Water & environment · Central Coast Council
PFAS details sought for three Ourimbah Creek monitoring sites
Central Coast Council’s Mangrove Mountain Advisory Subcommittee requested more information on detections at sites 5, 16 and 17, with publicly available EPA groundwater results also due to be provided.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
More information has been requested about PFAS detections at three monitoring sites in the Ourimbah Creek Catchment, while publicly available Environment Protection Authority groundwater results are to be provided to the Central Coast Council Mangrove Mountain Advisory Subcommittee.
The request covers sites 5, 16 and 17. The minutes do not include the detection results or state when the additional information will be supplied.
At its 17 September meeting, the Subcommittee noted Council’s ongoing PFAS water-quality monitoring program and the continued publication of current and historical results on Council’s PFAS webpage. Monitoring will continue under the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
The Subcommittee also recommended that Council note the monitoring program’s outcomes and the plan’s continued implementation. The minutes record that recommendation, but do not show a separate final Council decision adopting it.
A higher-resolution map of the drinking water catchment boundary was tabled and will be circulated electronically. The Subcommittee also discussed the classification of the Mangrove Mountain landfill site as contaminated land.
Council officers will request that a landfill site visit be arranged if Verde Terra Pty Ltd approves it. Attendance by the EPA at a future Subcommittee meeting is likewise subject to approval from senior EPA staff. The next meeting is scheduled for 3.30pm on 19 November 2026.
What deserves a closer look
The source records a recommendation to Council separately from the items the Subcommittee noted; it does not record a later Council decision adopting the recommendation.
The requested PFAS information and EPA results are not included in the minutes, and no delivery date is stated.
The proposed landfill visit and possible EPA attendance both depend on approvals that have not been recorded as granted.
Questions for follow-up reporting
When will the EPA groundwater results and the requested information about sites 5, 16 and 17 be provided to the Subcommittee?
What PFAS results will be reported for monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17?
Will Verde Terra Pty Ltd approve the proposed landfill site visit, and when would it occur?
Will Council formally consider the Subcommittee's recommendation?
What happens next
Publicly available EPA groundwater-monitoring results are to be provided to the Subcommittee; no delivery date is recorded.
Further information about PFAS detections at monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17 has been requested; no delivery date is recorded.
The higher-resolution drinking water catchment boundary map is to be circulated electronically.
Any EPA attendance at a future Subcommittee meeting remains subject to senior EPA staff approval.
Council officers will request that a landfill site visit be arranged upon approval from Verde Terra Pty Ltd.
The next Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 19 November 2026 at 3.30pm.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
The Subcommittee noted Council's ongoing PFAS monitoring program in the Ourimbah Creek Catchment and continued publication of current and historical results on Council's PFAS webpage. Monitoring activities will continue in accordance with the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
MMA-26/7 That the Subcommittee: 1. Notes the update regarding Council's ongoing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) water quality monitoring program within the Ourimbah Creek Catchment. 2. Notes that current and historical Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) monitoring results continue to be published on Council's PFAS webpage and that monitoring activities will continue in accordance with the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
MMA-26/7, points 1–2
Open original minutes ↗The Subcommittee recommended that Council note the outcomes of its ongoing PFAS monitoring program in the Ourimbah Creek Catchment and the continued implementation of the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
Central Coast Council Mangrove Mountain Advisory Sub-Committee Minutes 17 September 2026 Page 5 OFFICIAL 3. Recommends that Council notes the outcomes of Council's ongoing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) monitoring program within the Ourimbah Creek Catchment and the continued implementation of the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
MMA-26/7, point 3
Open original minutes ↗Publicly available EPA groundwater-monitoring results are to be provided to the Subcommittee, and further information was requested about PFAS detections at monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17.
The Subcommittee discussed: • Classification of the Mangrove Mountain landfill site as contaminated land and its ongoing consideration by the Subcommittee. • Publicly available EPA groundwater monitoring results are to be provided to the Subcommittee. • PFAS monitoring results, and further information requested on detections at monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17. • A higher resolution map of the drinking water catchment boundary was tabled and will be circulated electronically.
Discussion following MMA-26/7
Open original minutes ↗The Subcommittee discussed the classification of the Mangrove Mountain landfill site as contaminated land.
The Subcommittee discussed: • Classification of the Mangrove Mountain landfill site as contaminated land and its ongoing consideration by the Subcommittee. • Publicly available EPA groundwater monitoring results are to be provided to the Subcommittee.
Discussion following MMA-26/7
Open original minutes ↗A higher-resolution drinking water catchment boundary map was tabled and will be circulated electronically.
• PFAS monitoring results, and further information requested on detections at monitoring sites 5, 16 and 17. • A higher resolution map of the drinking water catchment boundary was tabled and will be circulated electronically.
Discussion following MMA-26/7
Open original minutes ↗Council officers will request that a landfill site visit be arranged upon approval from Verde Terra Pty Ltd, and EPA attendance at a future Subcommittee meeting is subject to senior EPA staff approval.
• Environment Protection Authority's (EPA) attendance at a future Subcommittee meeting is subject to Senior EPA staff approval. • Verde Terra Pty Ltd has expressed interest in attending a future Subcommittee meeting. Council officers will request a landfill site visit be arranged, upon approval from Verde Terra Pty Ltd. 3 MEETING CLOSURE The next Mangrove Mountain Advisory Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 3.30pm on 19 November 2026.
Discussion following MMA-26/7, before meeting closure
Open original minutes ↗The next Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 19 November 2026 at 3.30pm.
Council officers will request a landfill site visit be arranged, upon approval from Verde Terra Pty Ltd. 3 MEETING CLOSURE The next Mangrove Mountain Advisory Subcommittee meeting is scheduled for 3.30pm on 19 November 2026.
Meeting closure
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the public minutes of the Central Coast Council Mangrove Mountain Advisory Subcommittee meeting held on 17 September 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- Under minute MMA-26/7, the Subcommittee noted Council’s ongoing PFAS monitoring program in the Ourimbah Creek Catchment.
- The committee recommended that Council note the monitoring outcomes and continued implementation of the Ourimbah Creek Catchment PFAS Management Plan.
- Publicly available EPA groundwater-monitoring results are to be provided to the Subcommittee; further information about detections at sites 5, 16 and 17 was requested.
- A higher-resolution drinking water catchment boundary map will be circulated electronically.
- A landfill site visit will be requested subject to approval from Verde Terra Pty Ltd.
- The next meeting is scheduled for 19 November 2026 at 3.30pm.
Why it matters
- The requested information could give people in the Ourimbah Creek Catchment more detail about PFAS detections and groundwater monitoring, but the minutes do not provide the results or a timetable for their release to the Subcommittee.