Appendix B
Note: The following is a cut and paste of the text of a PDF file which was found Jan 26, 27th and 28th
at this Dept of Planning website address (following) implying it was deceptively published from early December 2007 or
nearly 2 months, ongoing:
In particular embedded URL of summary of the environmental assessment is http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/asp/pdf/06_0104_summary_of_the_ea_for_dop.pdf
[Text copy follows verifying text of DOP PDF web version of EA summary]
PF Formation
Environmental Assessment
Hitchcock Road
Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
DFA Consultants
Hitchcock Road Sand Extraction and
Rehabilitation
Project
Environmental Assessment
Summary of the Environmental Assessment
PF Formation
Environmental Assessment
Hitchcock
Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
DFA Consultants Page
1
Summary of the Environmental Assessment
Introduction
The Environmental Assessment (EA) has been
prepared to accompany a development
application by PF Formation for a change
to their operations at the Hitchcock Road site in
Maroota, Baulkham Hills. Although the proposal
comprises a number of changes to the
current approval, it is treated as a new
development which would supersede it. This would
require the surrender of the existing consent
at an agreed time following the receipt of
approval for the present application.
The site is located approximately 50 kilometres
to the north-west of the Sydney Central
Business District and about eight kilometres
south of Wisemans Ferry. Its location is shown
on Figure 1. The site is included within the Maroota
sector of Sydney
Regional
Environmental Plan No 9
- Extractive Industry (Number 2). The objective of this plan is to
protect a valuable sand resource in this
and other locations.
The site is zoned Rural 1(b) under Baulkham
Hills Local Environmental Plan 2005. Extractive
industry is permitted, with Council consent,
within this zone.
The existing sand mining operation is located
on a site adjacent to the intersection of Old
Northern
Road and Wisemans Ferry Road, Maroota comprising
seven separate parcels of
land covering approximately 79 hectares.
The proposal would now include 10 parcels
following the addition of three, including
the former Maroota Meteorological Reserve site
and its access roads and the removal of Lot
2 Dp555184. The area subject to sand
extraction would now cover an area of approximately
85 hectares which is shown on
Figure 2.
The site is basically triangular in shape
with an additional rectangular portion located to
the south east. The distance from the apex
of the triangle at the intersection of Wisemans
Ferry Road and Old Northern Road to its most southerly corner is approximately 1,500
metres while the base of the triangle from
the junction with Hitchcock Road to its most
easterly corner measures some 1,300 metres.
The Environmental Planning
and Assessment Act 1979 and Environmental Planning and
Assessment Regulation 2000
control
the use and development of land in New South
Wales. The Act establishes the hierarchy of planning instruments that apply to the
proposal.
The Act was amended in August 2005 by the
inclusion of Part 3A. The Minister for Planning
is responsible for determining development
which has been declared to be major
infrastructure under this part of the Act.
The Minister may declare a development to be a
major project if defined in Schedule
1: Major Projects-Classes of Projects in State
Environmental Planning
Policy (Major Projects). Group 2.7 in Schedule 1 includes
extractive industries and the Hitchcock Road project meets the criteria for consideration
as a major project under the State Environmental
Planning Policy due to its scale and
significance.
The summary provides an overview of the proposal,
its benefits and its impacts. It is
designed to provide enough basic information
to allow informed comment to be made
without the need to examine the whole document
and the associated technical papers.
Maroota
Site
0 30 60 90 kilometres LOCATION
OF THE SITE
Figure 1
OLD TELEGRAPH
0 1.0 Kilometres
Scale
THE SITE
Figure 2
ROAD
OLD NORTHERN ROAD
WISEMANS
FERRY ROAD
BLAKERS
ROAD
HAERSES
ROAD
ROBERTS
ROAD
LOT 198
Sydney Regional Environmental
Plan 9 area boundary
Hitchcock
Road site
PF Formation
Environmental Assessment
Hitchcock
Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
DFA Consultants Page
4
The issues addressed in the EA and summarised
here are derived from a number of
sources. These include the requirements of
the Director General of the Department of
Planning and other relevant authorities,
the previous EIS, experience of operating the site
and the Consent Orders of the Land and Environment Court which determine the way in
which the existing operations are conducted.
The authorities raised a comprehensive range
of issues with no indication of priorities. As a
result, each has been addressed in the document.
Specialist consultants have provided
detailed studies in relation to the following:
• geology and resource assessment;
• noise;
• air quality;
• groundwater;
• flora and fauna;
• traffic and access;
• cultural heritage; and
• visual impacts.
Existing Operations
Sand extraction has been undertaken on part
of the site since the mid-1980s based on a
number of Council consents. Following a long
series of discussions, an application
covering most of the current site was determined
by Baulkham Hills Shire Council by the
granting of consent with conditions on 16
December 1997. The consent excluded an
area located in the centre of the site, then
known as the Maroota Trigonometrical
Reserve, and its approach roads. The resulting
landform, following completion, would
therefore have comprised two separate extraction
zones with a major elevated area
remaining in the centre of the main part
of the site plus an additional area to the east.
