tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57281764475280815482024-03-13T03:23:52.332-07:00Twelve Apostles: What a GasGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-56451811981173071262012-11-18T19:50:00.001-08:002012-11-19T14:31:58.074-08:00Gas Plant Blows Up: Crows Blamed<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the gas plants near Port Campbell and the Great Ocean Road "blew up" yet again today (approx 8.30am 19 November 2012). Though there are four gas plants in this part of south-west Victoria near the 12 Apostles there is every chance it was the Origin gas plant that 'exploded'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The diabolical roar and shooting flames looked remarkably similar to the other explosions of sound and the towering flame that is a regular occurrence at the Origin (formerly Woodside) plant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just last week (13 November 2012) a similar explosion happened and for the first time<span style="font-size: 10pt;"> one of the spokes people from Origin decided to put a little spin on the 'explosion'. An Origin staffer wrote to us to try and explain the flaming roar that could be heard for many kilometres: "caused by a crow coming into contact with the main power source where it enters the gas plant and shorting out the circuit," they wrote.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">What is laughably remarkable about this is that there is no admission from Origin about accepting responsibility for 'blowing' up this rural area. Pushed on this matter Origin would doubtlessly blame events over which they have no control and for which they could never have planned.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Though they might not publicly talk about that either because such an admission will raise the point about what other potentially far more catastrophic events has Origin not accounted for? </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">it is now nine months since the EPA met with residents concerned about the life-wrecking noise coming from the Origin plant and still they have done nothing. The EPA are becoming much like the Corangamite Shire - on the issue of gas plant noise the shire has long been devoid of ideas and leadership.</span></span><br />
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-26330877978100699162012-11-04T22:49:00.000-08:002012-11-04T22:50:53.137-08:00Ill wind blows a headache<div style="margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">The article bel<span style="font-size: small;">ow </span> is about rural noise from wind farms<span style="font-size: small;"> but subsitute the words 'wind far<span style="font-size: small;">ms' <span style="font-size: small;">with <span style="font-size: small;">'gas plants' and</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">i</span>t could equally apply to the <span style="font-size: small;">Origin <span style="font-size: small;">gas plant </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">and others</span> near the Great <span style="font-size: small;">O</span>cean Road an<span style="font-size: small;">d </span>Port Campbell in south-west Victoria.</span></span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;">Indeed, t</span>his paragraph, taken from the article<span style="font-size: small;">,</span> <span style="font-size: small;">succinctly sums up a lot of what is happening <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">during</span> the gasif<span style="font-size: small;">ication of <span style="font-size: small;">Victoria's south-west: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN">"The
debate <span style="font-size: small;">. . . </span>has been polarised by ideology and is characterised
by mistrust. And bubbling away in the background, as collateral damage,
has been a good deal of rural misery, including claims that <span style="font-size: small;">. . . </span>noise . . . is having a debilitating effect
on those who live nearby.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-size: small;">article </span>by:</span><cite><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> GRAHAM LLOYD, ENVIRONMENT EDITOR</span></cite><span lang="EN"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN">From:</span><cite><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">The Australian</a></span></cite><span lang="EN"></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN">November 03, 2012</span><span lang="EN">12:00AM</span></li>
</ul>
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<img alt="Wind turbines" border="0" height="180" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=fcdeae4e3a&view=att&th=13ac3cd3c7323675&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&zw&atsh=1" width="320" /><span lang="EN"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Increasingly, questions are being asked about the viability of wind energy. Picture: Stuart Mcevoy </span><i><span lang="EN">Source:</span></i><span lang="EN"> The Australian</span><span lang="EN"></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">WHEN
wind farm developers knocked on David Mortimer's door offering good
money to use part of his marginal South Australian cattle property to
host two wind-turbine towers, he was both flattered and eager to accept.</span></b><span lang="EN"></span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">"We
were very much in favour of it," Mortimer tells Inquirer. "In fact we
were surprised we were going to get paid because we thought we were
doing our thing for green energy and the world."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Sixteen
years later, Mortimer wishes he had never answered big wind's call and
says he would happily give up the money if his new neighbours would pack
up their machines and go away.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Mortimer's
dilemma - and the fact he has become Australia's first wind-turbine
host to turn whistleblower on the potential health impacts of living
near wind farms - contains a serious warning for Australia as it
prepares to recommit to a target of more than 20 per cent renewable
energy by 2020.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Research
group RepuTex estimates more than 11,000 megawatts of renewable
capacity will be required in the next seven years to meet the renewable
energy target, and more than 80 per cent of it will come from wind.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Australia's renewables push comes despite growing concern worldwide about high-cost subsidies and rising electricity prices.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Germany
is pushing ahead with new coal-fired electricity plants to replace
nuclear, as political and public concern over the cost of electricity
escalates. Britain's
once-green Conservative-led government is in open revolt over wind. New
British Energy Minister John Hayes this week ordered a new analysis of
the case for onshore wind power as costs rise and opposition grows.
