Moira moves to remove Numurkah tyre pile

Published on 06 December 2018

 Moira Shire Council, with the support of the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), has begun planning the swift and safe removal of the Numurkah tyre pile.

Moira Shire CEO Mark Henderson said the EPA’s decision to use its powers to address the public and environmental risks associated with the site was welcome news.

"For the past six years we have pursued all legal avenues to force the site owner to remove the tyres," Mr Henderson said.

"The EPA, council and the Numurkah community are very aware of the public health, safety and environmental risks associated with the site.

"These concerns are underscored by the CFA’s recent fire risk assessment that rated the risk of fire as extreme and the consequences as catastrophic.

"With today’s announcements by the Victorian Government and the EPA we look forward to removing the tyre pile quickly and safely."

Mr Henderson said in coming days, council will securely fence the site, begin works to ensure safe truck access to and from the site in accordance with EPA regulatory requirements.

"Australian company Tyrecycle has been appointed to remove the tyres and we will work with them to confirm the logistics of sorting, loading and transporting the estimated 5,000 tonnes of tyres," he said.

"Our very rough estimates suggest the site could be clear by late summer - but we just don’t know what we may find in among the tyres.

"Our goal is to remove the tyres as safely and quickly as possible and to minimise the impact on the local community and road users.

"Good project planning at this stage will help us achieve these goals."

Mr Henderson encouraged the community to heed the EPA’s safety warnings.

"The site is now a restricted work area. For the safety of EPA, council staff, contractors, site owners and the community, access to the site will be strictly policed," he said.

"We anticipate the truck loading and movements will be restricted to week days and

daylight hours but we want local road users to be alert to an increased number of large trucks – B-doubles – on our local roads, namely Saxton Street West.

"We will continuously monitor noise, dust and other factors that may impact on local residents – but we also hope the community will recognise the works as a short term inconvenience that will eliminate a significant health and safety risk for the community."

Moira Shire Council will provide project progress updates via its website, social media site and local media including a ‘pop up information booth’ each Thursday at the Numurkah Visitor Information Centre between 11.30am and 2pm.

"One of the first things we will look to publish is the overall project timelines and the proposed truck routes from the site to the supplier’s processing plant," Mr Henderson said.

Moira Shire Council is also working with the support of agencies including CFA, Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) and Victoria Police.