A third party filed a Class 1 Appeal against
the consent in March 1998. This was heard in
the Land and Environment Court in July 1998 and the appeal dismissed.
The extraction has subsequently been operated
in compliance with Consent Orders 10064
of 1998 of the Land and Environment Court dated 14 July 1998. These have been
administered by Baulkham Hills Shire Council.
The consent orders allow Council to amend
the staging of the development and the depth
to which extraction can take place
following application from the proponent.
Staging has been amended as a result of site
related factors with the approval of Council
but two applications to amend the depth of
extraction in response to continuing groundwater
monitoring have not been granted.
Key conditions contained in the consent orders
include:
• retention of the existing Trigonometrical Reserve
and hence sterilising a significant
volume of extractable Tertiary sand;
• limitation of the period of extraction to 30 years
from July 1998 (the endorsed date of
consent);
PF Formation
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Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
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5
• restriction of the maximum depth of extraction to
187 metres AHD subject to the
outcomes of the Maroota Groundwater Study;
• limitation of annual extraction of Tertiary sand from
the site to 400,000 tonnes of
processed material; and
• limitation of laden vehicle movements to a combined
total of 200 movements per
day via the intersection of the haulage road
and Wisemans Ferry Road.
The site is operated in compliance with these
and other conditions included in the
consent orders administered by Baulkham Hills
Shire Council.
The site is also operated in compliance with
the provisions of Environment Protection
Licence 3407 under the Protection
of the Environment Operations Act 1997 administered
by the Department of Environment and Conservation.
Planning Context
The main planning instruments applying
to the proposal are Baulkham Hills Local
Environmental
Plan 2005, Baulkham Hills Shire Development Control Plan 16 – Extractive
Industries 2004 and Sydney
Regional Environmental Plan 9 – Extractive Industry (Number 2)
1994.
The site is included within the area
defined for inclusion in Sydney Regional Environmental
Plan 9 which was introduced
to assist in the development of extractive resources located
close to the Sydney Metropolitan area. The
plan takes precedence over local planning
instruments.
The site is zoned Rural 1(b) under Baulkham
Hills Local Environmental Plan 2005. Quarrying
is permissible in this zone with development
consent. The proposal described in the EA
generally complies with the requirements
of Baulkham
Hills Shire Development Control
Plan 16.
Relationship between Existing and Proposed Developments
The present application seeks changes of
two kinds. First, these would amend the area
over which the activity would be permitted
and, second, would change the depth to
which extraction could be undertaken and
modify the resulting final landform on
cessation.
The proposal would entail extraction of Tertiary
sand and other materials from all the lots
included in the current consent with the
addition of Lot 1 DP1013943 (formerly Maroota
Trigonometrical Reserve 6739), adjacent Crown
Roads, Lot 2, DP752039 and Lot 1
DP223323 and the removal of Lot 2 DP555184.
It is proposed to use the existing sand slurry
transport system, central wash plant and
ancillary facilities such as the workshop,
weighbridge and office located on Lot 198
DP752025 in addition to the existing haul
roads on site. It is not proposed to increase
output above the limit set out in the existing
consent (400,000 tonnes of processed
material per year). As a result, the number
of trucks allowed to leave the site via the
weighbridge on Lot
198 each day would not increase over the approved limit (400 truck
movements per day). (No trucks are allowed
to convey material from the extraction site
across Wisemans Ferry Road to the central wash plant except in an emergency or when
routine maintenance is taking place). There
would therefore be no change in the traffic
impacts on the surrounding road network as
a result of the proposal.
PF Formation
Environmental Assessment
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Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
DFA Consultants Page
6
Extraction activities on the site including
rehabilitation are limited to a period of 30 years
from 14 July 1998 (the endorsed date of consent).
It is not proposed to extend this period.
The development application will seek a new
approval. This will require the surrender of
the existing consent by the proponent and
the compliance of the development with a
new set of approval conditions.
The Proposed Development
Development consent is sought for the proposal
including:
• staged extraction of Tertiary sand, friable sandstone,
clay and gravel to within two
metres of the wet weather high groundwater
table (nominally 181 metres AHD) with
no extraction within buffer zones and perimeter
setbacks as defined in the EA;
• loading and transport of the extracted Tertiary sand
via articulated vehicles to the
existing sand slurry plant located at the
northern end of the site. Other extracted
material would be stockpiled for later reuse
as backfill or for transport to the central
wash plant on Lot
198 prior to removal to market;
• staged clearance of vegetation within those areas
designated for extraction as
defined in the EA;
• transport of Tertiary sand as a slurry via the existing
pipeline to the central wash plant
on Lot 198;
• processing and stockpiling of Tertiary sand at the
existing central wash plant in
accordance with the existing consent for
this operation which allows such processing
for the life of the extraction on the former
Trigonometrical Reserve site;
• importation and processing of clean material for recycling
up to a maximum of 20
laden trucks per day;
• return of wash water via the existing pipeline and
disposal of tailings from the
processed Tertiary sand into sedimentation
ponds located on the site of the proposal;
• transport of the product off-site in accordance with
the existing consent;
• use of the existing dam on Lot 167 DP752039 to receive
and detain runoff from the
extraction area and return clean water to
the sand slurry transport system and the
existing dam on Lot
198 to receive and detain runoff from the central wash plant
area; and
• rehabilitation of extracted areas on the site of the
proposal to create an integrated,
continuous landform across all extracted
areas as the basis for productive future use.
