No soil monitoring 'carried out on stolen topsoil'

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