Progress update: Funding to continue moving forward
Update by: CFA CEO Mick Bourke
CFA has welcomed the $16.8 million funding announced by the Victorian Government in its Budget which enables us to continue our important upgrades at CFA training campuses - in particular Fiskville Training College.
The additional funding will secure the future of Fiskville as a firefighter training facility for decades to come and is a strong vote of support from the government for what we’re doing.
It will be used to fully implement the 10 recommendations of Professor Rob Joy’s Understanding the Past to Inform the Future report, as well as the additional health and environmental initiatives introduced by the CFA Board.
More than $10 million has already been spent to address concerns around the historical use of chemicals for live firefighting training at Fiskville since CFA was made aware of the issue in December 2011, including the cost of the Professor Robert Joy Investigation.
Two important milestones in our work with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) have been achieved since welcoming its oversight of plans to assess and manage environmental matters at Fiskville:
- Plans for site upgrades and risk assessments have been reviewed and accepted by EPA and are now well progressed
- The scope of the independent audit has been approved, and the EPA statutory environmental auditor will be delivering an independent audit by 30 December 2013.
Designs have been prepared for the first stage of upgrades to the site and were presented to CFA and representatives from the relevant permitting authorities last week. This includes plans to divert a local creek around Lake Fiskville to minimise off-site discharges and plans to upgrade storm water systems around the PAD in preparation for the installation of a new water treatment plant.
CFA has worked closely with WorkSafe, as the relevant workplace safety authority, to ensure the safety of the site and it has indicated it remains comfortable with training at Fiskville, including the use of fuels, fire suppression fluids and water.
An additional search for buried drums was undertaken by Cardno Lane Piper in two locations − south of the airstrip and on the golf course − and none has been found on site.
These are extremely positive steps and reaffirm CFA's commitment to ensure this program of work is done right and that we remain open and transparent as we implement the recommendations from Professor Joy's Report.
As recommended by Professor Joy, Cardno Lane Piper is now undertaking analysis to prepare key reports including three human health risk assessments (on site occupational, on site Fiskville community and downstream) and an ecological study of Lake Fiskville and downstream. These assessments are in consultation with one of Australia’s leading toxicologists.
These studies are complex and time consuming, and the reports are expected to be completed in the coming months. This will set out the further remediation work necessary as well as the best future water training system to ensure that Fiskville complies with the highest possible standards in environmental management and occupational health and safety.
The voluntary health surveillance program has now been taken up by over 108 people from the high and medium risk of exposure categories and the Health and Welfare team is continuing to contact people who meet the risk criteria and encourage them to participate in the program.
I have conveyed my thanks to the Fiskville staff for all they have had to endure from the heavy and often less-than-balanced public scrutiny, their ongoing daily work and their perseverance. CFA appreciates their efforts and support as we work through this project that will result in a better training facility for everyone.
