the construction of the pipeline, but you would think that before building anything the studies on environmental effects would be completed,” Ms Beer said.
Councillor Jeanette McRae said that she thought the government had erred in its decision.
“There are social and economic impacts that have not sufficiently been adressed,” Cr McRae said.
She said that with Victoria being in it’s 11th year of drought, it was difficult to establish where the saved water from the project would come from.
“At the end of the day before they made the decision to invest money in the project, they should have made sure that they will actually have water savings in the food bowl.”
A public meeting has been organised by the Shire of Yarra Ranges in partnership with the Yarra Glen District Township Group and 3775 Pipeline Group to create greater community awareness of the proposed project.
Cr McRae urged residents to attend the meeting.
“It is important for all residents in the immediate area to have an informed view of what is being proposed for this project,” Cr McRae said.
“The meeting on 30 January will provide residents with accurate information and the opportunity to hear from a range of guest speakers who are experts in their fields.”
“The council is being pragmatic, the government hasn’t taken into account community input. It isn’t just about Yarra Glen residents finding out more information, but its of great significance to everyone,” Cr McRae said.
The public meeting will be held at Yarra Glen Memorial Hall on Wednesday 30 January form 7.30pm to 9.30pm.