Community raises questions after approval of landfill operation at Mary's Mount Quarry near Gunnedah

The potential for groundwater contamination and a lack of community consultation during the planning process are among the main concerns raised by farmers at Mullaley who fear the project could put their futures in jeopardy.

Landholders and community members made 30 submissions to Gunnedah Shire Council opposing the development application last year, but the decision was referred to the Northern Regional Planning Panel who made its determination on Thursday.

The general manager of MacKellar Excavations, the proponent, said the landfill application was supported by the panel in a "unanimous decision".

He said he believed there had been adequate community consultation on the project, with six information sessions held in March, which also included an update on the proposed state-significant $3.9 million Gunnedah Waste Facility on Torrens Road.

"We ran them over two days with three different time slots per day to give people an opportunity to pick the one that was most convenient to them," he said.

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However landowners adjoining the Mary's Mount Quarry stated they had not received effective consultation and felt left in the dark.

"They said the neighbours were all sent flyers, well there was five flyers sent out and there's only one person I know that got one," said Julie Heiler who's property sits underneath the quarry.

"We live near the mines, they do that sort of consultation and everybody gets a letter and then they follow it up with a phone call," she added.

She said while she had heard talk months ago, they "thought it was dead in the water because we hasn't heard anything else".

"Hardly any body in that area knew anything about it because the consultation was just non-existent," she said.

"This has all blown up because they didn't give the community the respect it deserves and actually let them know... if the process is flawed from the beginning it should start all over again and be done properly.

"We don't know the long-term effects, there's a water table there and you're putting waste deep into the ground."

Adjoining landholders Mac and Robyn Howarth also raised their concerns about lack of consultation and threat of pollutants in ground water stating it is a "real concern".

"We rely completely on a bore water supply for domestic and stock needs and this supply is on our western boundary adjacent to the proposed mega-dump," they wrote in a submission to council.

"The contamination of this supply which is only five metres deep and of excellent quality and quantity would devastate our mixed farming, thus our income and property values would greatly diminish."

The landfill will be established in the existing quarry 23 kilometres outside of Gunnedah, and will accept 200,000 tonnes of waste a year including non putrescible landfill, excavated natural material and any resource recovered waste.

Mr MacKellar said the planning panel was supportive of the "innovative aspect of the proposal, which is to return the quarry void back to its natural landfill at the end of the development".

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