Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) released two technical environmental monitoring reports today showing that there is no evidence that the Hazelwood mine fire has any ongoing impact on the Latrobe Valley environment.
EPA Chief Executive Officer, Nial Finegan, said the reports detailed the final results of EPA’s intensive 12-month air, water and soil quality monitoring program, which was conducted across the Latrobe Valley in response to the 2014 Hazelwood mine fire.
“EPA, as part of its commitment to open and transparent engagement, hosted a consultation session with members of the Latrobe Valley community earlier this month. We provided residents with an opportunity to contribute their views and insights into the results of our environmental monitoring program,” Mr Finegan said.
“EPA received a wealth of excellent and detailed feedback on the draft publications and we incorporated this into today’s final reports. This feedback is included in the reports’ appendices.
“Overall, the results in the reports show that there have been no ongoing changes to air, water and soil quality in the Latrobe Valley due to the Hazelwood mine fire.”
The reports form part of a series EPA is producing following the Hazelwood Mine fire and complement two air monitoring reports already available online.
The technical reports released today are now available on EPA’s website and summarised versions will be released over the coming months.