Extraction Operations
The development would be undertaken in four
main stages requiring approximately five
years each to complete. Extraction would
continue as currently planned under the
existing consent until a new approval is
received. Some of the activities described under
Phase One could be undertaken under the existing
consent.
PF Formation
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Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
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Phase One (2006 – 2010)
- continuation of extraction westward from
Area B;
- extraction eastward from the haul road
(overburden backfilled into Area B);
- construction of Pond 11;
- completion of Pond 9;
- partial rehabilitation of Pond 5;
- continuing extraction of the area adjacent
to Old Northern Road;
- extraction on Lot 214 DP752039 and Lot1
DP34599;
- rehabilitation (planting) in the area of
former ponds 3, 4 and 6;
Phase Two (2011 – 2015)
- extraction southwards from Area A;
- construction of Pond 12;
- extraction on Lot 2 DP570966;
- rehabilitation of area adjacent to Old Northern Road;
- overburden backfilled into extracted areas
to the south;
- rehabilitation of Pond 11;
- extraction to the south;
Phase Three (2016 – 2020)
- continuation of extraction to the south;
- backfilling of clay overburden into extracted
areas to the north and south;
- completion of Pond 13;
- continuation of extraction on Lot 2 DP570966
- rehabilitation of northern section of the
northern extraction area;
- rehabilitation of the western part of the
southern extraction area.
Phase Four (2021 – 2024)
- continuation of extraction southwards;
- backfilling of clay overburden into extraction
to the north;
- continuation of extraction in the southern
area;
- extraction on Lot 1 DP1013943, Lots 1 and
2 DP1063296 and Lot 2 DP570966;
- construction of Pond 14;
- rehabilitation of southern extraction area;
- rehabilitation of northern extraction area;
- rehabilitation of ponds leaving one to
drain each catchment;
- completion of land reformation and landscape
planting;
- removal of all fixed infrastructure and
formation of final land form.
The overall staging of the development
is shown on Figure
3.
Processing and Product Transport
All Tertiary sand would be transferred to
articulated dump trucks to transport the material
via established on-site haul roads to the
existing plant located at the northern end of the
site. Here it would be mixed with water and
transported as slurry by pipeline some 1.5
kilometres to the central wash plant located
on Lot 198. The wash water would be
returned to the site for settlement in a
series of clay lined basins prior to recirculation from
the clean water pond at the lowest point
on the system and subsequent reuse.
0 500 Metres
Scale
OVERALL PHASING OF DEVELOPMENT
Figure 3
2010-20
OLD NORTHERN ROAD
WISEMANS
FERRY ROAD
HITCHCOCK
ROAD
2015-2025
2006-10
2010-15
Tertiary Sand
2006-10
Friable
Sandstone
2007-09
Tertiary Sand
Location of
Slurry Plant
Extraction completed - rehabilitation
underway
Areas to be capped and rehabilitated
- currently ponds
Area extracted - to be used as
detention basin
Areas for future extraction and
rehabilitation
Areas currently working / almost
completed
Existing internal haul road
Temporary access
Note: Work will continue under
current approval
2010
-15
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Product is currently trucked from the central
plant and all sales are made from the
weighbridge on Lot
198. Trucks leave the site via the access road to Wisemans Ferry Road
turning either left to the intersection with
Old Northern Road and right to Dural and Castle
Hill or right along Wisemans Ferry Road to Windsor, Richmond and Penrith. The proportion
of trips on these routes is approximately
equal.
It is proposed that sand extracted from the
Hitchcock Road site would supply the same
markets as the current operation and the
same transport routes would be used. The
number of truck movements would remain within
the currently approved limit of a total of
200 laden trucks per day (400 truck movements).
Site Services
All necessary site services are available
and no augmentation is required.
Workforce and Hours of Operation
The current workforce would remain at 20
to 22 staff. Truck drivers, either permanent staff
or contracted or employed by others would
pick up loads from the central process plant
on Lot 198.
The hours of operation would be in accordance
with those applying to Lot 198 containing
the central process plant and the weighbridge:
• 05.45 hours Monday to Saturday – gates open
to allow entry of vehicles to the site;
• 06.00 to 07.00 hours Monday to Saturday (excluding
public holidays) – 30 truck
movements (15 loaded vehicles) may enter
or leave the site;
• 07.00 to 18.00 hours Monday to Saturday (excluding
public holidays) – extraction,
transportation and processing or running
of machinery for maintenance purposes
permitted; and
•
no extraction, transportation or processing
on Sundays and public holidays.
