The Bugle 15 June 2019
A fortnightly celebration of people and places on the Upper South Coast of NSW
Serving the communities of Kiama, Gerringong, Jamberoo, Kiama Downs, Minnamurra and Gerroa and now at www.thebugleonline.com
Concerns over getting fill to Bombo Quarry With the exhibition period for Boral’s application to modify the DA for its quarry closing on 17 June, Keith Dedden believes people are only just beginning to understand the impact of what is being proposed. As reported in previous issues, Boral is seeking approval to prepare the site for development by backfilling it with clean fill from tunnelling infrastructure projects in metro Sydney. It is looking to modify its existing quarrying consent to allow it to bring material onto the site via its Panama Street access point. The fill will be transported via road (down the southern end of Riverside Drive and along Hutchison St) and rail, with the rehabilitation expected to take between five to seven years.
As a member of the residents’ action group WAKE UP Kiama Downs, Mr Dedden has leveraged off his professional civil engineering, and assessment and approval, experience to make a submission to Council. With his house backing onto the train line at Cathedral Rocks, he has been aware of the scope of the project from the start, attending the consultations provided by Boral and studying the proposal in detail. “It isn’t so much the backfilling of the Quarry that is a concern, it is the way they are proposing to transport
lution of having the trucks turn right off the highway at the roundabout. “If this current plan is approved, the people along the trainline will cop it day and night, and everyone will be up in arms. “It just can’t happen.” He’s also worried the weight of the trains, heavily laden and 37 carriages long, will cause a land slip resulting in disruption to essential
The case against keeping the logo on the Lighthouse p 3
Boral sandmining update p 3
the excavated material from Sydney, and are trying to get it approved through a modification to the existing consent,” he says. “We know it has to be transported, but not for 24/7 for 365 days a year for 5-8
Ideal solution is via Sydney Trains land Councillor Warren Steel says more and more people are approaching him with their concerns about the impact of the trains and trucks in a residential area. “I know it has got to be filled, but it has to come in by truck,” says Cllr Steel, who lives between Riverside Drive and the railway. “We’ll do everything we can to stop it, especially when there is the ideal so-
Inside this issue
services infrastructure. “We’ve got to get Boral and State Rail talking to each other to allow access via the roundabout.” To this end, Gareth Ward MP has responded to the residents’ group’s request and sent a letter to the NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance, asking for Sydney Trains to assist by negotiating access through its site by Boral.
Councillor Warren Steel (centre) with some of the members of WAKE UP Kiama Downs by the proposed truck route
years, through residential streets and via night trains. “256 trucks a day down Riverside Drive is sure to cause an accident. “This is an intolerable situation. “We are concerned about the health impacts of the noise, the dust and trains waking people at night for years.” Boral is looking to modify a quarrying consent granted in 1971, rather than lodging a new Development Application. Mr Dedden has a number of issues with this strategy, including that the original consent didn’t require backfilling, but just the spreading of the overburden on the
quarry floor. “Boral is choosing to do the refilling, yet they want to rely on an approval given for quarrying. “The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (EP&A Act) didn’t exist back then. “They are operating under an Environment Protection Licence which limits them to 500,000t of extracted material a year, but they are looking at putting back 1.4 million tonnes per annum. “The EP&A Act says that if you are a consent authority and are looking at granting a modification you must be convinced it is substantially the same development Continued on page 6
Accolade for former Kiama High student p3
Pheasant Point Heritage Precinct now fully protected p7 What’s happening at The Grand? p 9