Substation is threat to children, wildlife and livelihoods

As residents of Empire Bay, we are concerned by the recent statements made by Energy Australia relating to the proposed substation on Poole Cl, Empire Bay, in the recent edition of the Peninsula News.

Energy Australia states the Kincumber sewerage plant is too far away.

The sewerage works is only four kilometres away and is very much positioned perfectly for this type of Industrial structure to be placed.

There are plenty of suburbs that are supplied with power from more than four kilometres away.

The site is a designated high risk fire zone that will now only make the risk of a major catastrophic bushfire a reality.

If there was a fire at the substation a number of residents will not be able to evacuate the area as they would have to go pass the substation to get out.

This is clearly not acceptable.

Energy Australia is not adhering to the bushfire asset protection zones setbacks that all local residents and commercial buildings in this area have complied with, due to this area being a high risk bushfire zone.

We need to learn from what happened in Victorian bushfires.

The local residents' safety should be paramount.

Local residents are also concerned with the electro-magnetic fields that will emanate from this site.

Currently school children use this street daily to go to and from school.

They will now be forced to use Empire Bay Dr which puts these students in greater danger.

There is also a pre-school 200 metres from this site.

We have been promised by Energy Australia a copy of the Review of Environmental Factors report.

We have been promised this for at least eight weeks and every time we ask for it, they say it will be a couple of weeks away.

They have also ignored a council request for them to conduct a detailed Environmental Impact Study.

They have said it will take too long to do.

How can they ignore the council's requests?

The proposed site will also impact a recognised wildlife corridor that will now be put at risk and also impact already endangered animals like the micro bats which use this corridor.

There are still residents of Poole Cl who have had no correspondence from Energy Australia at all.

How can they say they have listened when the residents who are most at risk have not been consulted?

We are not against the need for another substation, we are simply against the current proposed site especially when there is an alternative site at Kincumber Sewerage works that meets all the criteria.

This site does put at risk school children, heightens the risk of a catastrophic bushfire, threatens local wildlife and threatens people's livelihoods.

These are concerns that should be listened to and fully investigated.

Email, 4 Aug 2010 Mark Carr, Empire Bay