Life of the Proposal
Extraction rates at the Hitchcock Road site have ranged between 200,000 and 250,000
tonnes per year over the past six years.
This is not expected to change although annual
rates may vary from depending on market conditions.
Extraction of some 5,335,000
tonnes of material at these rates would require
between 21 and 26 years to complete.
This is consistent with the existing consent
(30 years from November 1998).
Management of Waste
The overall waste management objective is
to minimise the generation of waste,
maximise recycling and ensure that wastes
are managed in a way that minimises impacts
on the environment.
Trees, shrubs and other plants stripped during
site clearing would be reused during
rehabilitation to provide a source of seed,
organic matter and refuge for fauna.
All overburden would be used in rehabilitation
of the previously extracted area or
adjacent parts of the site. Tailings, the
fine clays and silts removed from the sand during
washing would be disposed of in tailings
ponds on the site.
General waste would be managed at the workshop
and offices on Lot 198 which
provides separate receptacles for paper,
aluminium, glass, plastic and general domestic
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waste with the recyclables (paper, aluminium,
glass and plastic) collected by a licensed
disposal contractor.
Sewage treatment and disposal is provided
by an enviro-cycle
type
plant. It is not
proposed to install any additional office
facilities or amenities on the site.
Waste oil and grease is collected and stored
in a bunded tank and periodically removed
by a licensed oil recycling contractor. Building
waste and putrescible material is also
removed from site on a regular basis and
this procedure would continue.
Rehabilitation and Final Land Uses
The final landform of the Hitchcock Road site would be influenced by the depth of
extraction, the location of commercially
available resource (both Tertiary sand and friable
sandstone) and the volume of overburden,
mainly clay, available for re-contouring the
extracted areas. Sand has been extracted
from part of the site to the depth allowed in
the existing consent and part of this area
has been rehabilitated. These areas will not be
reworked.
Most of the area is expected to be reclaimed
to Class 3 agricultural land suitable for
grazing and improvement for pasture. Rehabilitation
would comprise the return of the
stored topsoil and the progressive revegetation
of the site. Techniques to be used have
been based on several sources: Urban
Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook
(Department of Conservation and Land
Management 1992); Managing Urban
Stormwater (Landcom 2004); and
Best
Practice Environmental Management in Mining –
Rehabilitation and Revegetation
(Environment
Protection Authority 1995).
A comprehensive rehabilitation strategy including
a biodiversity offset strategy would be
prepared as part of the revised environmental
management plan for the site.
Environmental Impacts and Safeguards
Specialist studies were undertaken to assist
in the understanding of the environment of the
site and its surroundings which together
with the experience of operating the site over the
past six years has enabled the proposed development
to be designed to avoid or
minimise undesirable impacts. Potential impacts
and proposed or existing safeguards are
summarised in the following sections.
Land Use
Land uses in the surrounding area include
agriculture, extractive industries, forestry,
national park, nature conservation and water
reserve. Agricultural activities include
orchards, market gardens and grazing undertaken
mainly on the plateau along the
Maroota ridge.
Sand extraction now constitutes a major land
use in the Maroota area with this activity
protected by designation in the Sydney
Regional Environmental Plan 9 – Extractive
Industries (Department of Urban
Affairs and Planning 1994). Sand mining has been
undertaken in the Maroota area since 1983
and will become a source of increasing
importance as sources in other parts of the
metropolitan area reach the end of their
active lives.
The Agricultural Land Classification
Atlas (NSW
Agriculture 1995) maps the site as Class 3
land. This is well suited to grazing and
pasture improvement and may be cropped or
cultivated in rotation with pasture. Soil
conservation or drainage works may be required
due to erosion hazard and soil structural
breakdown on this class of land.
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The majority of the site to be quarried would
be rehabilitated with grasses on the flatter
slopes and local native plants on the batters
and steeper slopes.
Groundwater
Three separate aquifers can be identified,
although the extent of their hydrogeological
separation or, conversely, interconnection,
is sometimes uncertain. These aquifer units
are:
• Maroota sand;
• eluvial/weathered profile of the underlying Hawkesbury
sandstone; and,
• Hawkesbury sandstone.
The more significant of these are the Maroota
sand and the deeper Hawkesbury
sandstone.
The following potential impacts of sand extraction
have been investigated:
• reduced groundwater availability to users;
• reduced flow to streams;
• increased turbidity in streams; and
• lowering of the water table.
None of these are expected to occur as a
result of the proposal which is expected to
lead to an increased potential for groundwater
recharge to the deep aquifer with benefit
to nearby users. No mitigation measures,
in addition to those in place and reported in the
annual management plan, would be necessary.
Surface Water
Surface water flows are directed to a number
of large detention basins which are part of
the process system employed at the site.
These allow the silt in the water, returned from
the wash plant on Lot
198, to settle out before progressing to the clean water basin
located in the lowest part of the site. The
clean water is returned from here to the slurry
plant and the central process plant.
