The NSW Department of Planning is considering an application from Cleanaway Waste Oil, formerly known as Transpacific, to upgrade the refinery on Kyle Street.

The proposal would increase the height of the fuel burner stack from eight to 14 metres and improve firefighting capacity at the site.

Extra oil storage tanks and an oil polishing facility have also been proposed.

One public submission had been sent to the Department of Planning when the exhibition period finished on Tuesday afternoon.

Salvatore Cocco wrote that he had health concerns for residents in nearby suburbs, especially those who suffered from respiratory problems, sore eyes, sore throats, allergies, headaches and skin rashes.

He noted that the Rutherford Air Quality Liaison Committee had raised questions about the health impacts of emissions from industries in Rutherford.

"A taller stack will only take the emissions a little further away," Mr Cocco wrote.

"It won't prevent the emissions from falling."

Cleanaway is not seeking upgrades to allow more oil to be processed at the refinery.

But the revamp will allow a broader scope of oil to be treated at the facility.

"Predicted emissions for the proposal provide only a relatively small contribution to the state and national greenhouse emissions," an environmental impact assessment noted.

Ground level odour modelling, performed as part of the environmental assessment, found that the upgrades would not breach the Environmental Protection Authority's benchmark.

"With regard to the assessment of cumulative odour impacts the predicted contributions from existing operations at [Cleanaway] are very small compared to other facilities within the Rutherford Industrial Estate, which provide significant contributions to odour sensitivity of the Rutherford area," the report noted.

The Mercury understands the EPA has been granted an extension to the submission deadline and will send its feedback soon.

Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said she believed the proposal attracted only one public submission because people had become fatigued by an ongoing lack of answers to questions about possible environmental and health impacts of the Rutherford industrial zone.

"I'm working with the EPA on this issue," she said.