Hot mix causes hot mess for council ordered to undertake clean-up

The council had been rehabilitating the site of a former gravel pit on Red Hill Road at Table Top and trucked in top soil, but soil samples showed it wasn't compliant.

NSW EPA revealed in its clean-up notice issued on May 28 that an estimated 7000 cubic metres of the soil had been applied to the land and appeared to be contaminated with fragments of concrete, plastic, broken pipe, asphalt and bitumen (hot mix).

For natural material to be considered compliant, it must contain no more than 0.1 per cent of foreign material, but samples revealed between 2 and 5 per cent.

Greater Hume Council engineering director Greg Blackie said no chemical contaminants were found in the soil, which made for a relatively straightforward clean-up.

"It was an inert material that was either picked up at our stockpile site or it was carted in when we got the material from Albury," he said.

"We've come up with a plan to process the material to sieve out the contaminants. We've got to do a trial first to prove we can do it and our contractors have said it shouldn't be an issue.

"If we get the all clear it should only take us about two weeks to do the rest.

"It relies on good weather and unfortunately at this time of the year, wet weather is a challenge.

"We should have tested it before it went up there, but these things happen."

The site was first granted approval to be used as a gravel pit by Hume Shire Council in November 1992.

As a result of a local government restructure in 2004, the premises now falls in the Albury Council local government area, but activities approved under the development application for the site are carried out by Greater Hume Council.

Mr Blackie said the council would have a better indication of the cost once the sieve trial has been completed.

"Council has to maintain a rehabilitation fund for all of its gravel pits. This isn't the only one, there are a number of gravel pits council owns or has leased," he said.

"There's a lot more controls on gravel pits and rehabilitation these days than in the past."

Greater Hume Council must have the material removed from the soil no later than 5pm on Friday, August 16, and must remove all of the soil by the same date if the trial is deemed unsuccessful.