Southern Waste Solutions (SWS) has submitted a request to Sorell Council (granted by council last night) for an extension to its current permit to construct a C cell at its landfill facility in Copping.
SWS CEO Christine Bell said given it was unlikely the approved development would be substantially underway before the original permit lapsed, an application for an extension would be submitted.
“We are seeking an extension of the period during which the development must be substantially commenced, as allowed for by the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993,” Ms Bell said.
“The Director of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has advised us that he is not aware of any technological developments that would lead to any necessary changes to the current permit.
“The Director has also advised that despite paying close attention to the public debate surrounding the C cell, no issues have been raised that were not already addressed during the development assessment process.
“Tasmania is currently the only state in Australia without a C cell and if we are serious about maintaining our environmental credentials, we all need to take responsibility for the waste we produce.
“It is vital for all Tasmanians that we have the proper best practice infrastructure in place to protect public health and our environment as well as support our industries, businesses and jobs.
“The C cell will be engineered to world’s best practice and waste will be stored and treated in a way that ensures it cannot cause harm to the environment though emissions to air, soil or water contamination.”
Southern Waste Solutions (SWS) is a legally-incorporated joint authority owned by Clarence City, Kingborough, Sorell and Tasman Councils, which has been operating the Copping landfill site without incident for more than a decade.
• Angela Marsh, President of the Southern Beaches Conservation Society (SBCS): Another Two Years Permit Extension for the Copping Toxic Dump
The Deputy Mayor urged Councillors to determine the Southern Waste Solutions (SWS), application for the Copping C-cell permit extension purely as a planning application, disregarding community concerns.
Angela Marsh, President of the Southern Beaches Conservation Society (SBCS) said, “Although s.53(5A) of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 gives Council discretion to refuse such an application and despite being urged not to grant an extension by concerned members of the Sorell community and SBCS, Councilors decided to grant the full two year extension.”
Ms Marsh read out a statement at the council meeting reminding Councilors that they were elected to represent and protect the best interests of their community and that they have due regard to the environmental impacts of their decisions as elected members of the community, now and into the future, including consideration being given to the appropriate disposal of waste.
Issues regarding the location and construction of the C-cell at Copping, Ms Marsh quotes requirements in the Landfill Sustainability Guidelines 2004, stating, “We are concerned that the proposed C-cell at Copping does not meet these Guidelines, as follows:
• the C-cell facility will be located on dolerite within 100m of sandstone lithology. Where excavation is to occur, there is a risk that the C-cell will not be effectively separated from the sandstone lithology.
• The Pitt & Sherry risk assessment for the C-cell notes that there is a high risk from displacement of underlying strata.
• The C-cell facility will clearly be located in an area of high permeability substrata. The Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan (DPEMP) recognised this would be problematic for leachate contaminants reaching the Carlton River.”
Vocal community opposition to the C-cell has been clearly demonstrated at numerous community crisis meetings, protests, rallies, fundraising events, extensive local media coverage and a 1,700 strong petition submitted to Sorell Council in October 2012 – the largest ever received by Sorell Council and over 2400 letters sent to the Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF) Panel calling on them not to fund the C-cell.
AND, • Dear Michael Ferguson: Air Quality Health Protocol Hon Michelle O’Byrne has had years of trial burn seasons and Hon Lara Giddings has had years of discussions, but we still have not progressed beyond air monitoring, an attitude which is reflected nationwide. Improved air quality standards are long overdue, particularly when Launceston had 14 exceedences of PM 2.5 in 2013. Meanwhile, Hon Premier Hodgman is adding $28.5 million to fuel reduction burns (3.14 Liberal Fuel Reduction Policy), burning 5% of public land/ year, and landowners are audaciously encouraged to protect their ‘properties’. Yet there is no ‘health’ protection or evacuation assistance, nor is the EMPCA ever given prosecution powers, and damaging pollution continues to cross boundaries every day.
• Peter McGlone, Tasmanian Conservation Trust, in Comments: Household Hazardous Waste: Over the last 12 months the public debate over the proposed Copping hazardous waste disposal landfill (or C-cell) has been the catalyst for a renewed debate about a range of waste management issues. The proponent of the Copping C-cell, Southern Waste Solutions, has suggested a number of times that the community should refrain from criticizing the C-cell because most of us are probably sending household hazardous waste (HHW) to existing landfill sites, which are not designed to contain such wastes, and that this is probably causing significant environmental harm and risk to human health. The TCT will continue to criticise the proposal for a C-cell but we do agree that it is not acceptable to send HHW to landfill.
