Shellharbour City Council has said quarry operator Hanson Australia hasn't provided good enough information about the size and status of the giant walls of earth proposed for Bass Point, including where up to 200,000 tonnes of excavated material to form them will be coming from.
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The original 2019 "Great Wall" of Bass Point was made of 83,700 cubic metres of excavated material brought in from the council and Frasers Property's Shell Cove Marina joint venture.
This caused quarry operator Hanson to be fined $15,000 by the Department of Planning and Environment after an investigation found the "emplacement" of earth was not permitted under the quarry's development consent.
At the time Shellharbour City Council said the move was permitted under planning approval; this was recently described as just an "opinion".
Hanson is now seeking permission for the existing giant wall to remain in place, with another 200,000 tonnes per year of virgin excavated natural material (VENM) and excavated natural material (ENM) to be brought in and "emplaced".
The council is now taking a more thorough approach to the details of the plans, which were initiated after Hanson was ordered to remove the mounds, including what material is likely to be brought in, and where it is from.
In Shellharbour's submission to the Major Projects process, a senior planner said Hanson's application needed additional information and amended plans to enable council to "undertake a thorough review of the modification".
This would include: what elements exist on site already, which parts (if any) of the existing barriers have development consent, clarification as to whether mounds on the northern boundary have been constructed to approved heights, as well as clarification on the use of VENM/ENM materials.
The council also wanted clarification of whether the mounds, at 30m and 40m above sea level, on the southern boundary were built to approved heights.
"Once the above is established, the additional volume of material which is required to be brought to the site to provide for the additional works is to be provided," the submission states.
"Information which provides details as to where this material is likely to be sourced and how that material is to be transported to the site is to be provided."
The Mercury had asked Shellharbour City Council several times what its position was on whether the plan for expanded emplacement should go ahead. A council spokesperson said the council would not be commenting further.
Hanson says the proposed "amenity barriers" would help screen the quarry, but the original wall drew complaints from residents and beach users who said it was an eyesore.
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Ben Langford
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
Senior journalist writing on the environment. Opinion columnist, independent. We rely on your news tips so please, don't be shy to let us know what's going on.