Declaring "enough is enough", he said the great wind rollout had been
based on "a bourgeois-Left article of faith based on some academic
perspective".</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">As
in Australia, despite industry claims of widespread community
acceptance, questions are being asked about wind energy's cost,
efficiency and aesthetic.The
debate about wind has been polarised by ideology and is characterised
by mistrust. And bubbling away in the background, as collateral damage,
has been a good deal of rural misery, including claims that
low-frequency noise from wind turbines is having a debilitating effect
on those who live nearby.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Low-frequency
noise is not unique to wind turbines, and the effect it can have on
quality of life is well documented by the World Health Organisation, but
there has been a deep reluctance by wind companies to release the
information that would allow independent assessment of the acoustic
impact of the turbines they are operating.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Submissions
closed yesterday for a federal Senate committee inquiry into
legislation that would make public wind-speed, noise and operational
data held by wind-farm operators. Under the legislation, proposed by
senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon, if a wind farm generated
excessive noise, it would not receive renewable energy certificates,
which is how wind farms make their money. There is no guarantee the
Senate inquiry will recommend the legislation.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The
wind industry lobby group, the Clean Energy Council, says Australia
already has some of the toughest wind-farm guidelines in the world in
relation to noise. A
previous Senate inquiry recommendation that urgent, independent studies
be done into the possible health effects of living near wind turbines
has yet to be acted upon.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Supporters
cite reviews, many of them wind-industry sponsored, to dismiss claims
of health effects. Others say none of the literature reviewed has been
of studies of people living near large operating wind turbines. Simon
Chapman, professor in public health at the University of Sydney, has
argued that claims about health effects is a classic case of psychogenic
illness, a "communicated" disease spread by anti-wind interest groups.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Chapman,
a long-standing anti-smoking campaigner, is an aggressive advocate of
wind energy, and equates complaints about wind turbines to early fears
about microwave ovens, televisions and computer screens.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">In
an opinion article published in New Scientist, Chapman ridiculed
complaints and said in a 35-year career in public health he had never
encountered anything quite so apocalyptic.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Chapman's
comments have infuriated those people pushing for proper research into
what is causing people who live near wind turbines to complain.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Just
as Chapman accuses anti-wind farm campaigners of exaggerating claims of
ill health, others say the denial of a problem by the wind industry and
people like Chapman is victimising the complainants and worsening their
condition.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Mortimer
has an open mind on what is behind the head-pounding and other symptoms
that he says started shortly after the turbines arrived, and disappear
when he leaves town for respite.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN">"I
am still not saying categorically that it is the wind turbines that are
causing my problems," Mortimer says. "But rather than take it seriously
and try to find out, we have got Simon Chapman making absolutely
scathing remarks and putting blogs on the internet on all the problems."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Wind company Infigen, which operates the wind turbines near Mortimer, says he has yet to make a formal complaint.</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">According
to the company's investor relations manager, Richard Farrell: "The
experts have found no credible evidence that directly links wind farms
to adverse health. Evidence cited to support such claims is anecdotal."</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Mortimer,
who is fighting to stop more turbines being built near the home he
relocated to - in part to get way from the initial wind farm development
- says he does not blame Infigen for not wanting to believe him.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">To
support claims about health effects, Waubra Foundation chief executive
Sarah Laurie cites peer-reviewed published work of Daniel Shepherd
which, she says, provides "incontrovertible evidence of sleep
disturbance and adverse impacts on health".</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Chapman declined to discuss Shepherd's work but said he would write about it on his blog.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Laurie
also accuses Chapman of failing to include "the most important
literature review detailing the peer-reviewed published research on the
then known adverse health impacts of low-frequency noise on human
health" when he oversaw the National Health and Medical Research
Council's "rapid review" of wind turbines and health in 2010.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Laurie
says Chapman's co-reviewer in the NHMRC report, Geoff Leventhall, was
the lead author of work published in 2003 that linked low-frequency
noise and health effects.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Laurie is not alone.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Environmental
scientist and acoustics expert Bob Thorne has submitted for peer review
and publication the results of a scientific survey of people living
near two Australian wind farms. Thorne's results show wind-farm noise
and wind turbine-generated air-pressure variations can cause serious
harm to health.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Acoustic
engineer Steven Cooper says he is convinced "there has been a
significant injustice done to the people of rural Australia". "I
am not an anti-wind farm advocate, I am an acoustic engineer," he says.
