Western Harbor Tunnel EIS Available

The NSW Government has just released the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Western Harbor Tunnel which lays out the route for the project and how it will impact residents and the environment, Jamie Parker, the NSW Member of Parliament for the electorate of Balmain, announced today.

It includes plans for:

• Tunneling under homes in Rozelle, Balmain and Birchgrove;
• An additional exhaust stack at Rozelle Goods Yards;
• An off-shore construction site at Yurulbin Point which will force the temporary closure of Birchgrove Ferry Wharf and Yurulbin Park. 229 properties in Birchgrove are expected to be subject to high noise levels;
• A casting plant at White Bay to fabricate tunnel tubes, generating significant noise and vibrations;
• Dredging of 10 hectares of deep water soft sediment, contaminating harbor waters and threatening native sea life. Dredged materials that are so toxic they can’t be dumped off-shore will be barged to White Bay, ‘stabilized’ then trucked to landfill;
• A construction site at the former Balmain Leagues Club site with 27 homes predicted to be highly noise affected.

“This EIS spells out the government’s agenda to get more cars on the road rather than find a long-term solution to Sydney’s congestion problem,” said Parker in its announcement.