Bushfire Recovery – Victorian Government

2019-2020 Bushfire Recovery & 2021-2022 Flood and Storm Recovery

Bushfire Recovery Victoria supported the clean-up and recovery work for the owners of private property damaged by the 2019-2020 summer bushfires and the flood and storm events that occurred in June 2021. The program was established to help property owners restore their land after the disastrous events.

Description and value of services provided by the consultant

Description of Services: Raw Earth Environmental (Raw Earth) completed the remediation of bushfire affected properties containing fuel, chemical and friable asbestos contamination following the 2019-2020 bushfires across regional Victoria.

Raw Earth undertook the work in the following two (2) stages:

Stage 1 – Preliminary Site Assessments

Raw Earth implemented the following procedures:

• Inspect sites for hazards, fuel and chemical spills, asbestos and other hazardous materials, undertake sampling where necessary.
• Prepare Preliminary Assessment Reports detailing the above.

Stage 2 – Demolition, Remediation, Validation

Due to the severity of the natural disasters most sites required some level of demolition, remediation and validation procedures to be implemented via preparation of Remediation Action Plans.

Demolition activities were supervised by Raw Earth SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessors, OH&S Supervisors, SafeWork NSW Licensed Asbestos Assessors and/or Environmental Scientists.

Specific challenges related to the services and actions taken by the consultant to deal with them.

Management of multiple assessment and remediation teams covering vast areas across regional Victoria consisting of Environmental Scientists and Occupational Hygienists, OH&S Supervisors and Site Compliance Officers, arborists, demolition and excavation contractors, client representatives, administrative staff, laboratories, waste facilities and truck and transport contractors.