EIS 1146 ABOI 9851 Proposed Regional Waste Depot
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EIS 1146 ABOI 9851 Proposed regional waste depot, Londonderry : environmental assessment report 'W DEPT PRIMR1 INUSTR1ES 4 AB01985 te ii a riagement i%lut1ioritcJ,, DF NEW SOUTH WALES PROPOSED REGIONAL WASTE DEPOT LONDONDERRY Environmental Assessment Report MITCHELL McCOTTER PL i I I I I(S)1IIAIJ)14' I I I I I I 1 Prepared for: 1 Waste Management Authority of New South Wales Prepared by: I Mitchell McCotter & Associates Pty Ltd November 1990 I Printed on 100% Australian Recycled Paper Li MITCHELL McCOTTER I TABLE OF CONTENTS I Page No. I FOREWORD I SUMMARY Si 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 I 1.1 THE PROPOSAL 1.1 1.2 THE WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY 1.1 1 1.3 WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 1.3 1 .3.1 Solid Waste Generation 1.4 I 1 .3.2 Waste Minimisation 1.7 1.3.3 Recycling 1.8 1 .3.4 Recovery & Processing 1.8 I 1 .3.5 Landfill Capacity 1.9 1.3.6 Incineration 1.9 I 1.4 ALTERNATIVE STRATEGIES 1.10 1.4.1 Waste Disposal Techniques 1.10 I 1 .4.2 Waste Processing Techniques 1.12 1.4.3 Economics 1.13 I 2.0 THE NEED FOR LONDONDERRY DEPOT 2.1 2.1 WASTE MANAGEMENT IN NORTHERN AND I NORTH-WESTERN SYDNEY 2.1 2.2 SITE SELECTION 2.4 I 2.2.1 Site Selection Criteria 2.4 2.2.2 Background 2.7 2.2.3 Alternative Sites 2.9 2.2.4 Consideration of Short-listed Alternatives 2.14 3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3.1 3.1 LANDFILL WASTE DISPOSAL 3.1 3.1.1 Typesof Waste 3.1 3.1.2 Transport 3.3 3.1.3 Control and Direction 3.4 I MITCHELL McCOTTER TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) Page No 3.1.4 Waste Disposal 3.6 3.1.5 Decomposition 3.10 3.1.6 Rehabilitation and Aftercare 3.10 3.2 LONDONDERRY DEPOT 3.12 3.2.1 Site Characteristics 3.12 3.2.2 Proposed Layout 3.13 3.2.3 Site Development 3.16 3.2.4 Operations 3.20 3.2.5 Water Management 3.24 3.2.6 Final Landform 3.29 3.2.7 Services 3.30 3.2.8 Source and Delivery of Waste 3.30 3.2.9 Road Access 3.33 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 4.1 4.1 DEVELOPMENT ISSUES 4.1 4.1.1 The Site 4.1 4.1.2 Conservation Value 4.4 4.1.3 Landuse and Planning 4.10 4.1.4 Topography, Drainage and Flooding 4.16 4.1.5 Geology, Soils and Seismology 4.21 4.1.6 Archaeology and Heritage 4.25 4.1.7 Value for Extractive Industry 4.27 4.1.8 Socio-Economics 4.28 4.2 OPERATIONAL ISSUES 4.29 4.2.1 Noise 4.29 4.2.2 Water Quality 4.35 4.2.3 Air Quality 4.41 4.2.4 Vermin and Insects 4.45 4.2.5 Visual Characteristics 4.47 4.2.6 Litter 4.49 4.2.7 Roads and Traffic 4.50 4.2.8 Fire Control 4.53 4.2.9 Access and Security 4.54 I MITCHELL McCOTTER 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) I Page No. I 4.3 MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT 4.54 4.4 ENERGY STATEMENT 4.56 I 4.5 LOCAL BENEFITS I 50 JUSTIFICATION AND CONCLUSION 5.1 1 6.0 REFERENCES 7.0 APPENDICES I 7.1 EXCLUDED WASTE 7.2 SUMMARY OF RESPONSES FROM AUTHORITIES 7.3 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION I 7.4 REQUIREMENTS OF THE DIRECTOR OF PLANNING I I 1 I I I I I I I I I MITCHELL McCOTTER 1 LIST OF FIGURES Follows I Page No. I Introduction 1.1 LOCALITY PLAN 1.1 I 1.2 REGIONAL WASTE DEPOTS AND TRANSFER STATIONS 1.3 I The Need for Londonderry Depot 2.1 ALTERNATIVE SITES CONSIDERED 2.10 I Project Description 1 3.1 WASTE DISPOSAL OPERATIONS 3.8 3.2 CROSS SECTION OF A LANDFILL 3.9 3.3 STYLISED PLAN OF TYPICAL LANDFILL 3.9 I 3.4 SECTION OF A TYPICAL LANDFILL OPERATION 3.10 3.5 SITE CHARACTERISTICS 3.12 1 3.6 PROPOSED DEPOTLAYOUT 3.13 3.7 TYPICAL CROSS-SECTION OF EARTH WORKS 3.18 1 3.8 SITE FACILITIES 3.20 3.9 INITIAL STAGE OF OPERATIONS 3.21 3.10 LATER STAGES OF OPERATIONS 3.21 I 3.11 FINAL STAGE OF OPERATIONS 3.21 3.12 FINAL LANDFORM 3.29 I 3.13 HAULAGE ROUTES 3.34 3.14 LOCAL TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 3.35 Environmental Assessment 1 4.1 MAJOR VEGETATION ASSOCIATIONS 4.4 4.2 LAND ZONING 4.10 4.3 LAND USE 4.12 1 4.4 HYDROLOGY 4.16 4.5 FLOOD LEVELS 4.16 I 4.6 DETENTION BASIN AND STORM WATER 4.20 DIVERSION ALTERNATIVES 4.20 1 4.7 GEOLOGY 4.21 4.8 LOCATION OF TEST BORE HOLES AND PITS 4.22 I v1ITCf-JE[[ \IcCOTTER LIST OF FIGURES Follows Page No. 4.9 THICKNESS OF CLAY 4.22 4.10 THICKNESS OF CONGLOMERATE 4.22 4.11 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES 4.25 4.12 VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS 4.47 4.13 VIEW FROM HAWKESBURY LOOKOUT 4.49 MITCHELL McCOTTER 1 FORE WORD In June, 