Penrice Soda Holding Ltd went into liquidation on July 31st 2014, having collapsed in April 2014, leaving people without employment, and funds not available for their entitlements, and debts of more than $150 million.

The former Penrice site (about 18 hectares) went up for sale in 2015 and there were media reports of it being been subdivided and sold. Orica Australia bought a 3.4ha parcel of land within the site.

As well as operating on the former Penrice site, Penrice had use of hectares of Renewal SA land for storing their waste material.

Some of that waste material lies south of Penrice’s plant, on the west side of the Port River (between the rail freight line and the Port River) and some in piles on the east side of the River.

There was media coverage of this issue at the time and Minister Rau described the material as ‘something which is a by-product of certain industrial processes but it’s not of itself a dangerous product’.

While the short term issue is the remediation of Renewal SA land, and who will bear that cost, the longer term issue is the use to which that land should be put. While the land is currently zoned General Industry, the nature of industry in SA is changing rapidly and there are other emerging needs on the Peninsula such as the protection of housing and infrastructure from rising sea levels.

The EPA has been asked for details about the waste material and Renewal SA about the future of the site and Renewal SA indicated (2015) that

“Earlier this year Renewal SA re-entered and took control of its land which had been leased previously to Penrice…Renewal SA has assumed responsibility for the stockpiled material upon its land (both sides of the Port Adelaide River) and instigated some immediate works to better manage the site. A short to medium term management strategy has been implemented by Renewal SA to secure the land, mitigate dust issues with the stockpiled material, undertake works to make the land safe for staff and contractor access, civil construction and survey work and to investigate the amount of material stockpiled at both sites. Mounds of material have been levelled where possible in an attempt to reduce the visual impact of the sites and to assist in the estimation of the amount of material stored on the sites.

Renewal SA has consulted with and briefed the EPA with regard to this matter. As the stockpiling of material has development approval and Renewal SA has no immediate plans to change the use of the land, the retention of the material on the land is expected to continue for some time until alternative land uses for these parcels has been determined. Renewal SA will be considering the longer term strategy for the use of the land, and will consult with stakeholders (including EPA) accordingly”.

Winter storms have further eroded the shoreline on the western side of the river, adjoining the Penrice waste

(Current as at  July, 2018)

This post is one in the series Significant Environmental Issues on the Lefevre Peninsula