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HORSHAM Rural City Council has been taken to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after Councillors denied planning permission to expand a mineral sands mine waste dump.
Cr Pam Clarke said Horsham council faced weeks of tribunal hearings and between $300,000 and $600,000 in legal fees.
Councillors voted four to three to block Iluka Resource’s application to continue its waste disposal operation at Douglas, about 50 kilometres south-west of Horsham.
A casting vote by Mayor Heather Phillips to block the application came after more than an hour of debate on Monday night.
Councillors said they did not want to set a precedent for future mine decisions to go to local government.
Iluka needs the Douglas site to dispose of waste from its Hamilton mineral separation plant.
It would cost Iluka $250 million to replace the plant and 285 jobs across western Victoria would be affected.
Iluka said in a statement that it would appeal Horsham council’s decision immediately.
Iluka currently buries this waste at Kanagulk and wants to expand its disposal site to hold an additional two million tonnes of concentrate and 50,000 tonnes of scrap metal.
The leftover concentrate contains naturally occurring radioactive elements and is classified as low-level radioactive waste.
Landowners near Douglas have been campaigning to alter Iluka’s plans over groundwater contamination fears and Kanagulk Landcare president Margaret Arthur said the group was delighted.
“This vindicates the KLG stance. It is best for the long term health of the Kanagulk community and for the local environment,” she said.
“It also means that agricultural industry in the area can continue to produce clean green product with no chance of contamination from the radioactive waste in the long term future.
“We hope that Iluka accepts the umpire’s decision and moves interstate waste back to its sources, or at least in the same proportion as the ore came to Hamilton mineral separation plant.”
Iluka has sought planning permission because it previous work plan will expire and it will hit its tonnage limit soon.
The company was also previously banned from importing a majority of waste from interstate for disposal.
Iluka said its operations were safe and its plans had been examined by Victoria’s Health Department, Environmental Protection Authority and mining regulator.
Councillors said Iluka’s application was the largest ever considered by Horsham Rural City.
Horsham Mayor Heather Phillips joined Crs Clarke, Sue Exell, and Robin Barber to vote against the motion to grant planing permission.
Crs Mark Radford, Tony Phelan and David Grimble voted for the motion- a decision recommended by Horsham council staff.
Even councillors who voted in favour of the permit application criticised the state government for refusing to become the responsible authority in April 2015.
Cr Grimble said councillors opposed to the motion should not rely on isolated sections of technical reports.
“We are turning our backs on the economic aspects, on the jobs,” he said.
“The jobs are mainly in Southern Grampians Shire but we also see a significant benefit.”
”We have all been a little bit scaremongered by the technical aspects and by the word radiation.”
Cr Phillips said Iluka had not lived up to its promise to close its disposal site within five years.
“We are still waiting for that to happen,” she said.
Full statement from Iluka Resources
Iluka notes the decision of the Horsham Rural City Council not to approve planning permission for the continuation of the company’s operations at the Douglas site.
Iluka will appeal this decision to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal immediately. The company notes the following:
- Since 2006 Iluka has been disposing of Hamilton mineral separation plant by-products at the former Douglas mine site safely, sustainably and in accordance with all regulatory requirements. The company’s proposal to Council was for a continuation of this current and longstanding practice.
- Iluka’s activities at Douglas pose no hazard to human health or the environment. This has been confirmed by all State Government regulatory bodies and independent technical experts, including those engaged by the Council on this matter. On 6 May, the Environment Protection Authority determined that “neither pollution nor environmental hazard has occurred, nor is likely to occur in the future as a result of current and proposed [Douglas] Pit 23 disposal activities.”
- Iluka has acted in a transparent fashion. The company has stated consistently that any objective assessment of its operations at Douglas demonstrates these have and will continue to be undertaken in a responsible manner, with negligible environmental impact and in accordance with all regulatory requirements. Council’s decision follows a comprehensive approvals process during which Iluka has let the facts speak for themselves and received the backing of all State Government regulatory authorities.
- Iluka’s proposal is fully compliant with the provisions of the Horsham Planning Scheme
- Public statements made by some Horsham Rural City Councillors and staff regarding Iluka’s proposal are incorrect.
In light of these facts, Iluka considers there was no basis for Council not to approve the company’s proposal.
The ability to dispose of by-products at Douglas is essential to securing certainty for the future operation of the Hamilton mineral separation plant.
Such disposal practices are a recognized and accepted feature of mineral sands separation activities.
That Iluka is now compelled to appeal to VCAT to defend its commercial interests and those of its stakeholders, including the 285 locally-based employees and contractors, is disappointing.
Iluka has been operating in the Horsham local government area for over a decade.
This period has seen the company deliver world-class mining and rehabilitation outcomes, as well as a substantial contribution to the local economy and community.
Iluka is proud of this record and will undertake actions to see it continue.