BY IAN CROUCH
After years of complaints about toxic pollution from the Trugain waste-oil refinery site at Rutherford, moves are under way to clean up the site.
Fairfax reports the Environment Protection Authority is calling for industry proposals to clean up the abandoned industrial site.
It comes after an EPA officer fell ill from breathing fumes during a recent visit to the Kyle Street plant and admissions from a government official the aging tanks at the site could fail at any time.
Industry representatives have until next Friday to submit proposals on how to tackle the clean-up, which is tipped to cost more than $10 million.
Maitland MP, Jenny Aitchison says it's taken far too long to get to this point.
"We have to remember this is an environmental ticking time bomb, it is absolutely urgent that the Government gets onto this," Ms Aitchison says.
"I don't want to gamble on the future of my community. If the Government want to go and try and recover that money from the polluter afterwards they have my full backing, but we can't be gambling with people's lives and health and safety."
She says it would be a massive inditement on the Government and the EPA if the $10 million cost fell back onto tax payers.
"We've had four successive Environment Ministers is this Government who have failed to act on this, and failed to ensure the EPA has the resources it needs."
"The Government's current strategy of pumping out the site every time it rains is costing around $1 million dollars a year."
