Drilling starts on sand extraction site near Bass River

The peace and tranquility of life on the Freeranger farm, next to the Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve in West Gippsland seems set to be disrupted. A drilling rig appeared on a property next to us in Stanley Road on Tuesday afternoon. The site was purchased some years ago by a sand extraction company and permits were issued on the basis that there was an urgent need for additional sand resources to meet demand in Melbourne. one permit condition was that their extraction must not adversely impact on water flows through to the Bass River. Presumably the company is drilling in February in an effort to demonstrate that groundwater is limited. They are drilling on part of the site most likely to reveal no groundwater.