ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT OBERON EARTHMOVING Exec Summar · environmental impact statement oberon

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT OBERON EARTHMOVING PTY LIMITED

Executive Summary Middle Creek Quarries

Report No.930/01

ES-1

R. W. CORKERY & CO. PTY. LIMITED

Executive Summary

INTRODUCTION

This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

has been prepared by RW Corkery & Co.

Pty Limited on behalf of Oberon

Earthmoving Pty Limited (the Applicant)

to support a development application for the

continued operation and extension of

Middle Creek Quarries (the Quarry).

The existing Quarry has been operated

since 2014 under development consent

DA 10.2010.66.1, which limits disturbance

to less than 2ha and production to less than

30 000m3. Figure A identifies the regional

setting of the Quarry, approximately 3.5km

west of Oberon on Lot 2 DP 1112479

(50 Sewells Creek Road), referred to herein

as the Project Site.

The proposed extension of the Quarry

would include progressively increasing the

extraction area to approximately 15ha (see

Figure B) and providing for transport of up

to 250 000tpa of product.

By virtue of total disturbance exceeding 2ha

and production exceeding 30 000m3, the

proposed development is considered

designated under the provisions of

Schedule 3(1) of the Environmental

Planning and Assessment Regulation 2000

(EP&A Reg). As Designated Development

for the purpose of extractive industry, the

Proposal is also classified as Regional

Development under Part 4 of the State

Environmental Planning Policy - State and

Regional Development 2011 by effect of

Schedule 4A(8) of the Environmental

Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A

Act). As Regional Development, the

development application will be determined

by the Joint Regional Planning Panel

Western Region.

Figure A Locality Plan and Local

Setting

A4/colour

Dated 02/05/16 Inserted 17/05/16

This EIS describes the proposed

modifications to the currently approved

operations (the Proposal), describes the

environment within and surrounding the

Quarry, presents the environmental

safeguards the Applicant would incorporate

into the design and operation of the Quarry

and assesses the impacts (if any) that the

safeguarded activities would have on the

local environment.

The EIS also evaluates the Proposal in

terms of Ecologically Sustainable

Development, justifies the Proposal in

terms of biophysical, economic and social

considerations and examines the

consequences of not proceeding with the

Proposal.

OBERON EARTHMOVING PTY LIMITED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Middle Creek Quarries Executive Summary

Report No.930/01

ES-2

R. W. CORKERY & CO. PTY. LIMITED

Figure B Project Site Layout

A4/colour

Dated 04/05/16 / Inserted 17/05/16

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT OBERON EARTHMOVING PTY LIMITED

Executive Summary Middle Creek Quarries

Report No.930/01

ES-3

R. W. CORKERY & CO. PTY. LIMITED

THE PROPOSAL

The Proposal incorporates the following

key components, identified as relevant on

Figure B.

An increase in the extraction area to

approximately 15ha, further segregated

into three separate cells.

Cell 1: an area of approximately

5.9ha (including the current

extraction area) extending from the

existing quarry.

Cell 2: an area of approximately

4.4ha incorporating the most

elevated and northerly section of the

ridge.

Cell 3: linking Cells 1 and 2 and

incorporating an area of

approximately 4.7ha along the top of

the ridge.

An increase in the rate of extraction and

production up to a maximum of

150 000tpa with an expected average of

80 000tpa.

Campaign crushing and screening of the

extracted rock (to suit customer

requirements).

Importation of:

raw mulch (up to 25 000tpa);

ENM (up to 50 000tpa); and

treated drilling mud generated by

hydro-excavation methods (up to

60 000tpa).

for stockpiling and sale, composting

blending with extracted gravel, or

application to the completed extraction

area as part of rehabilitation of the

Quarry.

The combined production of gravel, fill,

soil, mulch and other specialty products

would not exceed 250 000tpa.

Installation of various erosion and

sediment control features to prevent

uncontrolled and contaminated discharge

from the Project Site.

Progressive rehabilitation of the

extraction area and other disturbance to

create a final landform amenable to

future agricultural, or other agreed, land

use.

The extraction operations would be

undertaken in a similar manner to existing

operations with erosion and sediment

controls first established followed by

vegetation clearing and soil removal (where

practical) to expose the underlying rock.

Any non-gravel overburden would be

removed and stockpiled either for sale as

select fill or replacement within the final

landform followed by extraction of the

gravel. Initially, the rock would be won by

ripping (using a bulldozer), however, where

the rock becomes too hard to win by

ripping, the Applicant would use

conventional drill and blast methods to

fracture the rock before ripping and

extraction.

As the rock becomes harder at depth, and

dependent on customer size requirements,

crushing and screening of the gravel would

be required. This rock would be loaded to a

mobile crushing unit, initially located

within the Crushing, Screening and

Resource Recovery Area, to reduce the size

and either separate into specific sizes or

produce a graded products. Rock which is

not loaded directly to the crushing unit

would be placed in stockpiles for future

crushing. Depending on the specifications

required by customers, additional screening

and/or blending with stockpiled overburden,

imported soils or other products could be

undertaken.

OBERON EARTHMOVING PTY LIMITED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Middle Creek Quarries Executive Summary

Report No.930/01

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R. W. CORKERY & CO. PTY. LIMITED

Waste materials to be accepted on to the

Project Site would be classified as follows.

Organic (Woody) Waste (Raw Mulch).

Excavated Natural Material (ENM).

Treated Drilling Mud.

Each would only be accepted in accordance

with the relevant Resource Recovery Order

issued under Part 9 of Protection of the

Environment Operations (Waste)

Regulation 2014 (POEO (Waste) Reg) and

either:

stockpiled for future sale (without

modification) within 12 months of

acceptance;

applied to land in accordance with the

relevant Resource Recovery Exemption

issued under Part 9 of the POEO

(Waste) Reg;

screened and blended to produce a

specialty gravel, fill or soil products; or

composted.

Screening / Blending

From stockpiles, selected ENM and treated

drilling muds would be screened to either

remove large rocks and organic material, or

produce a specific size fraction. The

screened material would be stockpiled for

sale or further blending with the Quarry

gravel to generate a specific gravel/fill

product.

Composting

From stockpiles, raw mulch would be

chipped, shredded, mulched and screened to

generate the specific size and consistency

required for each product. Material

designated for the production of compost

would be placed in wind rows for

pasteurisation (reduction in pathogens and

plant propagules) and maturation (to

biological stability) of the compost.

The proposed composting process would be

aerobic, to reduce the potential for odours,

and segregated from other Project Site

runoff, to prevent pollution of land or water

off the Project Site.

Quarry products would be despatched from

the Project Site via Sewells Creek and

Abercrombie Roads, towards Oberon and

beyond. The transportation of quarry

products would be undertaken

predominantly using truck and dog trailers

(50m3/32t), although larger vehicles (up to

B-double arrangement) or smaller vehicles,

such as rigid trucks, could be used.

The Applicant would generally restrict

extraction and processing operations to

between 6:30am and 6:30pm, Monday

Friday and 8:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday.

Haulage operations are proposed to be

undertaken 24 hours per day (to

accommodate deliveries of waste materials

from facilities which operate 24 hours per

day).

The Applicant would adopt a progressive

approach to the rehabilitation of disturbed

areas to ensure that, where practicable, as

extraction is completed, a stable landform is

finalised and vegetated. The final landform,

whilst not a replication of the pre-quarry

landform, would remain sympathetic to the

local visual aesthetic of cleared grazing