The site where sand extraction has taken
place to date is inwardly draining due to a
combination of topography and the effect
of the peripheral bunds constructed as part of
the project. No surface water is therefore
discharged beyond its boundaries. The whole
site can therefore be considered to be a
detention basin capable of accommodating far
in excess of the runoff from the 100 year
ARI time of concentration event.
The site, including Lot 2 DP555184 can be
divided into three catchments. Based on
containing all runoff from the 100 year storm
event, the following basins would be required
on completion of the proposal.
Northern catchment 16 hectares 8,600 cubic
metres
Southern catchment 52 hectares 24,000 cubic
metres
Eastern catchment 29 hectares 12,600 cubic
metres
The impact of current operations on catchment
flows is minimal and this would be
expected to continue. Surface runoff would
only occur during high intensity storms when
the infiltration capacity of the soils is
exceeded. The dams and creeks in the vicinity of the
site are known to be groundwater dependent
and are not expected to be influenced by
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any changes in catchment conditions. In addition,
extraction of overburden and the
underlying Tertiary sand is expected to improve
groundwater recharge.
That part of the site (most of the eastern
catchment) potentially discharging to the
headwaters of Little Cattai Creek makes up
less than 0.2 percent of the total catchment
and would therefore not be expected to have
any impact on the quality or quantity of
surface water discharged to the Hawkesbury River.
The northern and southern catchments drain
to existing detention basins as part of the onsite
surface water management system while the
eastern catchment discharges to the
natural drainage system via a large existing
dam on Lot 2 DP555184 which is not included
in the proposal.
Soils
The soils on site are highly erodible under
concentrated flows. Erosion and sediment
controls have therefore been proposed to
manage drainage and minimise the area of
soil exposed to surface water flows. Controls
would include:
• provision of buffers and installation of silt fences
where appropriate to prevent
sediment transport to adjoining land;
• minimising the area of disturbance by only clearing
areas immediately prior to
extraction within each stage and progressive
rehabilitation of the completed area;
• diversion of upslope drainage away from disturbed
areas;
• diversion of sediment laden runoff to sediment basins;
and
• regular inspection and maintenance of sediment controls.
Noise
Noise would be generated on those parts of
the site where extraction and subsequent
rehabilitation is taking place. This would
vary depending on the location of these
activities at any one time. Noise levels
would be similar to those currently generated and
would provide the basis for the assessment
of future noise levels.
The focus for the noise assessment was the
nearest non-project related sensitive receptors
adjacent to the site. These are mainly located
on the north-eastern side of Old Northern
Road. All are protected from site generated
noise by acoustic mounds and one
residence is at a considerable distance from
current operations. Two residences are
located close to the western side of the
site: one at the intersection of Hitchcock Road
and Wisemans
Ferry Road and one close to the intersection of Old
Northern Road and
Wisemans
Ferry Road.
The responsibility for the control of noise
emissions in NSW is vested in local councils and
the Department of Environment and Conservation.
The Environment Protection Authority
(now part of the Department of Environment
and Conservation) released an Industrial
Noise Policy in January 2000. This provides
a framework and process for deriving noise
criteria for consents and licences that
regulate premises scheduled under the Protection
of the Environment Operations
Act 1997. The
Hitchcock Road site is scheduled under the
Act.
The noise assessment comprised three components:
• operational noise impacts at local sensitive receivers
in the vicinity of Lot 198;
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• traffic noise impacts resulting from the proposal
at locations on Wisemans Ferry Road
and Old Northern Road; and
• cumulative noise impacts at various selected locations
taking account of the
proposal and other adjacent sand extraction
operations.
Each of these assessments was based on operational
and traffic scenarios which
represented a worst case condition to provide
a comparison with criteria designed to
manage industrial noise emissions.
Noise levels during operation marginally
exceed the respective noise criterion at three
locations. These relate to minor exceedances
of the night time criterion during the period
from 06.00 to 07.00 hours during periods
when particular meteorological conditions were
prevailing (north-west wind or temperature
inversion). One receiver is predicted to
experience a minor exceedance (1dBA) during
operational hours. However, this is not
likely to occur in practice as the operational
scenario tested assumes that all equipment is
working simultaneously. Lower received noise
levels would therefore be experienced at
the various assessment locations.
Existing day time traffic noise levels are
within the Department of Environment and
Conservation’s recommended assessment
criterion of 60 dBA at all assessment locations
and the worst case predicted increases in
peak daytime traffic noise levels are 1.2 dBA.
However, existing night time traffic noise
levels exceed the recommended assessment
criterion of 55 dBA at five locations. The
worst case predicted increase in peak night time
traffic noise levels is 1 dBA.
Cumulative noise emissions for the proposal
and adjoining extraction operations during
non-adverse meteorological conditions are
below the relevant acceptable amenity
criteria for industrial noise (non-transport
related) during daytime and night time periods at
all assessment locations.