"And if you can operate the wind farms without creating a noise
disturbance, or sleep effect, or health impact, there would be no
objection."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Cooper
says there are reasons why the siting and monitoring of wind turbines
requires close attention in regional areas, because of the low levels of
background noise at night. All industrial noise guidelines include the
concept of background noise and are based on the understanding that if
the noise source exceeds the background level by 5dB(A) (decibels) then
the noise will be "noticeable".</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">If
it exceeds that level by more than 5dB(A) then the noise source will be
"annoying" for a significant number of people exposed to it.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">The
term "annoyance" has a specific meaning in acoustics and includes
adverse health effects, both physiological and psychological, including
sleep disturbance, sleep deprivation, anxiety and stress.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Cooper
says limiting noise levels to 5dB(A) above background levels is a
general acoustic principle directed at preventing "annoyance" arising in
a number of contexts - industrial noise, aircraft noise and road noise,
for example - but he suspects some wind turbines have been able to
operate well outside this guideline. This is because the wind-farm noise
guidelines used in Australia rely on the assumption that increasing
wind speed leads to increasing background noise, which will "mask" noise
from wind turbines.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN">Cooper
says his research shows this is not always true, particularly where
turbines are located on hills and ridges elevated well above the rural
homes below, and developers claiming to be concerned about noise
nuisance from their turbines should be ready to support uniform national
legislation protecting both parties' interests.</span></div>
<br />
<span lang="EN">Clean
Energy Council policy director Russell Marsh says it would make no
sense to introduce an arbitrary federal requirement that was at odds
with state planning systems for wind farms. "It would set a dangerous
precedent that could potentially affect all industries that operate
under the planning system."</span>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-79155055120686520572012-11-02T12:54:00.001-07:002012-11-02T14:39:46.830-07:00Senate Submission from the Great Ocean Road3 November 2012<br />
<br />
Massive noise from the gas plants near Port Campbell and the Great Ocean Road this morning. The EPA have a phone number they would like people to use to advise them of pollution, like when we are forced to experience what we call another gassing; toxic noise from the co-located Origin and TRU energy gas plants.<br />
<br />
We've reported to the EPA number as other affected residents have but nothing ever happens. Some of these affected locals met with the EPA in February 2012 to discuss ways to make the gas plants accountable for their noise. Nothing has ever happened.<br />
<br />
When will the EPA and the Corangamite Shire act to protect people being affected by this industry which, given it regulates itself, is essentially unregulated since the EPA has no presence in south-west Victoria and the Corangamite Shire is impotent and devoid of ideas?<br />
<br />
Perhaps the Australian Senate will hear, or at the very least read and take note, our recent submission to them on rural noise.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-32170487213952738132012-10-17T15:56:00.001-07:002012-10-18T19:54:25.727-07:00City of Lights on Great Ocean RoadThe total darkness of rural nights can overwhelm some overseas visitors to Australia. Many, especially those used to big Asian cities, can sometimes feel a little uncomfortable on nights when the stars and the moon are hidden by clouds and the world is dominated by a cloak of black rather than a sheen of neon.<br />
<br />
Some visitors might then consider it fortunate that an industrial glow lights the night sky near the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. The lights and flame from the gas plants near Port Campbell would almost certainly be mistaken as a city by some visitors unfamiliar with the coast. Some though might even think the city was burning thanks to the red glow of the flame which lights up the night sky. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm76MaVorJ4JD7cQMczcIQpg6yjdZRGYAKRdiFn1YUrrFOtE_4w4-6lOrAoqJ7duR_VkFe98divxk_SljhbsVo3K8xSGY7o3cD7gMRWBxkbe262DFONuaC6izH1x8kbJlIAcF8g09luXU/s1600/GasNight_DSC4290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm76MaVorJ4JD7cQMczcIQpg6yjdZRGYAKRdiFn1YUrrFOtE_4w4-6lOrAoqJ7duR_VkFe98divxk_SljhbsVo3K8xSGY7o3cD7gMRWBxkbe262DFONuaC6izH1x8kbJlIAcF8g09luXU/s200/GasNight_DSC4290.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Origin plant (left): picture taken inland from the ocean road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
But as far as I know there have been no recent phone calls to the local CFA to report a fire. There have however been plenty of calls to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) about the toxic gas plant noise. One fella tells me he logged at least 70 phone calls with the EPA. When one gas plant operator, Origin, tabled the number of complaints about noise at a recent community meeting they allegedly suggested just one noise complaint (in a three month period) had been received.<br />
<br />
The numbers, like polluting the night sky of one of Australia's most popular tourist coasts, don't make sense - no matter where you might come from.<br />
<br />
<br />
CORRECTION<br />
I have since been told by a fella who wants to remain anonymous - he's worried the gas plants my not use his services if he is critical of them - that people have reported fires that turn out to be the gas plant flame. The flame that can be seen is supposedly the emergency flame. There is a device which allows for a flame to operate nearer ground level (and would be much less visible - but it's probably not working correctly and so isn't used). The Origin gas plant was first owned by Woodside and it has been plagued by operating problems since first commissioned some five years ago.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-60174885366313823472012-09-26T21:01:00.003-07:002012-09-26T21:01:42.129-07:00Yet Another Explosion at Origin Gas Plant: More EPA Inaction<br />
Below is a copy of an email sent to the EPA following yet another explosion from<br />