1990 the Waste Management Authority lodged a development application with I Penrith City Council for a proposed regional waste depot at Londonderry. The application was accompanied by an environmental assessment report prepared on behalf of the Authority by Mitchell McCotter and Associates. The matter of whether the proposed Londonderry waste depot properly falls within the I category of designated development has been argued before the Land and Environment Court. Justice Stein, in his judgement handed down on 21st September, 1990 found that the I proposal is not designated development. The matter is now subject to resolution in the Court of Appeal. Owing to the uncertaintly of the status of the project, the Waste Management I Authority considered it prudent to proceed with alterations and updating of the environmental assessment report so that if required, it may be re-submitted to Penrith City Council as an environmental impact statement accompanied by a fresh development application. I Alternatively, the document is suitable for re-submission to Council as an updated I environmental assessment report. In updating this document, formal Directors' Requirements have been obtained from the I Department of Planning and are included as an appendix. The original document has been modified following discussions with officers of the Department of Planning, a meeting with I representatives of various conservation groups, correspondence from Penrith City Council, matters raised in the Land and Environment Court, and as a result of a general review of the I report. After submission of the first development application, an offer was made for a consultant to attend a meeting of the Loñdonderry Residents Action Group to explain the proposal, but at the wish of the group's committee, that attendance has been deferred. This updated environmental assessment report examines the proposed Londonerry regional I waste depot in accordance with procedures under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act for the preparation of an environmental impact statement. The proposal is unchanged from that described in the earlier assessment report and consequently this I document is not substantially altered from the earlier report. I MITCHELL McCOUER SUMMARY I This document has been prepared to examine a proposal by the Waste Management Authority of New South Wales to establish a regional waste depot at Londonderry. I Commencing in mid-1991, it is planned that the new depot will provide disposal for solid waste from households, industry and commerce in northern and north-western Sydney. Londonderry depot is needed to form part of Sydney's regional waste management system. It will be a replacement for Grange Avenue depot at Marsden Park, which is scheduled to close I within twelve months and Bare Creek depot at Beirose, which will within close 18 months. I At the same time, two waste transfer stations will be established at Beirose and Seven Hills. At these centres waste will be compacted into trailer-type vehicles for haulage to I Londonderry. It is planned that waste collected from seven Council areas will be disposed of in the proposed landfill. The Site Anarea of Crown land located between Nutt and Fire Trail Roads, Londonderry, will be acquired by the Waste Management Authority for the depot. The land is partly bushland and partly cleared, having been reserved for future extraction of clay. The site is in the form of a broad shallow basin with an intermittent watercourse draining to the north. Waste Management Strategy In the last twelve months the Waste Management Authority has carried out a major review of itssolid waste management strategy for the Sydney region. The updated strategy embodies two thrusts to be pursued over the next 20 years. The first objective is to retard growth in the quantity of waste requiring disposal by encouraging waste minimisation, separation at source for recycling and development of materials recovery and processing systems. The second objective is to develop appropriate disposal methods for the remaining waste. At the present time, landfilling within the region is the most suitable method for disposing of Sydney's solid waste. The next most suitable option is to transfer waste to a landfill site outside the Sydney region. I SJ MITCHELL McCOTTER Alternatives To find a suitable landfill site for Sydney's northern and north-western region, the Waste Management Authority considered 29 potential locations in nine local government areas.