Air Quality
Dust generation would be the principle air
quality issue on the Hitchcock Road site. The
main activities likely to generate dust during
the operation of the proposed extraction
areas would include:
• topsoil stripping and overburden removal;
• ripping and excavation of friable sandstone;
• vehicles travelling on unsealed surfaces;
• screening of the raw feed material on site or at the
wash plant;
• loading and unloading the raw feed and products to
trucks and stockpiles; and
• wind erosion of stockpiles and exposed unpaved areas.
The quantity of dust generated by each activity
has been established by reference to
emission factors developed both locally and
by the US EPA.
Dust concentrations and deposition rates
resulting from extraction operations for existing
and proposed developments at the nearest
residential receptor included predictions of:
• maximum 24-hour average PM10 concentration;
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• annual average PM10 concentration;
• annual average Total Suspended Particulate concentration;
and
• annual average dust deposition.
Predicted emissions are not expected to differ
from those currently experienced. Air
quality monitoring undertaken over the past
six years has indicated that emissions
generally remain below the annual average
dust deposition goal of the Department of
Environment and Conservation of 4g/m2/month. It is unlikely that future emissions
would
exceed the applicable air quality goal
even in combination with future PM10 and
total
suspended particulate concentrations generated
by other local operations.
Flora and Fauna
A total of four vegetation communities occur
on site, including Shale Sandstone Transition
Forest, Sydney
Sandstone Gully Forest,
Sydney Sandstone Ridgetop Woodland and
regrowth vegetation. Vegetation in the cleared
areas is dominated by weeds and is not
considered to be a native community.
The condition of the Shale
Sandstone Transition Forest
is moderate, while the Sydney
Sandstone Gully
Forest and Sydney Sandstone Ridgetop Woodland are in good condition.
The regrowth vegetation areas are also in
moderate to poor condition. Two threatened
species of plant, Tetratheca glandulosa and Grevillea
parviflora subsp
parviflora
were
recorded during detailed surveys of the
site and potential habitat exists for Pimelea
curviflora subsp curviflora,
Caladenia tesselata, Acacia gordonii and Persoonia hirsuta.
The condition of the fauna habitats in the
Sydney Sandstone Gully Forest is generally good
while those in the Shale Sandstone Transition
Forest and Sydney Sandstone Ridgetop
Woodland are in moderate condition.
The regrowth vegetation areas contain fauna
habitats that are in poor condition. The
threatened Glossy-black Cockatoo was recorded
on site. However, the species would only
use the site as a marginal foraging area and
would not depend on its habitat resources.
Impact assessments as required under
the Threatened
Species Conservation Act 1995
and Environment Protection
and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 were carried out for
the Shale Sandstone Transition Forest Endangered
Ecological Community, five threatened
species of plant, microchiropteran bats (as
a group) and nocturnal birds (as a group). The
assessments concluded that the proposed sand
extraction and rehabilitation was unlikely
to have significant impact on threatened
species, population or communities.
Overall, the proposal would result in the
clearing of approximately 5.2 hectares of Shale
Sandstone Transition
Forest (EEC) and approximately 5.4 hectares of Sydney Sandstone
Ridgetop Woodland with the associated loss
of flora and fauna habitats. This is not
considered to be a significant impact on
either local or regional ecosystems. Neither
would the proposed extension of sand mining
activities at Hitchcock Road be expected
to significantly affect any threatened species,
population or community. A biodiversity
offset strategy, based on the principles
set out in Appendix 2 of Guidelines for Biodiversity
Certification of Environmental
Planning Instruments; Working Draft (Department of
Environment and Climate Change 2007) would
be included in a revised Rehabilitation
Plan for the site.
Cultural Heritage
No Aboriginal sites were identified during
the survey.
One European site was located during the
site investigations. This comprised a simple
farm shed which, due to its age, exhibited
potential heritage significance. However, this
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Environmental Assessment
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does not meet the threshold where it would
be considered significant under any of the
criteria established by the NSW Heritage
Office. The site does not therefore qualify for any
additional assessment or listing on any local
or State registers.
The Maroota Trigonometrical Station is typical
of the standard design used throughout
NSW and is very common. It is less than 50
years old and as such is not a heritage item
under the NSW Heritage Act.
Traffic and Access
Traffic growth on both Wisemans Ferry Road and Old Northern Road
in the vicinity of the
Hitchcock
Road site has been slow over the last 15 years and has declined over the last
three years on the former and remained static
on the latter. Heavy vehicles, defined as
articulated trucks with three to six axles
and B-Doubles similar to those commonly used for
the transport of sand, make up nine percent
of the total on Wisemans Ferry Road and
seven percent on Old Northern Road. There is a distinct tidal flow during peak periods on
both these roads with a bias towards northbound
traffic in the morning with the reverse
occurring in the evening.