the Origin gas plant at Port Campbell, near the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles <br />
<br />
Dear EPA,<br />
<br />
The
Origin gas plant has exploded (1.50pm 27 September) yet again - I wonder
how many times this happened without Origin being held to account in
the two months we were away.<br /><br />Also, as directed by the EPA we called the pollution line last week when the noise was a constant for more than 24 hours.<br /><br />We asked for someone from the EPA to get in touch with us to advise on what action would be taken following our complaint<br clear="all" /><br />Not surprisingly we haven't heard from anyone at the EPA.<br />
<br />
sincerely<br />
us and us Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-31416213074124073092012-09-16T18:43:00.005-07:002012-09-16T18:43:54.168-07:00A Reminder to the EPAIn August (2012) the EPA announced in a strategic plan that finally it was finally going to take the toxic noise produced by the gas plants near the 12 Apostles seriously. This gave us hope that the EPA might actually start fulfilling their charter and actually begin to do something in regard to policing the industrial noise in south-west Victoria. <br />
<br />
It's the middle of September (2012) and not surprisingly we are almost certain nothing yet has happened in this regard. So below is a reminder about some readings that were taken more than three years ago, before Origin bough the troubled Woodside gas plant.<br />
<br />
Woodside Readings from Sat 31 Jan 2009<br />
<br />
LEQ average: 51.7dBA<br />
L90 average: 40.8dBA<br />
<br />
Sun 1 Feb: <br />
<br />
LEQ average: 48.3dBA<br />
L90: 40.8dBA<br />
<br />
Of course, nothing has ever come of this or anything else<br />
<br />
sincerely<br />
<br />
Mr and Mrs Rogered<br />
<br />
Note: the gas plant is only licensed to emit 35db of noise. Noise is not
a linear measurment and the above readings are more than double the
licence limit. The EPA of course did not act on these readingsGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-81552433821158689412012-07-24T18:48:00.002-07:002012-07-24T18:49:07.475-07:00Street TalkThe EPA might be finally starting to take our claims about noise seriously if articles at the <a href="http://www.standard.net.au/news/local/news/general/epa-to-focus-on-port-campbell-gas-plant-complaints/2633229.aspx" target="_blank">Standard </a>and the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-24/epa-to-probe-gas-plant-noise-complaints/4150474/?site=westernvic&microsite=&section=news" target="_blank">ABC</a> are any indication. But it's still talk on the EPA's behalf and we can only wonder how long these compliance plans will actually take to implement (my family and other concerned residents met with the EPA in February 2012 and nothing yet, not one second of noise monitoring, has happened).<br />
<br />
Talk in some respects however can be good. Over the past few months we have received emails and phone calls and street talk from locals who appear increasingly disaffected by Origin Energy (and other gas plants) and the gasification of the south-west coast. And that is from what is happening onshore.<br />
<br />
Origin has plans to explore more of the Southern Ocean for gas reserves. One can only wonder if they will ever stop to consider the fisherman from Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Warrnambool who will be again affected by their planned seismic booms. Doubtless the fisher folk will, if they haven't already, join an increasingly long line of disaffected south-west coast residents.<br />
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-15900782629512131202012-07-12T15:31:00.003-07:002012-07-12T18:21:15.266-07:00Silent Regulators: Loud Gas Plants<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUVUBNvm9dCaDRXSLjZ9ZoTR5UiQ7GmgyR7aUi_a3tjWv5k_D2CSqtDjC6qTYbvEhjt6V5etrNU-7KrOZkgFPuEPE1K94pm2_mZDPw5pMQc8ML33bvmTXahbU5vlur5z775BXHHwjZDc/s1600/Origin_Gas_plant_lowres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUVUBNvm9dCaDRXSLjZ9ZoTR5UiQ7GmgyR7aUi_a3tjWv5k_D2CSqtDjC6qTYbvEhjt6V5etrNU-7KrOZkgFPuEPE1K94pm2_mZDPw5pMQc8ML33bvmTXahbU5vlur5z775BXHHwjZDc/s320/Origin_Gas_plant_lowres.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Origin gas plant near Port Campbell and the Great Ocean Road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are massive amounts of industrial droning noise coming from the gas plants near the Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles - </span><span style="font-size: small;">we believe it is far beyond the 35db permitted by law</span><span style="font-size: small;">. For my family the noise makes it far too loud to go outside. As ever, on clear and windless blue sky days we are prisoners in our home. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"> We understand the EPA met with Andrew Mason at the Corangamite Shire some weeks ago
and we believe one of our suggestions - about delegating a resident (given the EPA do not have the staff to regulate) to
conduct random noise testing was going to be tabled at the meeting.<br /><br />
Not surprisingly we have heard from no one about the suggestion or the details of the meeting.</span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The
bureaucrats are good at silence. If only they could apply such skills to the Twelve Apostles gas plants</span></span><style>
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</span>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-65454220798292837922012-07-08T15:40:00.000-07:002012-07-09T00:19:45.728-07:00Gas Developments Answer for Asian TourismI'm off to Asia soon. Going on a tour of some of its great sites, to ramble about its islands, its temples and its history. There'll be visits to Phuket in Thailand, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Hue in Vietnam.<br />
<br />
Of course I'll also be making time to visit all the gas plants, or at the very least all the industrial zones, that have been set up around some of Asia's most renowned tourism assets.<br />
<br />
Oh hang on a minute I've got that wrong. Unlike what has happened near the 12 Apostles on Victoria's Great Ocean Road there are no gas plants or monstrous industrialism near Angkor Wat, a place that much like the Twelve Apostles is recognised the world over. <br />
<br />
Perhaps valuable tourism assets in Asia have been protected from industry. Or maybe the custodians are clueless to how the glow of gas flares can add to a tourist asset, fill the night sky with light. Just how wrong can these people get? Don't they want more visitors to their parts of the world?<br />
