GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT Craig Deasey 1. TILLEGRA DAM EF07/75 Précis: Reporting on developments associated with the proposed Tillegra Dam. *********** The following report is broken down into several components to ensure that the Councillors are aware of the current situation. Councillor Workshop The outcomes of the last Councillor workshop focussed again on the resolution from the October meeting of Council. Accordingly I wrote to the CEO of Hunter Water on 16 December 2008 requesting that the Hunter Water give consideration to the funding of a statistically robust survey (Annexure ‘A’). On the 7 January letters were also written to the Minister for Planning The Hon Kristina Keneally MP and the Minister for Water the Hon. Phillip Costa MP to request that the assessment of the Tillegra Dam be undertaken by a Planning Assessment Commission (Annexure ‘B’). At this point in time I have not received a response from Hunter Water nor the relevant Ministers Offices’. The second component of the workshop entailed a session that I requested the Tillegra Dam Strategic Project Manager to facilitate, with the focus question being what are the key benefits that Dungog Shire Councillors wish to secure should Tillegra Dam proceed or not. The outcomes of this are reported further within the project managers section later on. Critical Infrastructure On the 9 January 2009, the Government Gazette included a declaration that the Tillegra Dam project has been categorised as critical infrastructure under the part 3A process. With the Gazettal of this project as critical infrastructure third party and objector appeals to the Land and Environment Court are excluded. It should be noted that this still does not preclude the application from being assessed by an independent panel i.e. Planning Assessment Commission should the Minister so determine to refer such. Environmental Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act Referral The Tillegra Dam proposal was referred to the Federal Government to ascertain whether the proposed dam is a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1989 (EPBC Act). In effect meaning that the Federal Minister for the Environment would be required to issue an approval of the project once assessed by his Department declared that the project was a controlled action under the EPBC Act. In November 2008, Council officers did make a submission to the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts concerning the proposed Tillegra Dam highlighting our concerns (Annexure ‘C’). Ordinary Meeting of the Council of the Shire of Dungog, to be held Tuesday 17 February 2009 commencing 6.00pm. On the 23 January 2009 the Department issued their decision on the assessment approach and have concluded that the action is a controlled action under the EPBC and will require assessment and approval by the Minister under this Act before it can proceed. The attached Annexure ‘D’ is a copy of such advice and a copy of the relevant workflow as provided to Council. Strategic Project Manager The following is an outline of the activities that the Strategic Project Manager has been actively involved in to date. As previously advised to Councillors this position is directly funded by both the Department of State & Regional Development and Hunter Water Corporation with a total allocation of $100,000 from both grantors with some assistance being provided by Council which is a mix of “in kind” (office space/rental, computer hardware, telephone etc.) and travel costs. In recent weeks there has been some negative press in relation to this position, but the work that is being undertaken by this officer simply would not happen if the position was not established. As a consequence any of the benefits for the community that we are trying to achieve whether the Dam proceeds or not would not eventuate if this resource was not put in place. Furthermore the level of access to key government agencies for issues not just about the Dam but Councils ongoing problems with the Local Environmental Plan, road funding submissions etc. has certainly benefited the broader community. They may not be visible benefits as yet or any tangible “on the ground” assets but the effort and the enthusiasm to secure benefits is certainly there. A snapshot of Mr Peterkin’s report to myself is outlined below with the outcomes of the focus question as put to Councillors at the workshop on 8 December 2008 attached as Annexure ‘E’. Key Achievements • Facilitated gazettal of LEP 6 prior to end of 2008 • Route Access Strategy continued briefing of key personnel to progressing proposal • Finalising RV Dump Site at Dungog Showground, funding of hardware and installation • NSW Forests and NPWS proposal to upgrade facilities, Dungog Bike Plan updated prepared and ready to be submitted for funding • Key relationships developed with State Ministers and Federal Ministers Staff and Federal MPs Key Meetings • Minister Costa and staff • Minister McKay • Minister Keneally staff • Senator Michael Forshaw • Mayors from