'I write on behalf of over 100 Wombarra and Coledale residents'

Local resident Brian Murphy shares a letter to Wollongong City Councillors, state and federal MPs that he sent on 19 March.

To whom it may concern,

I appreciate that oversight of this development is an issue for Wollongong City Council. However I feel there is a state government issue here as well. We have contacted the NSW EPA to raise our concerns about this pollution, and we have constantly been referred back to WCC. WCC claim they have only limited ability to influence the developer, and have already fined them $8000, which they say is the maximum allowed by the EPA. This seems odd, as the EPA website states that the maximum fine that can apply to corporations for this type of pollution is $1,000,000. I am asking for you to get involved to see if something can be done to resolve this deadlock. We seem to be in a situation where no-one appears to have the authority to stop the pollution, which I find very difficult to believe. The number of people who live along the Illawarra escarpment that are very concerned about this is growing rapidly, with two WIN News pieces aired, two ABC Illawarra morning radio pieces and an Illawarra Mercury story so far, with journalists expressing continued interest.

I write on behalf of over 100 Wombarra and Coledale residents about the repeated pollution events being inflicted on our unique coast. For months we have been reporting that red sediment-filled water 200 times the legal limit of suspended solids and 500 times the legal turbidity is being regularly discharged into the ocean by Wombarra Vista's large denuded construction site at 632 Lawrence Hargrave Drive.

There have been 25 documented and reported incidents since December 2021, including this morning when we have received over 40 emails from residents with videos and images of red water blooming into the water off the Wombarra sea cliff and pooling on the Coledale rockshelf. How has this been allowed to continue for months? How is an $8000 fine in any way sufficient in the eyes of the public for the destruction of the very paradise that the development is promoting on its website (www.seacliffestate.com.au)?

This was this morning after 10mm of rain:

To give some context, below is the massive cleared site at 632 LHD Wombarra and below again the site and its runoff being pumped onto the Coledale rockshelf on 2 March.

Residents have contacted the EPA, all Wollongong City Council (WCC) councillors, the WCC Development Engineering Manager, the State Member for Heathcote, other state and federal politicians. Most of these individuals have acknowledged our concerns and stated that it is the responsibility of WCC to address the issue. WCC has confirmed that they are aware of the issue and the ongoing pollution events, but has limited ability to change the situation. They can only make recommendations to the developer. The developer insists that they have implemented all of the recommendations, but a serious question remains to be answered about whether the size of the sediment basin was ever in accordance with the DA’s conditions of consent and the fact is that the site's water management still fails after every rain event.

Can you please help us to stop this illegal polluting? We seem to have come to an impasse where no-one has the authority to force the developer to stop polluting – and so they keep polluting and just get on with their development. Is that really how it's supposed to work? Is that how it will work with future developments along this sensitive coastline?

The below Before and After images show what has been happening down on the rockshelf

Every sea creature photo below was taken in the last year or two on the rocks or in the rockpools along this stretch of coast. Residents fear some of this marine life will never reappear. Several scientists have expressed concern at the pollution event images, saying they are confronting and shocking. As far back as 7 March water scientist Dr Ian Wright called for urgent action on this polluting and warned this sediment would blanket the aquatic habitat, smothering plants and animals and clogging the gills of fish.

This is not an isolated incident, and it is not the result of "unprecedented" rainfall, as the failures began before any of the heavy rainfalls, and continue now after very modest amounts of rain. Several residents within 200m of the site have digital rain recording devices and can demonstrate that the season's rainfall was a 1 in 5 year event, by no means unprecedented and indeed forecast by a meteorological expert as part of the DA review process, though ignored by the developer.

This was 27 Dec 2021

This was 22 Feb 2022

This was 2 Mar 2022

This was 8 Mar 2022

After 12 weeks of failure to adequately address the drainage issues at this site, and the ongoing impact the pollution is having on our coastline, we think it's time for more action. As a group of residents we are extremely frustrated and angry that this is being allowed to happen. Something has to be done.

Can you please advise what you can do to help us stop this environmental disaster?

In addition to the immediate issue of stopping the pollution, this situation has left residents up and down the Illawarra escarpment suburbs concerned about the numerous gaps in the processes that have allowed this situation to come about, causing months of distress for residents worried whether their lives and homes are in danger.

• why was there not more oversight of a development such as this, IN A KNOWN LANDSLIP AREA, when La Nina was forecast?
• why wasn't an adequate drainage system installed before the excavation started?
• why weren't the sediment basins large enough to cope? And why aren't they now?
• why isn't the overflow being trucked out instead of purposely pumped into the gully that flows to the rock ledge, our beaches and the ocean?

Many many people are watching this situation and expecting action.

Regards

Brian Murphy, Wombarra