<br />
Best I pass out the Corangamite Shire's contact details to some Asian bureaucrats.<br />
The Corangamite Shire watched over the industrial development near a part of the Great Ocean Road and should be able to set the Cambodians, the Thais and the Vietnamese straight.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-15232443207278054932012-06-27T19:43:00.001-07:002012-06-27T20:08:04.344-07:00A Stab in the Eye on a Winter Day<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Some fine winter days near the 12 Apostles
recently. The days might even have been considered perfect, at least for June,
if not for being bombed by the constant cycle of noise from the Origin gas plant
– we emailed the EPA about the demented industrial sounds but so far have yet
to hear back. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We used to send correspondence also to the Corangamite Shire but
have given up on them in much the same way they seem to have given up on safe
guarding this coast from inappropriate industry. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">That's all for now - have to go and stab myself in the eye: tis a far more pleasant thought than spending any more time contemplating the Origin gas plant or the Corangamite Shire.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>More About Waubra Foundation and Noise Watch Inc</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://noisewatchaus.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Noise Watch Australia Inc</a> and the <a href="http://waubrafoundation.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">WaubraFoundation</span></a> are organisations that have been
confronted by a lack of relevant assessment of development conflict by the
planning system, especially before the system approves change that dramatically changes
landscapes and causes extraordinary stress in people’s lives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">While there is no public money to undertake
evaluation, and while affected neighbours are often excluded from the
development process by the authority, the changes are solely in the hands of
the proponents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">When fallout from industrial sites such as the gas
plant increases regulatory responsibility falls to the EPA to ensure safe conditions. The
under-resourced EPA failings in country areas is a tragedy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Because of these failings the responsibility is with the company to provide
evidence for EPA prosecution. Of course, it doesn’t
happen, particularly when noise and vibration is the stress source. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This
genuine interest by the above groups in our plight perfectly highlights the
failings of both the Corangamite Shire and the EPA to act on what is
increasingly recognised as a debilitating issue for the local residents here,
and critically, for all Victorian. Sadly
the situation is similar in other Australian states.<br />
<br />
</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-71467635878132496122012-06-26T13:17:00.000-07:002012-10-21T17:11:08.207-07:00NSW Shire Councillor Seeks Advice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy3QpmowLrmP5HFMqLo2xooO3khMwJjLI4yXVo1uS40VvzC6S8jCDvTBeyIyfpbs_glZeilfF6S7PoY0eit79oEO8rsZnOiwrNzN5XkR3Wt1FfyY8LmI9ApbLx7SYSCspXaFjnChEAXQ/s1600/GasNight_DSC4290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpy3QpmowLrmP5HFMqLo2xooO3khMwJjLI4yXVo1uS40VvzC6S8jCDvTBeyIyfpbs_glZeilfF6S7PoY0eit79oEO8rsZnOiwrNzN5XkR3Wt1FfyY8LmI9ApbLx7SYSCspXaFjnChEAXQ/s400/GasNight_DSC4290.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from 1km of two gas plants near the Great Ocean Road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here at Twelve Apostles: What a Gas we've had a phone call (via the <a href="http://waubrafoundation.com.au/" target="_blank">Waubra Foundation</a>) from a NSW shire councillor. The gas companies have their eyes on one of the small towns in his area. He wants to stop them coming into town, knows that if one gets in more will follow. But he wanted a first hand account of the gas driven calamities that have occurred in the Corangamite Shire, near the Great Ocean Road.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So we told him a few truths:</div>
<br />
Be wary of the gas plant consultants/proponents who will try and make even coal-seam gas mines sound like days spas;<br />
<br />
Once
they're in, they're in: The original consultant employed by the first
gas plant to be built near the Twelve Apostles assured the community
that only one plant would ever be built - there are now four;<br />
<br />
Ask
about issues the proponents will never tell you about - like the
numbers of trucks that will be shuttling along narrow country roads to
and from the gas plant and the night-time lighting which will
reconfigure the night-scape (the lights from the Twelve Apostles gas
plants are so bright at night that they can be mistaken for a town); <br />
<br />
Ask
how is it possible that gas companies are permitted to self-regulate
for noise: the Environmental Protection Authority are understaffed and
under-funded. From our experience the EPA is almost powerless in country
areas. The gas companies therefore take their own readings about the
noise they emit. And if they do, on the off chance, take an excessive
reading, the wind, birds, tractors and perhaps the untimely flatulence
of one of the gas company employees taking the reading will be blamed; <br />
<br />
The
gas companies have a great escape clause in many of their operating
licences. This refers to Unplanned Events. Not irregularly does the gas
plant near to the home of Mr and Mrs Rogered 'blow up'. A great
explosion of sound - like the sound of a fighter jet - shakes houses and
results in a flare some 10metres or more high. This is an unplanned
event and even if it happens twice a day it will not be regarded as
excessive noise;<br />
<br />
And about that flare: that 10metre
flame is permissible even on days of Total Fire Ban. Hard to believe
after the events of Black Saturday. But then, a lot about how gas
companies really operate is hard to believe:<br />
<br />
And
finally, don't fall for the sucker-punch, the lure of the lucre. Gas
companies will dole out sponsorship for community programs. At Port
Campbell the life savers wear bathers with a gas company logo on them.
