Upper Nepean Groundwater Community Reference Group (UNGCRG) member Larry Whipper has joined calls for the State Government to abandon the Kangaloon borefield project.
Cr Whipper, chairman of Wingecarribee Shire Council’s environment committee, said in light of uncertainty about the environmental effects of the borefield, the State Government should take a cautionary approach.
“If we have learnt anything from our ongoing exploitation of the environment, it is that once environmental damage occurs, it takes many lifetimes to repair, if at all,” he said.
Cr Whipper said the Economically Sustainable Development (ESD) Act dictated that where there is no scientific evidence that a project is safe beyond all doubt and will have no detrimental effect on the environment, the work should not proceed.
“The UNGCRG and Council also endorse this principle and as such are calling for the Minister to refuse the application,” he said.
Cr Whipper said even after receiving information as a member of the Hawkesbury Nepean Catchment Management Board, councillor and UNGCRG member, he still believed the Kangaloon borefield plan did not stack up.
For the full story see the Southen Highland News, Monday, May 19