A site currently under investigation for vegetation clearing is the subject of a development application for a building material recycling business.
A $3.7M Resource Recovery Facility is proposed for 20 Jack Grant Ave, Warnervale, which is already home to a building materials storage/recycling centre.
The proposal will be assessed by the Local Planning Panel on October 28 and Central Coast Council has recommended approval.
Council and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment are investigating clearing of vegetation from the site between May and October 2019, including vegetation from an area that is mapped on the NSW Biodiversity Values Map.
Tricon Mining Equipment Pty Ltd wants to recycle and process waste produced by the construction, demolition, commercial and industrial sectors to produce products for resale.
The proposed facility will accept construction waste deliveries, and dispatch materials 24 hours per day, seven days per week; however, processing of waste material will be limited to 7am-6pm Monday to Friday and 7am-4pm Saturdays.
No processing is proposed on Sundays or public holidays.
About 15 staff are anticipated to operate the proposed facility, according to the report to the Planning Panel.
It is intended that the proposed facility will primarily accept building and demolition waste; excavated soil; concrete waste from concrete batching plants; tiles and masonry; bricks, tiles and masonry seconds direct from the manufacturer.
The facility will not accept any other form of waste, including hazardous materials such as asbestos or chemical waste.
It will have the capacity to process up to 99,000 tonnes of non-putrescible waste (consisting of soils, concrete, bricks, tiles and asphalt), for reuse in secondary markets.
Up to 15,000 tonnes of feed material and 15,000 tonnes of product is proposed to be stockpiled at any one time.
Recycled products will be sold back into the construction industry along with other markets.
The site is mapped as affected by flooding and within both the Porters Creek Catchment and the Wyong Employment Zone.
It adjoins Central Coast Airport at Warnervale to the west, industrial zoned land to the north, and environmental conservation zoned land to the east and south.
The proposal includes an acoustic 1.8m-high Colorbond fence proposed along the eastern boundary.
Council said the proposal would create additional employment and business opportunities for the region and increase opportunities for minimising landfill.
The proposal was advertised in accordance with the designated development provisions and no submissions were received.
“The site is in a suitable context for the nature, scale and type of development proposed,” Council said.
“Appropriate measures to address potential environmental, amenity and safety impacts have been recommended as conditions of consent in order to mitigate any short-term negative impacts.
“The proposal is recommended for approval subject to conditions.”
On December 12, 2018 the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) No. 1276 were issued by the Department of Planning Industry and Environment.
Between May 20, and October 19, 2019 (after the issue of the SEARs and the pre-DA meeting with Council), vegetation was cleared from the site, including vegetation that is mapped on the NSW Biodiversity Values Map.
Council and the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment are investigating this matter, along with unauthorised work and structures.
The report to the Planning Panel said that earthwork activities, including the importation of filling material, occurred after the Preliminary Contamination Assessment had been completed and submitted to Council for consideration and, as such, the assessment did not reflect the current condition of the property and did not meet the requirements of SEPP55.
“Additionally, the preliminary assessment identified that a detailed assessment is required to determine the extent of contamination identified on the subject property,” the report said.
“The detailed contamination assessment was undertaken and submitted to Council.
Council said this indicated that contamination in the form of friable asbestos (FA) and asbestos fines (AF) in a stockpile of soil (designated SP2), and fragments of bonded asbestos containing materials (ACM) on the site surface in two locations in the northern portion of the site.
Council said the site could be made suitable for the proposed development, provided a remediation action plan (RAP) was prepared and implemented for remediation and/or management of the AF and FA contaminated soil in stockpile SP2, as well as ACM visible on the site surface.
That plan could comprise removal of any type of asbestos from the site and an Asbestos Removal Plan (ARP) as part of the RAP as well as implementation of a Soil and Water Management Plan.
Merilyn Vale