COUNCIL SUES FEDS OVER OAKEY WATER
Damages sought over PFAS crisis
THE Toowoomba Regional Council has launched legal action against the Federal Government for damages relating to PFAS contamination.
In a claim filed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last week, the council alleged the Commonwealth had been negligent and caused a public nuisance in its handling of the matter.
In the claim, the council said it could have to spend up to $12.5 million in water security measures for Oakey.
LEGAL action launched against the Federal Government is about protecting ratepayer assets, Toowoomba’s mayor says.
Speaking with Fairfax media yesterday, Paul Antonio said council-owned bores, that used to supply the majority of Oakey’s town water supply, had been contaminated with PFAS and couldn’t be used.
“We invested quite heavily in that bore field and we have a right to confront the Federal Government,” Cr Antonio said.
“We’ve been talking to a number of people and we have also received a supportive response from the Federal Government.”
PFAS, or per- and poly-fluo-roalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals, the most common of which are perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The chemicals were commonly found in fire-fighting foams at Defence bases.
The Toowoomba Regional Council has subsequently launched legal action against the Federal Government for damages relating to the contamination.
In a claim filed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane last week, the council alleged the Commonwealth had been negligent and caused a public nuisance in its handling of the matter.
In the claim, the council said it could have to spend up to $12.5 million in water security measures for Oakey.
The council said, due to the contamination, it had been unable to reopen the Oakey Water Treatment Plant, which had supplied 65 per cent of water to the town’s supply, since its closure for maintenance in 2012.
It was currently relying on a pipeline between Toowoomba’s Mount Kynoch Water Treatment Plant and Oakey to supply the small town with water, though the pipeline was not designed to be the main source of water for the town.
“In order to provide security of water supply to the water network to supplement the supply of water from the Toowoomba-Oakey water pipeline, the council must construct a duplicate of the Toowoomba-Oakey water pipeline at an estimated cost of $12,500,000,” the council said in the claim.
“Alternatively, purchase and install a water treatment system capable of removing PFCs from water drawn from council bores prior to its treatment at the Oakey Water Treatment Plant, at an estimated cost of $12,000,000.
“Alternatively, construct a reservoir to provide a minimum 48-hour emergency back-up water supply for the water network at an estimated cost of $3,000,000.”
The council did not specify how much it wanted in damages but said the Federal Government “knew or ought reasonably to have known” since 1977 that the fire-fighting foam used at the Oakey army base contained PFAS and was potentially harmful to humans and the environment.
A spokesman for Assistant Defence Minister David Fawcett said they were aware of the legal action.
“The Department of Defence and the Government is aware the Toowoomba Regional Council has filed proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland,” he said.
“As ... the matter is currently before the court it’s not appropriate to comment.”