The approval means the extra extraction will occur over six stages. Photo: Gunlake Quarry.
A southern NSW quarry will dig more than a million extra tonnes of material over 12 years.
Braidwood Sand and Gravel, which operates a quarry in Larbert, about 14 kilometres north-west of Braidwood, has been given the green light to extract an estimated extra 1.23 million tonnes.
Its proposal was lodged with Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) late last year, before being referred to the NSW Southern Regional Planning Panel in February.
When making its determination, the state panel unanimously gave the plan conditional approval.
“In making its decision, the panel raised several issues relating to road maintenance contributions, traffic management (particularly for heavy vehicle movements on the local and regional road network), monitoring of tonnage limits, establishing asset protection zones, and rehabilitating extraction pits,” it said.
“The panel was satisfied that these matters had been considered and addressed and that the instrument of consent as imposed reflects a contemporary regulatory framework that will address residual impacts.”
It means it can operate for another 12 years – until 2039 – or until that extra 1.23 million tonnes has been extracted.
According to the consent conditions, this is to ensure the limits on the quarry’s operations are “clearly applied”.
Outline Planning Consultants prepared the environmental statement for the proposal.
Project manager Gary Peacock told Region the “very, very strong” market in the Canberra region was being driven by “massive demand” for concrete.
“This region’s just going crazy population-wise and growth-wise – [it] can’t get enough sand,” he said.
“If you can’t get enough sand, you don’t have enough concrete.”
According to documents lodged with the panel, the approval will see it extract up to 200,000 tonnes per annum.
The material will be taken from an 18.1 hectare area, with the works to include stockpiling of the excavated material and the finished product.
Processing of the material and progressive rehabilitation of the site will also take place.
The Southern Regional Planning Panel said the council called for “administrative” changes to the proposal. Photo: Kazuri Photography.
NSW Environment Protection Authority and Water NSW have issued their approval terms around how pollution and water management should be managed, respectively.
A noise modelling report found noise and vibrations are expected to fall within regulatory limits.
“Haul truck noise impacts along Larbert Rd are predicted to comply without the need for acoustic mitigations for both daytime and night-time periods,” the report found.
“Vibration levels are not expected to exceed the criteria at any of the closest sensitive receptors for the operational stages or haul truck movements associated with the quarry.”
In its reasons for approving the quarry’s expansion, the planning panel put in multiple conditions.
“The panel notes that the above amendments were administrative in nature, made by the council, and not imposed by the panel,” it stated.
Under these conditions, haulage trucks on public roads can’t operate when school buses are active, while the quarry can only dispatch 50 laden trucks per day.
Vehicles can also only access the quarry site from an existing access on Larbert Road – but this will need to be upgraded within six months.
“This includes reshaping the existing batter and vegetation on the left side of the entrance, when exiting onto Larbert Road, to achieve a minimum sight distance of 170 m,” the document states.
Further rehabilitation of the quarry site is predicted to take two years once commercial operations finish.
