Methane mess! Back row, left to right: Pam and Frank Jones, Terry and Barbara Fox, Jeff and Lesley White. Front row: Nathan, Sophie and Emily White. 23165 Picture: Stewart Chambers.
By Glen Atwell
SEVEN years ago, the sickening stench of decomposing rubbish was the first alarm bell that rang inside the head of Brookland Greens resident Frank Jones.
It was 2001, and Mr Jones, his wife Pam and a small group of residents, knew something was horribly wrong with the estate they nervously called home.
A ruthless and unrelenting smell emanating from the closed Stevensons Road Landfill was slowly taking over their lives.
The residents demanded action, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered landfill management to clean up its act.
But today, seven years on, the same residents are still screaming ‘We told you so!’
In 2001, the Jones’ lived in a lavish house on Huntingdale Close, but the relentless stench forced them to relocate to Eaglescliffe Crescent in 2004.
“The smell was horrific, and it never let up. It was the smell of sewerage, not normal rubbish. It forced us out of our home,” he said.
“Pam and I moved to Eaglescliffe Crescent, which is on the other side of Brookland Greens estate and as far away from the landfill as possible.”
In light of the recent methane mess, Frank admits it would have been wiser to ditch the troubled estate altogether.
“If I knew it was going to get this bad, we would have left in 2004,” he said.
“The tip was mismanaged when it was open, it was mismanaged after it closed and is still mismanaged today. In 2001, there was no methane extraction system and no water purification system. It was just an ugly hole in the ground.”
Mr Jones estimates the value of his property has already fallen 50 per cent.
“It’s a disaster. There are houses in this estate worth around $700,000. Every owner in here is facing a huge loss,” he said.
Terry Fox, an ex-neighbour of Mr Jones, said residents were promised seven years ago that things would be sorted out.
“We had meetings with the EPA and Casey Council in 2001, and were basically told to stop worrying and get on with our lives,” he said.
“My house was worth $600,000 three weeks ago and today I can’t give it away.”
The City of Casey recently announced an additional $5 million in funds to stop methane gas leaching from the landfill and begin rebuilding the broken Brookland Greens community.
Mayor Janet Halsall said the council had allocated around $10 million to the methane mess and called on the state government to commit more money to assist and support affected residents.
“Make no mistake, the damage to the community has gone far beyond the limits of the methane,” Cr Halsall said.
“There are young children who don’t want to leave their homes in case it’s not there when they get back. There are insurance and settlement issues, there are building issues, impacts on some local businesses and the list goes on.
“We must focus our efforts on rebuilding a community that has been left bruised and battered by recent events,” Cr Halsall said.