In this way the companies get under a community's guard: don't let them
in. Raise the money the old fashioned way - rally the organisation's
troops and cart hay for a farmer or build a farm shed. Keep the
integrity.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-49963678624667044942012-06-25T15:32:00.000-07:002012-06-26T12:22:51.838-07:00Gas Plant Glow<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHkekZ7vb4Q9QpFyl7NxG_TS0FlrU-du9jKfZpdTPonOve7UI910cpt5SrqLMSyOkuVYLrcHyEbeT4HzcUQjOS8PsaSqY_n7LC1_ov32wcArkDwag9rlyZHCNRUrLUr4QCRro8CvS9_0/s1600/GasPlant_Night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvHkekZ7vb4Q9QpFyl7NxG_TS0FlrU-du9jKfZpdTPonOve7UI910cpt5SrqLMSyOkuVYLrcHyEbeT4HzcUQjOS8PsaSqY_n7LC1_ov32wcArkDwag9rlyZHCNRUrLUr4QCRro8CvS9_0/s400/GasPlant_Night.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gas plants light up the night near Port Campbell and the Great Ocean Road</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
The night time view of the Origin and TRU gas plants near the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles. The picture was taken about 1km from the plants on a main road. The glow of the flame is visible some 20km away.<br />
<br />
All around the plants, for many kilometres, is black. It's not just the noise from these plants that is an impost on this part of the coast. In the post below Gary Goland talks about the failings of regulators in regard to noise etc. Apparently the Corangamite Shire insisted the Origin gas plant be cast in its position on one of the highest points in the district. Brilliant, really.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-12422328393550615732012-06-24T17:13:00.002-07:002012-06-24T18:06:13.368-07:00Corangamite Shire and EPA Failings HighlightedOur endeavours to fight the inappropriate the conflicting industrial development, the industrial drone that comes from the Origin gas plant, near Port Campbell, the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles, have been heard by others, notably people from Noise Watch Australia Inc and the <a href="http://waubrafoundation.com.au/" target="_blank">Waubra Foundation</a> <br />
<br />
We made contact with Waubra Foundation CEO, Sarah Laurie, after seeing the ABC's 7.30 Report. Sarah's genuine interest in our plight perfectly highlights the failings of both the Corangamite Shire, Origin Energy and the EPA to act on our concerns about the gas plant and its invasive noise, to act on what is increasingly recognised as a debilitating issue for us and other country Victorians whose lives are cruelled by industrial noise.<br />
<br />
Sarah kindly put us in touch with Gary Goland from <a href="http://noisewatchaus.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank">Noise Watch Australia Inc</a><br />
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</style><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-AU;">Working
with others in our community to challenge the failure of our development and regulatory
systems to deliver quality of purpose; change to engage public interest, to recognise
the harm and cost of continuing to ignore [noise] conflict, is the best chance
we have of gaining recognition for what is happening. Cross disciplinary
input is desperately needed to evaluate cause and effect for public
interest, given planners, and regulators administering our law, are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not doing a thing to ensure public safety.
Poor management is connected to more than noise intrusion. Happy to
assist where I can Greg." Every location is different even
when the threat is the same."</span></div>
<br />
Gary Goland, Noise Watch Australia IncGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-57843600014368576902012-06-22T15:38:00.005-07:002012-06-22T15:40:58.602-07:00Italy adds Voice to 12 Apostles GasMarco from Italy adds his voice to the gas plant built within view of the Great Ocean Road and near the Twelve Apostles:<br />
<br />
"I've thought that this could happen only in Italy<br />
We call them EcoMostri (EcoMonsters)<br />
See here for example<br />
http://campodarsego.blogolandia.it/2010/12/13/ecomostro-di-fiumicello-unaltra-voce/<br />
Sorry to see that it happens also in Australia." Comment posted by Marco from Italy.<br />
<br />
Thank you for your comments and the link, Marco. Some of the worst features of the EcoMonster here go beyond it being built in a high visible era. It's that the regulators; the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), do nothing. And the local Corangamite Shire is more impotent than Silvio Berlusconi (without Viagra).<br />
<br />
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-21846842086691549902012-06-19T23:16:00.004-07:002012-06-26T12:35:31.450-07:0012 Apostles' NeighbourThe Woodside cum Origin gas plant has been built on one of the highest points - nope, not hidden low in a gully, or even hidden by trees - near Port Campbell, some 10km from the 12 Apostles.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7nWIs4IMXqsxK6jd64aaygbTXB7ybXlYn4E9ibal6udMcRo_81lOjHVIlqy8GJ8TxnrdoFUi6ujPqYxUVH42792jUrzNs-MsTNK2V5IZg6-8ySzNXzMeyWQY13KnxRUcTKMZmzZezmY/s1600/Origin_Gas_plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7nWIs4IMXqsxK6jd64aaygbTXB7ybXlYn4E9ibal6udMcRo_81lOjHVIlqy8GJ8TxnrdoFUi6ujPqYxUVH42792jUrzNs-MsTNK2V5IZg6-8ySzNXzMeyWQY13KnxRUcTKMZmzZezmY/s400/Origin_Gas_plant.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Origin gas plant near Port Campbell and the Great Ocean Road: built on one of the area's highest points</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The gas plant is visible from the Great Ocean Road. Many assurances were given by gas plant proponents that no gas plant would be visible from the Great Ocean Road. No-one has ever been made to be accountable for this or other breaches, including the flare which pollutes the night sky.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-72753477895261595242012-06-19T15:15:00.000-07:002012-06-19T15:15:51.218-07:00Corangamite Shire Fails LocalsDoes anyone live in a place where their local council or shire supports you when problems arise?<br />
<br />
If so, can you let me know where that is for once again the Corangamite Shire has failed to act, failed to answer questions posed to them. It is hard not to draw the conclusion that the Corangamite shire is short of ideas.<br />
