The NSW Government will invest more than $420,000 to install a perimeter fence, gates and signs around a part of the Kaloogleguy Crown Land Reserve adjacent to the western side of the town.
The work is part of a staged plan to clean-up asbestos contamination on the site.
A 60-hectare section of the 6,350 hectare reserve was ploughed without authorisation by a member of the public in 2019.
The ploughing brought to the surface material including asbestos that had been illegally dumped in previous years.
At the time, Cobar Shire Council advised the public the area was contaminated and, due to the public health risks associated with exposure to asbestos, entry was prohibited.
“Residents are advised that the asbestos containing material on the contaminated site is currently low risk to public health unless it continues to be disturbed,” Council’s general manager Peter Vlatko advised.
The Department of Planning and Environment – Crown Lands consulted Cobar Shire Council and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) on management of the asbestos.
They have been working with NSW Health, Fire and Rescue NSW and NSW Police to manage the area which includes temporary warning signage.
Crown Lands Executive Director of Land and Asset Management, Greg Sullivan, said the installation of fencing will be the first step in an ongoing plan to restore the affected area.
“The presence of asbestos means part of the reserve has been considered unsafe for recreation but we hope to eventually remediate the area so it can once again be safely used by the community,” Mr Sullivan said.
“Kaloogleguy Reserve has many tracks throughout the reserve which are popular for walking, cycling, motor bikes and four-wheel driving, so we need to first start with securing and cleaning up the affected section.”
For more than 100 years, parts of Kaloogleguy Reserve had been gazetted as a landfill site for the town.
As a Crown reserve, the area was regenerated and is open to the community for recreation as part of the network of reserves around Cobar.
Crown Lands’ investment of more than $420,000 will initially see installation of eight kilometres of fencing around the section of the reserve impacted by asbestos and 19 gates on tracks to manage use and provide access for fire management.
Work is proposed to start around March 2023. Permanent warning signs will replace the temporary signs in the area. Soil sampling and air and dust monitoring will be undertaken around work sites and adjacent areas.
The Soil Conservation Service has been contracted to undertake the work.
Mr Sullivan said public safety was the number one priority in managing the asbestos.
“This initial investment will prevent people from straying onto the affected part of the reserve until soil remediation work can be progressed at a later stage,” he said.
