An asbestos dumping ground has been uncovered close to a primary school in Ludmilla, with the Northern Territory government tasked with the cleanup.
The Department of Infrastructure, a division of the NT government, will be required to remediate the site after being served with a pollution notice by the Environmental Protection Authority. The site in question contains an estimated 1600 cubic metres of asbestos-containing material and was found during the revitalisation of a rugby league venue adjacent to a local primary school.
The NRL abandoned the site in 2014 due to what it described as fiscal mismanagement. Many local NRL supporters opposed demolishing the buildings at the site and applied to have it heritage listed, which was denied, and the site’s grandstand, toilet block, clubhouse and gatehouse were demolished in February last year.
The EPA explained that during preliminary works, asbestos containing material was found in soil across 500 sqm, in addition to the further investigation, which uncovered 816 tonnes of asbestos-contaminated material.
In August of 2021, the EPA issued a pollution abatement notice, which detailed the requirements for remediating the site. In April and May of this year, further asbestos was found and stockpiled 100m from the edge of the primary school.
The EPA served the Department its second notice in August, in which the executive director Amy Dennison explained that the government had agreed to contain the material.
The Department had until the end of September to engage an environmental or contaminated land consultant and auditors to oversee the project. It has until October to submit a Remedial Action Plan to manage the asbestos-contaminated soil. It is also required to provide a long-term plan to address the asbestos risks at the site.
Any infringement to the pollution abatement notices already served might be considered an offence under the Land Title Act.