The proposal would not generate more laden
trips from the central area on Lot 198 than
at present and would remain within the permitted
total of 200 laden trips per day for all PF
Formation operations in Baulkham Hills. Future
operations could generate an additional
20 laden truck trips per day if the consent
is extended to include the processing of
materials for recycling from sites other
than the Hitchcock Road and Lot
198
developments. In addition, the future development
of Lot 198 would generate a
maximum of 10 laden trips per day over the
period from 2006.
The performance of the local road network
and the intersections used by the sitegenerated
traffic has been assessed using growth factors
for future traffic. The assessment
indicated that the traffic generated by the
proposal would have no significant impacts
on the road network or the performance of
the intersections. No changes to these items
are therefore required.
Visual Impacts
The proposed development would remove vegetation,
topsoil, overburden and the
available Tertiary Sand and friable sandstone
resource from defined areas on the site. This
would result in remoulding of the existing
landform and, during active extraction, the
exposure of substantial parts of the area.
Progressive rehabilitation would return the site to
a vegetated state as quickly as possible.
Visual mitigation measures such as bunds
and vegetated setbacks have been
implemented along the periphery of the site
and parts of the site where extraction is
complete have been reformed and seeded with
local native species.
The proposal would lead to modification of
the topography of the site with a lowering of
its central and highest part. This would
require removal of the remaining vegetation on
the present skyline which would be replaced
during rehabilitation. However, this is only
visible from a small number of locations
with public access. These are along Haerses
Road and a short section of Old Northern Road. The former is little used (it is not a through
road) and will soon become part of a recently
approved major sand extraction operation
resulting in the elimination of public access.
Views from Wisemans Ferry Road are at a
considerable distance, are fragmented and
will be interrupted by sand extraction
activities in the foreground.
Views of proposed extraction areas on the
Hitchcock Road site from Old Northern Road
would be limited by the topography and existing
vegetation which will remain. These
would be reinforced by new bunds included
in the proposal which would remove any
views of the works.
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Environmental Assessment
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Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
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Hazard
State Environmental Planning
Policy 33 – Hazardous and Offensive Development requires
that the safety and pollution impacts of
a proposal are addressed at an early stage of the
development application process. The policy
provides a procedure which links the
permissibility of the proposal to its safety
and pollution control performance.
The application of the screening procedure
set out in Applying Sate Environmental
Planning Policy 33 (Department of Urban
Affairs and Planning 1994) indicated that as no
hazardous materials as defined by the code
were stored on site, the development is not
classified as hazardous and the Environmental
Planning Policy does not apply.
Socio-economic Effects
The Hitchcock
Road development is operated within a Maroota-wide context which
includes a number of other similar sand extraction
projects. Together these result in
cumulative impacts relating to the nuisance
experienced from traffic, particularly large
trucks passing through a small rural community,
dust and, in some cases, noise. A small
number of residents in adjacent properties
may also be affected by the direct impacts of
a single extraction operation. In the case
of the Hitchcock Road development this is
limited as the majority of adjacent residents
are separated from the site by the roads
along its periphery.
Jointly and separately, sand extraction operations
inject resources into the local economy
in the form of royalties to the land owners,
providing jobs both directly and indirectly and
supporting local services. These are all
benefits to the local community. The activities of
the industry are controlled by a wide range
of measures which aim to manage the
environment so that all established criteria
are met.
Cumulative Impacts
There are currently three sand extraction
proposals at various stages in the development
process in the Maroota area which could result
in cumulative impacts. These are:
• Sand extraction on Lots 1 and 2 DP 547255, Old Northern Road, Maroota using the
existing process plant on Lot 196 DP 752025.
This development has a life of 18 years
from the date of consent and is currently
underway. Production from the existing
quarry and its extension is not to exceed
495,000 tonnes per year.
• Sand extraction on Lot 198 DP 752025, Wisemans Ferry Road, Maroota. The
development application supported by an EIS
was recently approved by Baulkham
Hills Shire Council. Production would be
expected to average 35,000 tonnes per year
over a ten year life.
• Sand extraction on Lot 170 DP 664767, Lots A and B
DP 407341 and Lots 176 and 177
DP 752039, Haerses Road, Maroota. The development application supported by an
EA was recently approved by the Minister
for Planning. The development would have
a life of 25 years with an annual extraction
rate of 250,000 tonnes. The proposal would
use empty trucks returning to Lot 196 DP
752025 to transport the extracted material to
the process plant. The annual production
rate on Lot 196 would be in accordance
with the approved maximum of 495,000 tonnes
per year.
Each of these proposals was assessed in terms
of its cumulative impact in relation to
existing and future development in the Maroota
area. The existing operations at the
Hitchcock
Road site are included in these assessments. As the proposal assessed in this EA
would result in no change to environmental
impacts with the exception of changes to the
final topography of the site, any additional
cumulative impacts can be considered to be
minimal.
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Environmental Assessment
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Road Sand Extraction and Rehabilitation Project
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Justification of the Proposal
Biophysical Impacts
The impacts of the proposal would be similar
to those associated with existing extraction
operations with the exception of visual impacts
resulting from the changes to the
topography of the site. However, the resulting
impacts would be limited as there are
relatively few views of the centre of the
site from areas with public access. Overall, the
impacts of the proposal would be minimal
with the adoption of the proposed safeguards
and operational procedures.
