Mr Rogered met a hiker at the Twelve Apostles recently.
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.
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.
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.”
Could Origin please clarify if the above statement applies to everybody who is affected by what Origin does. Or is it just some people?
sincerely, Mr Rogered
Friday, August 12, 2011
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
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).
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
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
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Message for Visitors to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles
Dear Visitors to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles, the following is some information your Lonely Planet guide book can't explain. If you were kept awake by a constant roar through the night of 28 and 29 June there is a simple, though toxic, explanation. The gas plants that were built near the beautiful Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles always roar on days when there is no wind and the skies are blue. For those who were also in Port Campbell Tuesday morning this constant droning might now be a perfect addition to the thunderous explosions that came from one of the gas plants in the early hours of Tuesday.
Port Campbell's Twelve Apostles are visited by some 2million people a year. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it, that gas plants have been built near the town?
sincerley, Mr Rogered
Port Campbell's Twelve Apostles are visited by some 2million people a year. It makes perfect sense, doesn't it, that gas plants have been built near the town?
sincerley, Mr Rogered
Monday, June 27, 2011
Gas Plant Explosions
Tuesday 28 June
The Rogereds were woken by yet another explosion - a thunderous roar - of sound in the middle of this night. But it appears those at the gas plant weren't satisified with creating just one explosion. There was another - a sustained explosive roar - at around 7.30am.
An exploding gas plant reminds me of this gem of corporate responsibilty from a fella by the name of Rob duncason at Woodside. This is what he once wrote about the Rogered's experiencing noise:
From: ROB.DUNCANSON
When the Plant is operating normally and we are below our reference point this means 1) we are not the source of noise and 2) there is little we can do at the Plant to make things quieter."
Wonder how the gas companies will deflect the noise issues this morning?
The Rogereds were woken by yet another explosion - a thunderous roar - of sound in the middle of this night. But it appears those at the gas plant weren't satisified with creating just one explosion. There was another - a sustained explosive roar - at around 7.30am.
An exploding gas plant reminds me of this gem of corporate responsibilty from a fella by the name of Rob duncason at Woodside. This is what he once wrote about the Rogered's experiencing noise:
From: ROB.DUNCANSON
When the Plant is operating normally and we are below our reference point this means 1) we are not the source of noise and 2) there is little we can do at the Plant to make things quieter."
Wonder how the gas companies will deflect the noise issues this morning?
Friday, June 3, 2011
Reply to the EPA and the Corangamite Shire
Mr and Mrs Rogered have had some extended correspondence with the EPA and the Corangamite Shire this week. Below is some of Mr Rogered’s email correspondence in regard to Mr and Mrs Rogered's decision to no longer follow the EPA's suggested protocols for reporting noise breaches.
Subject: RE: Gas plant noise
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 14:02:56 +1000
Dear XXXXX, we have been following the EPA guidelines for some four years. Nothing has been achieved.
There has been no admission from anybody, not the EPA, nor the Corangamite shire, nor any of the gas plants, about our loss of amenity. Endless excuses based often on the grey area of the study of noise have been used to question our veracity and deflect responsibility.
We are tired of talk. Tired of inconclusive testing. We need somebody to suggest and implement tangible actions that will relieve the industrial pollution that inflicts our life.
We have long suggested the self-regulatory noise modelling procedures the gas plants employ are inaccurate. Have these ever been re-assessed?
When will there be some tangible action on the issue of noise that emanates from the Woodside cum origin Energy gas plant at Port Campbell? We are not confident it will be any time soon.
We have lost faith in the system. Four-wearing years can do that to a person
Subject: RE: Gas plant noise
Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 14:02:56 +1000
Dear XXXXX, we have been following the EPA guidelines for some four years. Nothing has been achieved.
There has been no admission from anybody, not the EPA, nor the Corangamite shire, nor any of the gas plants, about our loss of amenity. Endless excuses based often on the grey area of the study of noise have been used to question our veracity and deflect responsibility.
We are tired of talk. Tired of inconclusive testing. We need somebody to suggest and implement tangible actions that will relieve the industrial pollution that inflicts our life.
We have long suggested the self-regulatory noise modelling procedures the gas plants employ are inaccurate. Have these ever been re-assessed?
When will there be some tangible action on the issue of noise that emanates from the Woodside cum origin Energy gas plant at Port Campbell? We are not confident it will be any time soon.
We have lost faith in the system. Four-wearing years can do that to a person
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