Maitland and Port Stephens Councils • Departmental – DSRD, HWC, Premiers Department, NPWS, NSW Forests, RTA, potential stakeholder groups recreational fishing, triathlon events Forecast Activities • Dump Site Proposal – to be finalised in January and expected to have official opening in February 2009. • Route Access Strategy – State Minister Costa and Daley to meet in February to confirm state position and then seek contribution from Canberra to fund Raymond Terrace Road upgrade. Ordinary Meeting of the Council of the Shire of Dungog, to be held Tuesday 17 February 2009 commencing 6.00pm. • Proposals to be submitted for funding in January include NSW Forests and NPWS joint proposal for facilities upgrade, Dungog Bike Plan • Continued discussions with HWC for irrigation outcomes Additional projects to be developed – First quarter 2009 • Secondary road funding – approximately $14.5 million • Sewerage for villages – approximately $20 million • Community infrastructure projects such as sporting fields, caravan park/recreational vehicle facilities Public Exhibition Stage What Councillors should now be considering is what role do they envisage undertaking when the Hunter Waters environmental assessment and statement of commitments is placed on public exhibition. This was raised by a Councillor at the last Tillegra Dam workshop but not resolved. The documentation that Hunter Water Corporation submits to NSW Planning is going to be significant, Council staff will be reviewing the documentation and I would envisage that they will specifically review aspects that are within their fields of professional experience and providing input back as the senior management team collectively draft our response to the submission. There should not be the expectation of Councillors that we will conduct several workshops on the environmental assessment, it is just not feasible as the timeframe will be tight and Council staff already have high workloads, the preparation of additional papers for a workshop is just valuable time lost. IPART On 17 December 2008 the State Government determined that the recovery of the costs of construction for Tillegra Dam is to be recovered through periodic charges alone. Council at the IPART hearing in Newcastle on 12 December 2008 (IPART review of prices for water, sewerage, stormwater and recycled water services for Hunter Water Corporation from 1 July 2009) and at Gosford on 14 November 2008 (IPART review of Gosford City and Wyong Councils water, wastewater and stormwater prices from 1 July 2009) put forward the argument as regards funding Tillegra Dam that with the projected growth in population the growth element should be captured by a developer charge i.e for the developers to contribute towards the demand and the climate change/drought security element picked up by the usage charge. With the decision of the State Government, Hunter Water Corporation has had to again revise their submission to IPART as the cost of Tillegra dam to the residential household has increased. The October 2008 submission to IPART by HWC stated that over the 4 years commencing 1 July 2009 that the average water and sewer bill will have increased by around $389 ($08/09) in total, following the Governments’ decision the revised increase is $412 ($08/09). The following table outlines the variations between the executive summaries contained in HWC’s submission: Ordinary Meeting of the Council of the Shire of Dungog, to be held Tuesday 17 February 2009 commencing 6.00pm. Oct 2008 Jan 2009 Increases in operating costs $78 $79 Increased infrastructure investment (excl Tillegra $215 $207 Dam) Tillegra Dam $33 $60 Maintain Credit rating $80 $84 Water Efficiency Programs $5 $5 Reduction in Environmental Improvement Charge -$23 -$23 Total $389 $412 1 The draft IPART report will not be released until May 2009, these increases will have a significant impact upon all households throughout the HWC area of operations. The impacts on small business within the Dungog area that are connected to sewerage will be greater than the impact upon residential households with the base sewer charge rising from $642.33 (2008/09) to $1,200.72 in 2012/2013 plus usage charge. Again this point was raised at the hearing on 12 December 2008 as small business in Dungog has suffered since the announcement of the proposed Tillegra dam. IMPLICATIONS Financial The Tillegra Dam proposal has significant financial implications for Council and the community, whether the Dam proceeds or not there has been both a direct and indirect financial cost to our community to date. Consultative Council has conducted several workshops on Tillegra Dam to date and there are 2 councillor representatives on the Tillegra Dam Community Reference Group, Council officers and the Mayor continue to liaise with the political parties as regards the Tillegra Dam and also the Tillegra Dam Whole of Government Taskforce. Community/Environmental Previously reported to Council and also encapsulated within Councils submission on the draft Tillegra dam environmental assessment.