EIS 1509 AA06791 6 Griffith City Council Tharbogang Landfill
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EIS 1509 AA06791 6 Griffith City Council Tharbogang Landfill - Quarry development, Griffith, NSW. I NSW IEPI PRIMARY~~J J INISTRIES L 7°? [ AA06791 6 I I GRIFFITH CITY COUNCIL THARBOGANG LANDFILL QUARRY DEVELOPMENT I Griffith, NSV I I AWL6409/1 -EA I 1 August, 2001 I I I I I I I I I GeotechrcaI I Resources I Environmental I Technical I Project Management I I AWL6409/1-EA AE:MH-C 1 August, 2001 I Griffith City Council PG Box485 I GRIFFITH NSW 2680 I Attention: Mr Peter Higgins, Civil Infrastructure and Waste Manager I Deer Sir, 1 RE: THARBOGANG LANDFILL - QUARRY DEVELOPMENT This letter serves to present supplementary information for the Envtronrnentai Impact Study carr:ed out I by Coffey Geosciences Pty Ltd for the above project. (refer AWL6409/1-BH dated 5 September, 2000). I F:47do/CehaIf of COSCIENCES PTY LTD I I P EDWARDS Manager I I I I I I I uni: 1 /15 1 Wytrra Orve North Albury NSW 2640 Australa 60 Box 803 Albury NSW 2640 Austraha Telephone +61 2 6040 3847 I FacsmiIe +61 2 6040 3861 Coffey Geosciences Pty Ltd AON 056 335 516 EmaP albury©coffey.com no I AWL6409/1 -EA I 1 August, 2001 I TABLE OF CONTENTS I I INTRODUCTION RESOLUTION OF ISSUES RAISED I 2.1 Speedway Club Lease 2.2 Noise Impact Study I 2.3 Vegetation Clearing & Visual Aspects 2.4 Groundwater Quality 2 2.5 Flora and Fauna Impacts 2 2.6 Site Justification 2 2.6.1 General 2 2.6.2 Quarry Materials 2 2.6.3 Landfill 3 2.6.4 Environmental Considerafions 3 APPENDICES A Minutes of the Planning Focus Meeting B Noise Impact Statement C DSB Landscape Architects Visual Assessment Report D DLWC Correspondence E NSW NaUonal Parks & Wildlife SeHce Letter C 'W SOF F I CEN1 N WOR MEJ SJHAR BOGA N GJharboga ng-Quarry.A6409ea, Dot I I AWL6409/1 -EA I 1 August, 2001 I INTRODUCTION I Following submission to Council in September 2000 of the Environmental Impact Study carried out by Coffey Geosciences Pty Ltd, a planning focus meeting was held at the Griffith City Council Chambers on 18 December, 2000 to discuss the study with council members, interested government agencies and the Griffith I Speedway Club. Minutes of the meeting are included in Appendix A of this supplementary report. The main issues of concern that arose from the meeting include: The impact of the development on the Griffith Speedway Club in terms of their length of lease; I The EPA requested that a noise impact study be carried out to support the assumptions made in the EIS report; Murrumbidgee Irrigation (Ml) expressed concern that the extent of 'clearing' may compromise regional targets; Department of Land and Water Conservation (D.L.W.C) suggested that the existing groundwater quality issue should be subject to a risk management strategy that would either justify natural I attenuation or provide options for remediation; The EIS should be reviewed against the McPherson Range Landscape Report proposed by DSB Landscape Architects (DSB); I NSW N.P.W.S be contacted to confirm that they are satisfied which the conclusions of the EIS in respect to threatened species; and I Further justification was needed to show why it was not practical or economical to look at further sites. 2. RESOLUTION OF ISSUES RAISED I 2.1 Speedway Club Lease It was agreed that the staging of the landfill/quarry operation could be managed to ensure the Speedway Club I could continue to operate on its present site for at least a further twenty (20) years. The Speedway club representatives were satisfied that this was an acceptable period for their future planning. 2.2 Noise Impact Study I A noise impact study was carried out by Noise and Sound Services of Sydney. The study took into consideration the existing and proposed development of the landfill and quarry operation and concluded that "The EPA noise criteria will be met for the continuous noise from the proposed expansion hence no noise impact is predicted from plant within the site. The on-road truck noise will not exceed EPA Road Traffic Criteria. The noise and vibration from blasting will also be met provided charge weights are restricted to those I given in this report". A copy of the noise impact statement is enclosed in Appendix B. 2.3 Vegetation Clearing & Visual Aspects This issue is addressed in part by the DSB Landscape Architects review of the EIS (Appendix C). I The concerns raised by Ml and' DSB in respect to the density and maturity of vegetation needed to provide safe haven and access for native fauna and to appease the visual aspect of the development from the Lake I Wyangan Direction can be addressed with good forward planning and planting. In some areas this may require planting of adolescent trees rather than seedlings to overcome past I indiscriminate clearing of vegetation. I I AWL6409/1-EA 2 1 August, 2001 I Where tree planting alone may not meet the visual expectations of the Lake Wyangan residents the construction of laterally orientated and vegetated soil mounds could be carried out and exposed rock faces in I the quarries could be mulched/sprayed to soften the visual impact. 