What is the Issue?
There is a development proposal for a
major 24-hour service station opposite the Lake Moodemere Nature Reserve (PP23-0184). This development threatens to irreversibly damage Lake Moodemere’s vulnerable natural environment.
Let’s cover the issues in more detail below.
Environment
Our threatened and unique animals
Lake Moodemere is home to numerous incredible animals, insects and plants. This includes the elusive and iconic platypus, kingfishers, white-bellied sea eagles, black swans, wallabies and kangaroos, at least four frog species, a diverse range of reptiles and countless vital insect species that keep nature in balance.
It is home to the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater, the Barking Owl, and Black Falcon, as well as the endangered Gang-Gang Cockatoo, Lace Monitor and Straw Wallaby-Grass.
Other vulnerable species identified include the Little Eagle, Squirrel Glider, Brush-tailed Phascogale, Grey-Crowned Babbler, Apostlebird, Green Wattle and Buloke.
This information is from the Environmental Impact Report by Redgum Consulting for Indigo Shire Rutherglen Loops bike path, the Moodemere Nature Conservation Reserve report, information from VicFlora and NECMA Environmental Watering Pan.
Pollution
Roadside litter is a significant issue to Australia’s wildlife. Next time you drive past a service station, look at our much rubbish is thrown out the window from patrons. Highways and carparks are the biggest contributors to litter on a national level. Often the roadsides get slashed and this rubbish turns into smaller particles, easily picked up by storm water. Imagine swimming in Lake Moodemere with your family with rubbish clogging the shore and the previously pristine area now too dirty to enjoy spending time there. Lake Moodemere is a natural billabong, this toxic water and rubbish will not flush away like a river.
Artificial lighting
The lights and noise of a service station open 24/7 will be heard and seen kilometres away. There are many vulnerable, nocturnal species that will be affected by the constant disturbance of a 24/7 service station, such as the critically endangered Bogong moth.
People who have come to the area to camp at the nearby Murray River or stay in premium accommodation will also be affected by the sounds and lights of the development.
Farming Zone
Planning Scheme
The site of the development is located in a Farming Zone, strictly protected by the Indigo Shire’s Planning Scheme, with the website stating “It is clear from the past that the Indigo Planning Scheme needs to be updated to clarify Council’s position on small lots and protect rural areas from inappropriate uses and development.”
Also of note, it the Shire’s Sustainable Planning page, which highlights “land suitable for agricultural purposes to ensure that this is protected against other development pressures”.
Safety
Intersection traffic
The proposed site is the corner of a notoriously dangerous intersection on the Murray Valley Highway and Federation Way. The intersection has been redesigned in an offset because of multiple deaths and the speed of the traffic. Having a 24/7 service station here will increase the volume of trucks and cars pulling in and departing from the intersection, causing an increased level of danger for road users.
Heavy vehicles
This service station will increase the amount of trucks driving through the Rutherglen Main Street. We have recently experienced several traffic-related incidents relating to heavy vehicles, with $1.3m budgeted by the Victorian Government to improve safety in town. The Rutherglen Main Street is narrow, having been built during the Gold Rush period of the mid-1800s. We must do everything we can to protect the locals and tourists who come to enjoy this beautiful country town, and limit the trucks travelling through our main street. Read more about this issue.
Tourism
Why we love Lake Moodemere
Rutherglen and Wahgunyah are located in one Victoria’s most desirable areas for visitation. Lake Moodemere is loved for its access to bushwalking, birdwatching, rowing, swimming, kayaking, fishing and cycling.
The Lake Moodemere Regatta is the oldest regionally run regatta (est. 1863) and the Shire recently upgraded the rowing shed facilities. This annual event brings significant visitation to the area every year.
Indigo Shire and Tourism North East
Tourism North East, the peak tourism body for our area, advocates “to sustain and elevate Victoria’s High Country as the lead regional tourism destination in Victoria, with a thriving visitor economy based on destinations of choice, and a compelling range of tourism products and experiences.” Cycling (Ride High Country) is key pillar of the TNE Destination Management Plan 2023.
The Indigo shire has recently completed a Destination Management Plan for Rutherglen, highlighting Pillar 2 as “Immerse yourself in nature and inland waterways”. Page 35 names Lake Moodemere as a priority feature.
Allowing a development of this size contradicts the stated aims of both DMPs to protect and preserve Lake Moodemere as a key site of tourism.
Water
Fuel spills and chemicals
There will be unacceptable amounts of fuel spill, contaminated storm water and toxic chemicals entering the waterway. The area is a natural floodway, and the development site is opposite a feeding gully. The recent summer downpours (see videos on our Facebook page) have shown us how easily it will be for the rain and storm water to pick up deadly toxins and rubbish and deliver it straight to the catchment area.
The EPA lists the following primary contaminants of potential concern typically associated with the handling and storage of fuels at service stations include: • petroleum hydrocarbon fractions ranging from C6 to C40 (analysed as total recoverable hydrocarbons) • benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) • naphthalene • fuel additives, such as ethanol, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) (See CRC CARE 2016) • lead, for sites with older infrastructure (leaded fuel was phased out in Australia in 2002) • other volatile organic compounds such as hexane, heptane, cyclohexane and trimethylbenzene.
Secondary contaminants that may be associated with other activities carried out on service station sites include: • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phenols (such as from waste oil kerosene or diesel tanks) • leak detection fluids used with fibreglass underground storage tanks • acids (such as from storage of spent batteries) • asbestos • heavy metals and chlorinated solvents (as used in workshops) • per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from fire-fighting equipment • phosphates, oil and grease (such as from car washes).
A landowner on the NSW Central Coast suffered significant soil contamination by leaking underground fuel tanks, showing a recent example of what could happen at Lake Moodemere. Alarmingly, a report by NSW EPA states that “Service stations make up the single largest sector of contaminated sites in NSW, and proper assessment of service station sites is crucial to making sure human health and the environment are protected from potential impacts of contamination.”
Water access and irrigation
Local farmers and grape growers are concerned about contaminated irrigation water. Winemakers of Rutherglen is the only wine region in Australia to be nearly 100% certified through Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. What are the long term consequences for agriculture if food crops are irrigated with toxic water?
The “forever chemical” PFAS is found in fire extinguishers and used at service stations to contain fuel spills. PFAS is likely to enter the Lake Moodemere waterways, accumulating over time, potentially leading to recommendations not to consume fish caught from the Lake.
Residents in Mullumbimby have been warned by the EPA not to eat homegrown produce after toxic PFAS chemicals were detected in groundwater. Friends of Lake Moodemere are fighting to prevent this from happening in the first place. You can read more about the Victorian EPA’s General Environmental Duty guidelines here.
What about the Local Economy?
Many travellers stop in Rutherglen to refuel at the two service stations in our heritage main street, and in turn, spend money in our main street at our many wonderful small and micro businesses. A large 24/7 service station out of town may impact visitation to the town’s main street and negatively affect the visitation to all the vibrant businesses that make Rutherglen so wonderful and friendly.
How does this affect the First Peoples legacy at Lake Moodemere?
Lake Moodemere has been an important site for the Bangerang people for tens of thousands of years. The area has multiple special places including birthing trees, ceremonial sites and culturally important places like ring trees and canoe trees. The environment around Lake Moodemere has supported and sustained the world’s longest living culture, who have protected this space for countless generations. This development has the potential to irreversibly damage this sacred and important place, undoing the millenia of care that the Bangerang people have provided.