EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY CONCERNS

1. DUST

The Yatala and Ormeau region are adjacent to several large quarries situated in the Darlington Ranges. These quarries combined, extract/process some 5 million tonnes of material per year. Our community has just recently been made aware that the material from one of those quarries consists of 37% silica and 3% asbestos – no doubt that also applies to the other three large quarries all also expanding in the area.


2. GREEN ZONE

We note in the draft Gold Coast City Plan 2015 that the State Government instructed Council to remove all buffer zones on quarry land which will dramatically diminish the 500m buffer zones that have been in place since 2003. LAP Maps 29.2, 29.3 and 29.4 show a 500m green open space around the quarry extractive area. This 500m has been substantially decreased by Council.'s proposed 2015 City Plan.

SEPARATION DISTANCES BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND RESIDENTIAL ZONES

Original distances as stated in State Planning Policy were:

1 - Low impact industry – nil

2 -  Medium impact industry - 250 metres

3 - High impact industry - 500 metres

4-Special industry(previously known as noxious and hazardous industry) - 1,500 metres.

YRA was advised late September / early October 2014 that ALL separation distances have now been TOTALLy deleted.

The policy now reads:

NO SPECIFIC DISTANCE for any industry.

UNSAFE EMISSIONS

On the 21st of May 2014 the Gold Coast City Council organized a community meeting to explain to local residents why, after some 6,500 residents signed a petition against a proposed Biomass Power Plant development application in our area, Council was unable to find experts to defend it’s unanimous decision to refuse the application in the Planning and Environment Court. The application was subsequently approved. 

Unacceptable odours, which are a bi-product of current open-air windrow composting operations by the specific company whose development application was approved, continue unabated with potentially dangerous levels of aerosols and the deadly fungi known as Aspergillus Fumigatus in those emissions which the community downwind of the operation may be exposed.

Refer link to studies of open air composting facilities in the UK and Germany of much smaller sites for verification of our concerns:

http://www.compostaction.org.uk/health-risks/  

FUNDING FOR PROPOSED BIOMASS PLANT

A petition was signed by over 6500 local residents who strongly opposed the construction of a biomass plant with a 30M high chimney. All 15 Gold Coast City Councillors voted unnanimously against the proposal. The Planning and Environment Court approved the application due to lack of experts to argue Council's case, YRA was advised publicly by our state and federal members that neither levels of government would provide any funds or assistance to that project.