We won’t pay

By Bridget Cook
CASEY ratepayers will not foot the compensation bill for the Brookland Greens methane gas mess, despite the council facing a $13.5 million payout to residents affected by the problem.
A deed of settlement was filed in the Supreme Court last Friday, proposing a landmark settlement payment of $23.5 million to about 750 estate home owners affected by gas leaks from the disused Stevenson’s Road landfill.
The other $10 million will come from the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
Casey mayor Shar Balmes said that under the settlement terms, Casey and the EPA would pursue recovery claims against nine other defendants in the proceedings to help cover their payout costs.
“…we are confident of recovering much of council’s outlay as we continue to pursue legal action against the nine other defendants, who are primarily technical experts who provided advice or managed the landfill on behalf of council over many years,” Cr Balmes said. “We also have a continuing claim for indemnity against council’s insurer, the Municipal Association Victoria.”
Law firm Slater and Gordon, who will take $6 million of the settlement for legal costs, launched the class action with lead plaintiffs Matthew and Theresa Wheelahan in November 2008, after high levels of methane gas were detected in houses at Brookland Greens estate on August 31 that year.
Mr and Mrs Wheelahan welcomed the announcement. “We have had to live with a great deal of uncertainty and disruption for the past two and a half years,” Mr Wheelahan said. “We put up with noise, odours, dust and a loss of privacy as they have undertaken a lot of work to fix the landfill site. Many of us purchased our homes in good faith, that we were moving to a new development that had been properly developed, but we were let down by the council and the EPA.”
The gas leaks sparked an emergency response at the time and many houses had to be evacuated.
Slater and Gordon practice group leader Ben Hardwick said: “There will be relief in Cranbourne tonight as home owners know that this legal fight is coming to an end and that the City of Casey and the EPA have accepted the fact that the residents deserve compensation.”
“Our clients have been determined, they’ve stuck together and they’ve displayed a high degree of patience throughout this process. Today a win has been delivered and they can start to move on with their lives,” he said.
Residents will receive compensation payments between $6000 and $130,000, based on factors including their proximity to the landfill site.
The Supreme Court approval process is expected to take approximately six to eight weeks, allowing for the group plaintiffs to consider the proposal and the court to hear any formal responses.