<br />
Part of an email to shire CEO Andrew Mason is below. The questions posed in it remain unanswered: <br />
<br />
Given the recognised failings of the EPA I can think that there is no
other reason except expediency which motivates the Shire to again refer
the gas plant noise issues to the EPA? I hope I am wrong but councillor
Griffin's comments certainly highlight the
Shire's perceived lack of urgency on this matter.<br />
<br />
My family's amenity continues to be comprimised by the gas plants at Port Campbell.<br />
<br />
How do my family and other effected residents get the Corangamite Shire
to view the health of some of their residents the way councillor Griffin
does?<br />
<br />
'A group of Victorian councils will call on the planning minister to investigate claims that wind farms cause illness.<br />
"The wellbeing of our residents is supreme," said Moorabool mayor Pat Griffin.'<br />
The Weekly Times May 30 2012Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-39351920811624743462012-06-19T01:17:00.000-07:002012-06-19T01:17:02.485-07:00Joke for the DayA gas plant proponent walks into a meeting of concerned local residents . . . and tells the truth.Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-63743705892061382122012-06-18T14:31:00.001-07:002012-06-18T14:31:24.781-07:00Bob Brown FoundationAn email to the Bob Brown Foundation <br />
<br />
Hi guys,<br />
<br />
Woodside built a gas plant near the 12 Apostles and the Great Ocean Road. I spent a lot of time fighting the plant and might have some insights into what will happen to the Kimberley.<br />
<br />
I'd love to share them.<br />
<br />
You can get a few ideas here:<br />
http://twelveapostleswhatagas.blogspot.com.au/Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-62116045578061727502012-06-17T23:08:00.002-07:002012-06-17T23:08:37.792-07:00A Lesson for Broome and the KimberleyPort Campbell is on Victoria's Great Ocean Road and just 11km from the 12 Apostles. Woodside built a gas plant near to the town some four years ago. <br />
<br />
The plant regularly explodes - great explosions of sound regularly occur from it - and at night its never-ending flame pollutes the night sky. Originally when the first gas plant was built its proponents promised there would only ever be one. There are now at least four gas plants close to Port Campbell.<br />
<br />
Offshore exploration and seismic testing continues close to the Port Campbell Marine Park.<br />
<br />
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-51622936024662002752012-06-13T13:42:00.003-07:002012-06-13T15:35:04.930-07:00Backpacker meets 12 Apostles Gas<div class="comment-body">
<br />
<br />
I am a twenty five year old English girl,
making my way around Australia on a working holiday visa. I have been
living in Port Campbell for the past two months, and am failing to
comprehend the necessity of a gas plant in one of the most beautiful
spots in Australia.<br />
<br />
The Great Ocean Road is renowned for it’s beauty, and is something that, as Australians, you should be extremely proud of. <br />
<br />
The gas plant can be seen for miles around, particularly in the
evening, when it appears as though a small town has developed in the
midst of the fields. Although it can be seen during the day, once the
sun has set, and the lights from the plant appear, the picturesque views
that were once available in Port Campbell are no longer available.<br />
<br />
I
find it astonishing that a country the size of Australia could not find
another spot for a gas plant. Was it that the developers were left with
no other option other than to develop in a place which attracts
thousands of tourists each year, has some of the best views in the
world, and is home to a majority of native species and vegetation? <br />
<br />
The noise coming from the plant is also of major concern. On an
average day the noise is an annoying droning sound. However, on a
number of days the noise is reminiscent of a small force of fighter
aircraft above. This is no exaggeration, the sound coming from the plant
is that bad that I often find myself looking to the sky expecting to
see a helicopter. <br />
<br />
As a tourist, and someone who has travelled throughout Australia I do
not understand the logic in the location of this gas plant. I think
some serious questions need to be asked, and more importantly answered. <br />
Yours sincerely<br />
Jodie Channing</div>Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-59343998582585411892012-06-13T13:37:00.000-07:002012-06-13T13:37:11.715-07:00A note to the CEO of Corangamite Shire'A group of Victorian councils will call on the planning minister to investigate claims that wind farms cause illness.
"The wellbeing of our residents is supreme," said Moorabool mayor Pat Griffin.'
The Weekly Times May 30 2012<br />
<br />
Dear Andrew<br />
I wrote to you recently in regard to ongoing noise from the Port Campbell gas plants
and what I believe are the Shire's obligations under Part 6 Division 1. Section 58(2) (e) of the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008: said act states noise is a nuisance and I am lead to believe the Council has a duty to act, to investigate complaints.<br />
<br />
In regard to Section 62(2) of this I am of the opinion that the Council must act on my family giving notice of a nuisance.
I received your letter dated 17 May 2012 in which you advise that council is again referring the ongoing noise issues to the EPA.
The council is as aware as I am of the current limitations of the EPA.<br />
<br />
It is four months since we met with the EPA and still there has been no action or any notable correspondence from them.
Given the recognised failings of the EPA I can think that there is no other reason except expediency which motivates the Shire to again refer the gas plant noise issues to the EPA?<br />
<br />
I hope I am wrong but councillor Griffin's comments certainly highlight the Shire's perceived lack of urgency on this matter.
My family's amenity continues to be comprimised by the gas plants at Port Campbell.
How do my family and other effected residents get the Corangamite Shire to view the health of some of their residents the way councillor Griffin does?