2.4 Groundwater Quality I After discussion and correspondence with the Department of Land and Water Consewation it was agreed that the issue of remediation of groundwater contamination from the past landfill activities should not form pad of the EIS but be addressed as a separate council issue. I A copy of the relevant D.L.W.0 correspondence on the matter is enclosed in Appendix D. 2.5 Flora and Fauna Impacts I A copy of the NSW NP WS response to the EIS review is enclosed in Appendix E. I 2.6 Site Justification 2.6.1 General This issue was addressed in part verbally by Mr Peter Higgins of the Council during the focus meeting. Mr I Higgins presented his view on the economic advantages that were derived by incorporating the landfill and quarry operation. The EIS concluded that the irrigation areas of the M.l.A were generally environmental unsuitable for the I establishment of a landfill as a consequence of a relatively high water table and economically not viable due to the potential value of the area of the land that would be required. I Similarly the EIS concluded that looking at other areas within the McPhersons Range for a suitable gravel source and landfill area would be unacceptable based on the recommendation of Griffith City Council Environmental Study 1991 which classified the area as environmentally sensitive on the basis of flora, fauna, 1 scenic and heritage values. 2.6.2 Quarry Materials 1 Currently the City uses about 60,000 tonnes of road base annually from the Tharbogang quarry. The approximate cost to the council of winning crushing and screening of the rock to road base standard is $5.80 per tonne. The nearest optional source of road base material of similar quality is Wumbulga!' quarry on the I Leeton to Yenda Road approximately 20kms from the Griffith CBD. The current price of road base from this source is $17.60 per m3 ($11.00 per tonne) at the quarry. Haulage of the road base to the Griffith CBD area would add approximately $5.00 per tonne. I The haulage of road base from Tharbogang landfill to the Griffith CBD based on the same haulage rate would ' add about $2.00 per tonne to the unit rate. Delivered to CBD ex 'Tharbogang' $7.80 per tonne; Delivered to CBD ex Wumbulgal' $16.00 per tonne. I The cost saving to the council in operating the Tharbogang quarry as a road base source is therefore about $492,000 per annum. I I AWL6409/1-EA 3 I 1 August, 2001 I 2.6.3 Landffll I If the current landfill site was converted into a recycling and waste transfer station and the waste was then transferred to a site beyond the influence of the irrigation area the annual cost based on a projected waste mass of 16.400 tonne per annum and a conservative haulage distance of 20kms would amount to an d additional annual cost to the council and ratepayers of approximately $82,000. While the lining of the cells at a new site could be expected to be similar to that of the Tharbogang site the cost of rehabilitation at Tharbogang can be viewed as about half as the cost is shared with the quarry 1 operation. The value of the airspace generated by the quarrying operation has been estimated based on the likely option of having to excavate cells at a new site which we would expect to cost about $4.00 per m3. Based on a I combined volume of excavation in proposed stages 2 and 3 of the Tharbogang quarry of 2,200,000m3 over fifty (50) years (44,000m3 per year) the annual saving to the council would be in the vicinity of $176,000. I 2.6.4 Environmental Considerations The raised topography of the Tharbogang site allows for relatively easy management of surface water and I leachate collection from lined cells. This is deemed to be a significant benefit in terms of protecting the quality of natural surface and subsurface waters. In terms of potential disturbance of flora most of the ground surface proposed for the landfill and quarry I extension has been disturbed and modified when the site was used in the past as a source of surface gravel.