Department of Planning and Environment given till end of 2023 to lodge 'Response to Submissions' for Dungowan Dam

The Department of Planning and Environment will have until the end of the year to lodge a 'Response to Submissions' report for a new $1.3 billion Dungowan Dam, near Tamworth.

In December, the state's planning authority was issued a letter stating it was required to submit the response by April 26, after the long-awaited Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released last year.

But a spokesperson for the department told the Leader the deadline had been pushed back to the end of the year, due to "extensive feedback from the community, stakeholders and government agencies."

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"We take the views of the community seriously," they said.

"It's important we consider everyone's views carefully before providing appropriate responses."

During the exhibition period for the EIS, 46 public submission were lodged, with 45 objecting to the new dam.

Fifteen submissions were lodged from organisations, and one public authority; Tamworth Regional Council submitted a comment calling for more clarity.

Since the exhibition period ended, the state's planning team has called on Water Infrastructure NSW to prepare a 'Preferred Infrastructure Report', which is expected to require additional time.

Despite the initial April date being handed down, the timeframes are said to be flexible, to account for responses and the size and complexity of the project, rather than set in stone.

With Labor yet to commit to funding the new dam, putting the project in limbo, work has continued to progress to replace the 70-year-old pipeline connecting the Calala Water Treatment Plant to the Dungowan Showgrounds.

From April, a temporary bypass was put in place on Back Woolomin Road to lay the new pipe.

Subject to planning approval, construction of the new dam and the second stage of the pipeline is expected to start in 2024.

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