No monitoring or individual testing of
soil quality was carried out on the topsoil alleged to have been stolen from several Australian homes, it has emerged.
Private landowners in south-east Queensland claim that rich topsoil was appropriated from properties along water grid pipeline works by the state government, the Sunshine Coast Daily reported.
A government spokesperson said that access for builders of private landowner property -and the removal of soil - is permitted by a licensed agreement to enter land issued from the national department of infrastructure and planning.
"There was never an intention or a promise made to segregate topsoil property by property," said the representative.
Meanwhile, a leading Coast agronomist said that removing quality topsoil and replacing it with soil of inferior quality could cause serious drainage problems and consequently restrict access to surrounding land.
However, a report into the alleged thefts by PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that residents' allegations could not be substantiated.
Written by Claire Manning
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