Central Coast Council is preparing to defend an appeal by Verde Terra on a March ruling by the Land and Environment Court (LEC) regarding the Mangrove Mountain landfill site.
Set for consideration on September 1, the appeal is over the LEC’s decision that Verde Terra (VT) would require consent for any new land uses or a materially different development on the site.
LEC Justice Rachel Pepper ruled that while VT could carry out works ordered by the Court on August 29, 2014, additional consent would need to be sought for any other uses.
The 2014 orders between the former Gosford City Council and VT included agreement to accept 1.14 million cubic metres of waste at the site.
At the time, Justice Pepper criticised Council for not acting earlier on its concerns VT had breached its development consent and pursued activities beyond the 2014 LEC orders.
Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch, urged Council to “do all it can” to stop any further expansion of the site, with Mangrove Mountain residents having long expressed “grave concerns” for the impacts of any expansion on the local environment and waterways.
“Historic failures in site management and protection of our waterways leave the Coast at risk, and Council now holds the responsibility of past failures in its hands,” Tesch said.
Resident Carol Zouroudis has urged Council to liaise with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that significant environmental risks are eliminated.
“There is obviously a risk to the aquifer, and this is simply unacceptable as the groundwater from here plays a key role in sustaining water flows that go into our water catchments,” she said.
“Already, the local creek is a site of run-off from the waste facility whenever there is a storm, so expanding it will just increase this occurring.”
Tesch said any expansion would pose serious risks to the local wildlife and industries which rely on a clean source of water, including local farms, which she said were the “backbone of the area”.
“These farms and industries need our waterways to remain pristine,” she said.
“They produce an abundance of produce such as eggs, fruits, vegetables and even bottled water, as well as providing an important source of tourist activity.”
Tesch and Zouroudis are putting pressure on government agencies and Council to provide clear information on the extent of pollution already present in some waterways.
“The EPA continues to let the people of the Central Coast down, with the results of urgent water quality tests conducted during the flood events earlier this year still not complete,” Zourpoudis said.
“How can locals trust the EPA will intervene to protect our waterways in a timely manner if we are still waiting on the result?
“This community needs to be informed and heard.”
A spokesperson for the EPA said staff from the EPA and Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) have conducted routine and regular sampling of Ourimbah Creek and its tributaries for seven years and have not found any impact to water quality from landfill operations.
A summary of results from the most recent sampling, which found that overall water quality in the catchment was good, was expected to go on the EPA website on August 25.
The EPA also conducts announced and unannounced inspections of the landfill to assess the management of water and leachate, including after periods of high or intensive rainfall.
The spokesperson said the EPA cannot comment on the case while it is before the court.
Terry Collins