December 2022 Newsletter:
Happy Holidays
2022 was a busy year for ACLCA Victoria with more than 30 events held, including 10 specialist/technical CPD courses, as well as more than 22 meetings held amongst the Executive Committee and Sub-Committees.
ACLCA would like to thank WSP, AECOM, GHD and Arup for hosting our monthly Member Presentations and Senversa for hosting our CPD Module 4.
We look forward to continuing this wonderful relationship with our members next year. If you have a board room space that is suitable for our monthly member presentations or CPD courses and you would like to host an event, please reach out to Emily at vic@aclca.com.au.
The ACLCA Victoria Executive Committee wish you a safe and happy holiday and look forward to seeing you at our events in 2023!
Waste Tracker Update
A number of updates and improvements have been recently made to Waste Tracker. EPA encourages Waste Tracker users to update their app to access the latest improvements.
For further details regarding planned improvements visit Waste Tracker.
PFAS NEMP version 3.0
The Heads of EPAs of Australia and New Zealand (HEPA) have released the draft per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances National Environmental Management Plan (PFAS NEMP) version 3.0 for public consultation.
You can now have your say on this plan here. Feedback period has been extended until 28 Feburary 2023.
ACLCA Victoria will be providing a written response on behalf of its members. If you are interested in contributing to our Association response, please contact vic@aclca.com.au.
Photo Competition
Thank-you to all our members who have entered our photo competition.
This competition will run until the end of 2022 - so please keep them coming!
We are looking for images relating to the contaminated land industry. If you have an eye for photography and are happy to share some images of your work out in the field, please email these to vic@aclca.com.au.
With your permission, we hope to build up a library of diverse images that may be used in our Newsletters or new website (soon to be released).
Examples include: test pits, drilling, hand augering, soil samples, ground water monitoring activities, contaminated soil/water, USTs, remediation technologies and activities, industry and greenfield sites etc (no limit on number of images entered).
PRIZES:
- 1st prize: $500 cash
- 2nd prize: $300 cash
- 3rd prize: $100 cash
Prizes will be awarded to select images received that best convey aspects associated with contaminated land management. Images need to not identify any company, site or individuals.
Office Hours Over the Summer Break
The ACLCA Victoria office will be partially closed over the month of January 2023
Normal office hours (Tues Wed Thurs) will resume on 1 February 2023.
Should you have any urgent enquiries during this period please contact one of our Executive Committee members for assistance.
General News:
Early Career Professional (ECP)
ECP is the term used to describe someone with less than 7 years’ experience in the industry. Prior to 2022 this term was referred to as Young Professional (YP).
New or revised draft default guideline value's
The Water Quality Guidelines webpage now includes six new or revised draft default guideline value’s (DGVs) and associated technical briefs for the following toxicants:
- Alpha-cypermethrin in freshwater
- Bisphenol A in freshwater
- Bisphenol A in marine water
- Dioxins in freshwater
- Fipronil in freshwater
- Mancozeb in freshwater
Please refer to the following link for further details: https://www.waterquality.gov.au/anz-guidelines/guideline-values/default/draft-dgvs#draft-default-guideline-values
For information on how to make a submission, please visit: https://www.waterquality.gov.au/anz-guidelines/guideline-values/default/draft-dgvs/submission
Public comment period closes 3 August 2021
Call for Sub Committee Volunteers
As we navigate the year ahead, our Focus Areas (or now referred to as Sub Committees) need member support!
ACLCA currently has 10 Sub Committees, which target specific aspects of the industry ranging from collaborative research to remediation. You can review our list of Focus Areas on the ACLCA website. Please take the time to have a look over the list of Focus Areas and reach out to us if you would like to get involved.
As always, ACLCA’s Sub Committee groups are a great way to get involved with like-minded professionals in a collaborative environment. This year in particular, the Sub Committees represent a great way to remain across the regulatory changes, as we anticipate that the finer details of the new EP Act and subordinate regulations will be discussed within our Sub Committee groups
Three very important points with regards to the ACLCA Sub Committees are as follows:
- You do NOT need to be a technical expert to join a Focus Area
- Working within a Focus Area can provide points towards CPD
- Having joined a Focus Area, there is no obligation to remain for the year – if something comes up or you find that it is not for you, you are welcome to step down
Feedback from those that have joined Sub Committees in the past has always been centred around it being a great way to network and build industry contacts, and also improve technical knowledge.
ACLCA Victoria supports PhD Student at RMIT
ACLCA Victoria is currently supporting the following research project:
Project: Human health risk assessment from accidental ingestion of garden soil: impact of bio accessible Pb concentrations and soil characteristics on exposure assessment.
Researchers: Chief investigator: Assoc. Prof. Suzie Reichman and Investigators: Professor Ewan Blanch, Associate Professor Susanne Tepe and PhD student researcher Slavica Kandic.
Description: To determine quantitative relationships between bio accessibility and common soil characteristics in soils from the north and west of Melbourne, Victoria.
The ACLCA Collaborative Focus Area have been working with Suzie and Slavica on this project for the past 3+ years and have even offered up members vegetable growing backyards to assist in filling out the data set with probably lead contaminated inner Melbourne addresses. The Collaborative Focus Area is very excited about this report and will look to share it immediately with members as soon as it becomes available.
ACLCA Funded Project - PFAS in Groundwater
In 2017 ACLCA funded a project conducted by RMIT University to investigate sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to groundwater west of Melbourne, Australia.
The project investigated wastewater impacted groundwater in the Werribee Irrigation District and groundwater adjacent to legacy landfill sites in Newport and Sunshine. The results of the findings of the investigations in the Werribee Irrigation District were published in Science of the Total Environment Journal in an article titled “Investigating recycled water use as a diffuse source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to groundwater in Melbourne, Australia”. It can be downloaded for free until 11 September 2018. If you would like the link for free download please email Emily at ACLCA.
A complete report also detailing the findings of the landfill PFAS investigations will be available later in the year.