Wednesday, July 27, 2011

More Gas Plant Explosions

Lunch time; 28 July 2011

Dear tourists to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles,

there is no need to be (too much) alarmed. That noise you just heard - the explosion-like sound - is just one of the gas plants they built near the town enduring yet another meltdown.

The operators, Origin Energy, tell us there is nothing to be concerned about. Origin and Woodside, the company who built the plant, call this an 'unplanned event'. Saves them being accountable to the EPA and the locals.

They're not particularly worried that our house shakes.

sincerely, Mr and Mrs Rogered

Postscript: The gas plant exploded again about an hour later. Two explosions in one day. For some visitors to Port Campbell explosions might go well with a visit to the Twelve Apostles. But explosion 2 might be enough to drive some of the tourists from the town. A helluva memory of the Great Ocean Road

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Sounds of a Blue Sky Winter

22 July 2011

Winter mornings don’t come any more perfect than the one at Port Campbell this morning.

The sky is blue. There is no wind. For those visiting the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road it will be a grand day.

The sound of the waves pounding into the sandstone apostles might make a perfectly subtle soundtrack to the visit. We live just north of Port Campbell and have our own soundtrack: the whirring industrial drone of the Origin Energy gas plant. This morning the Origin plant is celebrating the day its own way – by emitting a constant high pitched whirr to go with their 24-hour droning.

Of course neither the EPA or the Corangamite Shire will do anything about this. But it’s not just the locals who have to suffer this industrial indignity. For visitors returning to Melbourne tonight might think they have reached the city far quicker than they expected when they encounter the tragedy of city-like lights, the hundreds (perhaps thousands) of lights blazing from the Origin and TRU Energy gas plants just north of Port Campbell.

And to finish, another blast from the past. Brett Holland was a Woodside employee (Woodside built the fault plagued gas plant that Origin now run) when he visited our place and took a reading of 41.7DBA. “The noise is far louder than I expected,” he said at the time. This is no surprise: it is more than double the noise the Origin plant is legally permitted to emit.

Enjoy your visit to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles. Just try and forget any industrial noise and lighting you might encounter (pollution though is often scarring).

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Reply from the Federal Member for Wannon

Finally Mr and Mrs Rogered have had a reply - from the Federal Member for Wannon Dan Tehan (it came via his electoral officer but at least someone replied) - in regard to the noise coming from the gas plants built at Port Campbell, with sight of the Great Ocean Road and near the 12 Apostles.

Here's the email:

Good morning,

Dan thanks you for staying in touch and is interested to know if you are still in discussions with Origin Energy about the noise levels.

Thanks and regards,

Pru Neale
Electorate Officer

And Mr and Mrs Rogered's reply:

Hi Pru,

thank you for replying to my email [on behalf of Dan]. Origin Energy has tabled nothing beyond jargoned corporate-speak.

Tragically, my family and I continue to be affected by an industrial noise that no-one is willing to take responsibility for.

sincerely

Mr and Mrs Rogered