The proposed super tip for the Bega Valley has been given the go-ahead.
The packed gallery in the Bega Valley Shire Council chambers rang with cries of “shame” when the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP) on Wednesday night handed down its decision.
However, in announcing its decision chair Pam Allen placed stringent conditions on the project to ensure the environment and local amenity around Wanatta Lane in Wolumla would not be affected.
Ms Allen said she understood the concern of locals who were to have the waste from the whole of the Shire dumped in their vicinity.
“It is quite obvious that locals do not trust council to manage the tips they have, let alone something this size,” she said.
“But those tips were old and council has admitted it doesn’t do it as well as it could, but this new facility must be managed better.”
Ms Allen also called for a community consultative committee to be established to work with council on issues with the tip.
Earlier, the panel heard submissions from locals who made their feelings known, covering much the same issues as previously.
These included possible water contamination from leachate spills, the failure of tip liners, wind-blown litter, air quality, extra traffic, the removal of trees during the upgrading of Wanatta Lane, soil erosion and the reduction of house values caused by the tip’s location.
One major concern was the size of the tip and the calculations of how much compacted waste it would hold over the proposed 30-year life.
It was argued the tip had a lifespan of just 12 years and would therefore create more problems in a much shorter time.
Another issue raised was recycling and reuse, programs council is lacking, according to a speaker and the JRPP.
At the end of the submissions the panel grilled council’s waste services manager Toby Brown on aspects of the tip.
Mr Brown refuted many of the opinions given in the submissions and gave explanations on the inclusion of mitigation procedures in the event of problems arising.
He was questioned extensively by panel member Paul Anderson on the differing calculations of the tip’s capacity, the machinery involved in compacting and the estimated increase that would come from population growth – 4 per cent according to an objector and 1 per cent according to council.
“We needed to apply a growth rate and we applied the 1 per cent estimated population increase,” Mr Brown said.
Mr Anderson asked, in relation to compacting the waste and therefore the tip’s capacity, what size compacter council would buy because the proposed CAT 816, “in my limited knowledge of plant and equipment is not the biggest compacter you could use”.
Mr Brown said: “Council will acquire a landfill compactor which is the best balance between capital cost and value for money.”
Leachate containment was a concern of panel member Allen Grimwood, who asked how it would be contained.
Mr Brown said there were procedures in place to mitigate any spillage of leachate.
“Our (dual) liner system is best practice and will protect groundwater from being contaminated,” he said.
“There will be three leachate dams on
site that meet current guidelines and the capacity has been modelled to contain all leachate generated in the wettest year on record which was 1934.”
When Mr Brown’s questioning was completed, panel member Alison McCabe said it was time for waste management in the Shire to be upgraded, but also conceded there was a “lot of angst and questions over site selection process”.
“Notwithstanding how that came about we have a site and an application... and our job is to look at that.
“I am satisfied with the extent of the mitigation and the management process (with that) so that I can put forward the recommendation.”
Ms McCabe, however, added conditions regarding landscaping and rehabilitation to the site with landscaping to be carried out before any other work was done.
Mr Grimwood seconded the motion but said he wanted a condition that said when each stage was finished it was to be rehabilitated to its original condition.
Mr Anderson said he was “betwixt and between” on the matter but would vote against it as he didn’t believe the community’s concerns over leachate, groundwater and air quality had been addressed properly.
Ms Allen supported the recommendation but asked for the establishment of a community consultative committee that could work with council on issues that might arise.
“There have been many comments critical of the way council manages its tips and I think there’s a lack of trust towards council (in this regard),” she said.
“This has been a tough and controversial decision and if the tip is not managed properly it wouldn’t be a good neighbour.
“But if council and the committee works together and meets on a regular basis that would be an improvement.”
After the meeting mayor Tony Allen said it had been a long, drawn out, difficult process which had caused great debate.
“There was a level of concern and stress that really shouldn’t have happened and came about because of the delays in any decision making process which need to be detailed and thorough out of respect to all involved,” he said.
Cr Allen said he welcomed the recommendation to form a committee and hoped it would engage with council to make sure the new facility is “as good as it could possibly be”.
“I also take note of the management issues and I am sure that will be looked into,” he said.
One of the most vocal objectors to the tip and spokesman for Wolumla Residents Action Group Jeff Smith said he was “disappointed, dismayed and horrified” at the decision.
“I think the panel was totally dismissive of stakeholders’ concerns, all the things we have been talking about for 10 years were dismissed,” he said.
Mr Smith said he had no faith in council’s waste management services to properly manage the facility and could see big problems ahead.
“I don’t think I’ll go on the proposed committee either - I’ve been on them before and it’ll have no power so it won’t be of any value.”
But the last decade had not been a complete waste of time, Mr Smith said.
“The original plans were terrible so at least we might have made it slightly better.”
He also called on councillors to work with member for Bega Andrew Constance to identify a site on Crown Land that could be used.
“It might not be too late,” he said.
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