A decade-old fight over development of a Fawkner site where some of the toxic chemicals used to make Agent Orange were manufactured has reignited after a “retrospective” planning application by the owners.
The former Nufarm site at 102 McBryde Street, in Melbourne’s outer north, has been the subject of resident concerns since the mid-1990s when a clay cap was laid across the site to stop residue chemicals spreading into soil and nearby land.
Nufarm manufactured agricultural chemicals, including parts of – but never the whole product – Agent Orange, a weapon used by the US army during the Vietnam War to strip vegetation, between 1962 and 1971.
Community groups lost their campaign in 2018 to stop the site from being redeveloped into warehouses despite arguing that works may disturb the cap and allow leftover toxic waste to leach out.
Now, an application has been made to Merri-bek Council to grant a permit for concrete slabs and shipping containers that were already installed on the land, which backs on to Merri Creek.
The permit application has attracted 98 objections. One letter, seen by The Age, urged the council to refuse it because of “the documented history of significant contamination at this site and the potential risks associated with further development and disturbance of the land”.
“I am particularly concerned about the integrity of the existing clay cap and whether any works already undertaken, or proposed as part of this application, could disturb or compromise the containment of contaminated material,” the letter read.
“I am further concerned that works appear to have already been undertaken at the site without the required planning approval.
“Given the site’s contamination history, it is important that council establish precisely what works have occurred, when they occurred, whether contaminated soil or other potentially contaminated material was disturbed or removed, where any material was taken, and what environmental controls were in place at the time.
“The fact that works may already have occurred should not diminish the level of scrutiny applied to the current application.”
The application, by companies S&A Piccirillo Paving Pty Ltd and A&F Basile Paving Pty Ltd, asks the council to approve the “retrospective buildings and works” for storing machinery and vehicles.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled in 2018 that the landowners could build two warehouses, as long as the clay cap was maintained. The decision said the industrial work “will not raise an unacceptable level of risk to the environment, the health of residents or site users”.
A community meeting was held about the current proposal last month, with about 30 people attending.
Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton called the retrospective application “quite outrageous”.
“I feel a highly contaminated site like this should not be managed by planning permits. They should be managed by the state government to ensure there is never any activity that would lead to [disturbance] of the clay cap.”
A Merri-bek council spokesperson said the permit related to the “retrospective application [that] applies to works already completed at the site”.
“Council is aware of the site history, and is aware there is an environmental audit on the site. The environmental audit on the site has previously been considered by VCAT,” they said.
“The application received 98 objections throughout the public notice period, which has now closed.”
Council officers were reviewing the information supplied with the application, which included a preliminary environmental site assessment, and were “considering all feedback”, the spokesperson said.
According to the environmental site assessment, “the capping layer can be considered functionally intact”. Council officers will prepare a report for a decision in December.
Answering a mobile number for Angela Piccirillo, a female voice said: “I’m not interested in commenting on anything,” when contacted.
Questions about the application were sent to an email address for Piccirillo Paving, and another address listed on the application forms. No response was received by deadline.
Resident and community campaigner for Toxic Free Fawkner, Zainab, who requested her last name not be published, said she was “dumbfounded” that an environmental report produced in 1995 may still be factored into decision-making about the site. “The decision that council makes in the coming months will become part of the history of this site. I hope they are comfortable with how they will be remembered,” she said.
“It’s been nearly 70 years since Nufarm came to Fawkner and the legacy of this toxic site began. Residents are still fighting to have their health and safety taken seriously.”
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