The new design of a $1billion power station proposed for Tuggeranong far from satisfying community concerns over its proximity to a group of severely disabled men actually moves the station 100m closer to the respite centre where they live.
The redesign has also raised concern that the power station will end up closer to residents of Macarthur than its predecessor would have.
The ACT Government is yet to decide whether it will move the specialised respite centre, which houses an estimated 20 mentally and physically disabled men who need intensive care.
Last month, Health Minister Katy Gallagher said the Government had considered moving the centre at a cost of $1.6million because it needed to be isolated.
The centre came to light only when the ACT Opposition raised its proximity to the $2billion gas-fired power generation plant.
At an estimates hearing, Ms Gallagher said there were no health concerns surrounding the centre's move. A more appropriate location was sought as part of the specialised treatment requirements.
A spokesman for Ms Gallagher said moving the centre had not been ruled out. ''Following the new proposal put forward by the consortium, the minister has sought advice from her department on the potential interaction between the proposed power station-data centre and the therapeutic facility,'' she said.
''In particular, the minister wants to ensure the optimal level of service for the clients of that facility is maintained.''
She said it would cost at least $1.6million to relocate the centre and the Government would have expected the ActewAGL consortium to pay.
ActewAGL's incoming chief executive, Michael Costello, said the consortium would pay any extra costs that the power station created for the centre, although he believed the impact on it in the rescaled version of the proposal would be negligible.
The centre is in broadacre zoning. In worst-case scenarios, the noise from the plant and data centre butts up against allowable noise levels and equals residential limits.
The revised development application mentions a predominance of yellow box and Blakely's red gum trees on the site.
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act lists white box, yellow box and Blakely's red gum as critically endangered.
The ecological assessment by David Hogg and Kristine Nash says the area is not classified as a endangered ecological community because of the exotic nature of the groundcover.
The controversial power station was scaled down last month after residents raised concerns about excessive noise and air pollution.
It now covers 17ha and has four exhaust stacks compared with 18 originally. Its capacity has been reduced from 210MW and a 100MW peaking power station has been removed.
ActewAGL's manager of commercial development Brooke O'Mahoney said it would seek to build a peaking power station well away from urban residential areas.
Email a friend