Economic Effects
High quality construction sand is a limited
resource in the Sydney region especially when
located relatively close to the main markets.
As a number of large sources of supply
become exhausted over the next ten years
or are subject to increasingly stringent
environmental controls (Penrith Lakes and Kurnell respectively), a
secure supply of Tertiary
sand will become increasingly valuable to
the NSW economy. Alternative sources are at
considerably greater distances from the main
markets resulting in increased transport
costs and environmental impacts.
The increased volume of material available
for extraction as a result of the approval of
the proposal would result in the continuing
employment of the 20 to 22 full-time
employees at Maroota. This would offer long
term employment security over the next 25
years.
Continuing activity at the Hitchcock Road site would also support employment in the
product transport industry in addition to
equipment supply and maintenance.
The development would also make a contribution
to economic development in the local
community through the purchase of services
and various consumables.
Social Impacts
The proposed sand extraction would service
the same market as previous operations
undertaken by PF Formation at Maroota, would
employ the same number of staff and use
the same fixed and ancillary plant. Negative
effects on local employment and the
economy are therefore unlikely.
Socio-economic benefits of the proposal include
the continuation of local employment,
continuing supply of high quality sand to
the Sydney market and continuing flow-on
effects to the local and regional economy.
Sustainability
The precautionary principle has been applied
by reliance on comprehensive scientific
data throughout the planning and assessment
of the proposal leading to the
identification of mitigation measures and
environmental safeguards. Wherever a
potential impact has been identified, mitigation
measures have been proposed to
reduce any impacts as far as is practicable.
The proposal would provide access to a large
volume of high quality sand, which would
not otherwise be accessible without a major
change to environmental impacts at the site
and on the surrounding area. Any substitution
of sand from other sources to compensate
for the sterilisation of the material available
at Hitchcock Road would result in additional
environmental impacts. The proposal would
have long term benefits for future
generations by providing a secure resource
close to market with a minimal environmental
impact.
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The principle of conservation of biological
diversity and ecological integrity has been
considered throughout the assessment process.
Access to a large mass of Tertiary sand
close to the centre of the site will require
the removal of a small remnant of
Shale/Sandstone Transition Forest (Ridge Top Open
Forest) which is listed as threatened.
Seed has been collected from this community
over the past three years and has been
used in the site rehabilitation implemented
to date. This process will continue and a large
stock of seed stored for future use. This
would be used to recreate, as far as possible, a
similar community to that previously established
on the site to ensure that no net loss of
native vegetation occurs.
The value of environmental resources on and
adjacent to the site is determined by a
large number of factors. These include the
extent of detailed investigations and studies
and planning and design of mitigation measures
to prevent any irreparable damage to
these resources. Regular monitoring of the
existing development is undertaken on the
Hitchcock
Road site and this would continue for the proposed development. The cost of
these activities has been included in the
proponent’s assessment of the proposal.
Alternatives
The only realistic alternative to the proposal
is the continuation of the current consent
which would result in the sterilisation of
substantial volumes of extractible sand. As the
proposal would result in minimal environmental
impacts on the biophysical and economic
environments, this approach is not considered
to be effective or realistic. The proposal
would lead to the removal of a small area
of a protected woodland community and an
adjustment to the local topography which
would have limited visual impacts. The
removal of the former Trigonometrical Reserve
site would have no heritage impacts as the
existing concrete pillar is less than 50
years old and is of a common type.
Need for the Proposal
The predicted demand for medium to coarse
grained sand of the type available at
Hitchcock
Road during the period from 2000 to 2010 is 25.4 million tonnes with a predicted
supply from the region of 22.5 million tonnes
over the same period. The potential shortfall
of three million tonnes would need to be
satisfied by increasing imports or by increasing
production within the region (Department
of Mineral Resources 2001).
In the medium term (2010 to 2020) the predicted
demand for medium to coarse grained
sand is expected to increase to 30.6 million
tonnes. There will be no dominant secure
supply of this material in the Sydney region following the closure of the Penrith
Lakes
scheme, expected in 2010. Current sand supplies
from Maroota and elsewhere in the
region are approximately 800,000 tonnes per
year. The remainder of the annual
requirement of three million tonnes would
need to be derived from elsewhere, and, as a
result, sand produced from sources such as
Maroota will have an increasing importance
in supplying the Sydney market for construction sand.
There is clearly a need for additional sources
of medium to coarse grained sand within the
Sydney region in both the
short and medium terms. Importation would both increase its
price due to the additional transport costs
involved and result in additional environmental
impacts as new sources are exploited. It
is therefore important to enable the maximum
available resource to be obtained from existing
sources of sand in the Sydney region
while ensuring that appropriate environmental
standards are maintained. The new
proposal at Hitchcock Road is seeking to achieve these principle objectives.
