A CONVERTED quarry near Gundagai is the latest rural rubbish dump to cause a stink in the bush.
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Residents are outraged over plans that would see the Burra Road tip expand by 500 per cent to collect extra 600,000 tonnes of paper waste from Tumuts’s Visy pulp mill over 15 years.
The dump - managed by MH Earthmoving - is licenced to hold 150,000 tonnes but is nearly full after opening in 2013.
A development application has been lodged with the Gundagai Shire Council, but final approval rests with the Southern Regional Joint Planning Panel.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is being exhibited with submissions to close on February 19.
A protest group of local landholders, No More Visy Waste, has hired an independent consultant to scrutinise the EIS.
In hindsight, what the hell did they put this dump here for?
- No More Visy Waste spokeswoman Freda Nicholls
Group spokeswoman Freda Nicholls owns a 2400-acre grazing property that neighbours the site.
She fears leachate leaks downhill into local waterways and salt seeping into the water table.
“(The existing data) was something we decided to look into after news (of the possible expansion) only came to us in November,” Mrs Nicholls said.
“In hindsight, what the hell did they put this dump here for?
“This is not just about us sitting next to it - this is Gundagai, this is Wagga, this is Leeton, the Murrumbidgee. It has the potential to damage an entire region.”
Salvestro planner director Garry Salvestro, the company who has drawn up the plans for MH Earthmoving, told Fairfax Media he welcomed debate over the proposal.
“If residents have legitimate concerns they can have their say,” Mr Salvestro said.
“People have a right to scrutinise the exhibition material.”
Meanwhile, residents of Gundagai have written “No more Visy” on their bins and circulated leaflets to protest the expansion.
They also fear more heavy vehicle traffic through town.
The expansion DA says there would be similar truck movements to the current approval.
It also states the project is a ‘logical, sustainable progression to meet the needs of the area's growing paper production’.
The tension at Gundagai has drawn comparisons to a situation 150 kilometers away at Ardlethan.
A $20 million plan has been unveiled to have the Yithan landfill take up to 400,000 tonnes of Sydney’s waste each year, creating 30 jobs and earning the Coolamon Shire Council a hosting fee.
But farmers have highlighted biosecurity fears and are concerned over the marketability of the region’s produce.
Landfill proponents Ardlethan Environmental Solutions have delayed their EIS to May 2017.