I would be grateful for answers to our questions<br />
<br />
sincerely, Mr and Mrs RogeredGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-16330843608523709552011-08-15T13:53:00.000-07:002012-06-26T12:59:51.598-07:00The Twelve Apostles Gas Plant: Lessons LearntFor anyone who feels threatened by gas company exploration here is a list of pitfalls the unwary should be concerned about. <br />
<br />
Here is the start of a Be Informed, Be Wary list:<br />
<br />
Be wary of the consultants who will try and make even coal-seam gas mines sound like days spas;<br />
<br />
Once they're in, they're in: The original consultant employed by the first gas plant to be built near the Twelve Apostles assured the community that only one plant would ever be built - there are now four;<br />
<br />
Ask about issues the proponents will never tell you about - like the numbers of trucks that will be shuttling along narrow country roads to and from the gas plant and the night-time ligthing which will reconfigure the night-scape (the lights from the Twelve Apostles gas plants are so bright at night that they can be mistaken for a town); <br />
<br />
Ask how is it possible that gas companies are permitted to self-regulate for noise: the Environmental Protection Authority are understaffed and under-funded. From our experience the EPA is almost powerless in country areas. The gas companies therefore take their own readings about the noise they emit. And if they do, on the off chance, take an excessive reading, the wind, birds, tractors and perhaps the untimely flatulence of one of the gas company employees taking the reading will be blamed; <br />
<br />
Your shire will not be interested in your plight: the Corangamite Shire has devolved all responsibilty to the EPA;<br />
<br />
The gas companies have a great escape clause in many of their operating licences. This refers to Unplanned Events. Not irregularly does the gas plant near to the home of Mr and Mrs Rogered 'blow up'. A great explosion of sound - like the sound of a fighter jet - shakes houses and results in a flare some 10metres or more high. This is an unplanned event and even if it happens twice a day it will not be regarded as excessive noise;<br />
<br />
And about that flare: that 10metre flame is permissible even on days of Total Fire Ban. Hard to believe after the events of Black Saturday. But then, a lot about how gas companies really operate is hard to believe:<br />
<br />
And finally, don't fall for the sucker-punch, the lure of the lucre. Gas companies will dole out sponsorship for community programs. At Port Campbell the life savers wear bathers with a gas company logo on them. In this way the companies get under a community's guard: don't let them in. Raise the money the old fashioned way - rally the organisation's troops and cart hay for a farmer or build a farm shed. Keep the integrity of your organisation. <br />
<br />Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-71641982656274850462011-08-15T13:09:00.000-07:002011-08-15T13:18:47.680-07:00More History of the Twelve Apostles Gas PlantMr and Mrs Rogered have at various times in their four-year fight with Woodside and now Origin - the companies control or have controlled a gas plant near the Twelve Apostles and within sight of Victoria's Great Ocean Road - pleaded with representatives of the Corangamite Shire, including its mayor, and the EPA to help them solve the problem of toxic noise which comes from the gas plant.<br />
<br />
Mayor Makin was not interested in our situation. The EPA have never taken our plight seriously. Mr and Mrs Rogered's veracity has always been questioned.<br />
<br />
In regard to the plight of Mr and Mrs Rogered, below is another history lesson. The first part of the lesson is an excerpt from a 2010 email Mr and Mrs Rogered sent to the EPA:<br />
<br />
Dear XXX,<br />
out of sheer desperation I send some figures from Woodside's own recordings in 2009. These recording were taken from near our backdoor<br />
<br />
Woodside Readings from Sat 31 Jan 2009<br />
<br />
LEQ average: 51.7dBA<br />
L90 average: 40.8dBA<br />
<br />
Sun 1 Feb: <br />
<br />
LEQ average: 48.3dBA<br />
L90: 40.8dBA<br />
<br />
Of course, nothing has ever come of this or anything else<br />
<br />
sincerely<br />
<br />
Mr and Mrs Rogered<br />
<br />
Note: the gas plant is only licensed to emit 35db of noise. Noise is not a linear measurment and the above readings are more than double the licence limit.<br />
<br />
For those of you still with the Rogereds here is another historical footnote. It's an extract from The Age (February 2011):<br />
<br />
VICTORIANS have lost confidence in the ability of the state's Environment Protection Authority to do its job, according to a highly critical internal review.<br />
It found the EPA had become confused about its role as an environmental regulator, had lost focus on prosecuting businesses and become ''fractured, reactive and inconsistent''.<br />
<br />
The internal investigation was ordered last year by EPA chief executive John Merritt after damning external reviews by the Victorian Ombudsman and Auditor-General.<br />
<br />
Greghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-83623217482157857092011-08-12T16:54:00.000-07:002011-08-12T16:54:40.884-07:00Twelve Apostles GlowMr Rogered met a hiker at the Twelve Apostles recently.<br />
<br />
The person had just completed the Great Ocean Walk. They asked me if I happened to know what the glow was that they could see from their campground at Princetown, some 20km from the Origin gas plant, at night.<br />
<br />
When I told them about the flare and the gas plant that was visible from the Great Ocean Road, they were understandably appalled their sense of an uncorrupted coastal experience had been compromised. Elsewhere, people who live in the valley between the Origin gas plant and Port Campbell hear the Origin plant. Like ours, their lifestyle has been be compromised. <br />
<br />
Sustainability is a significant issue for many businesses. It appears to be so for Origin also. I have taken the liberty of borrowing some words from the Origin website: “To Origin, sustainability means managing our business with a view to the future, both of our own business and of those affected by what we do.”<br />
<br />
Could Origin please clarify if the above statement applies to everybody who is affected by what Origin does. Or is it just some people? <br />
<br />
<br />
sincerely, Mr RogeredGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728176447528081548.post-85183433318641634492011-07-27T19:45:00.000-07:002011-07-27T21:17:31.992-07:00More Gas Plant ExplosionsLunch time; 28 July 2011<br />
<br />
Dear tourists to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles,<br />
<br />
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. <br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
They're not particularly worried that our house shakes.<br />
<br />
sincerely, Mr and Mrs Rogered<br />
<br />
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 RoadGreghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15251092112054716487noreply@blogger.com0