Maitland council supports Daracon's Martins Creek Quarry Environmental Impact Statement and Bolwarra Heights Community Group and Hunter Environment Lobby are not happy

The Bolwarra Heights Community Group and Hunter Environment Lobby have opposed the councillors’ decision after they voted in favour of the company’s Environmental Impact Statement at a council meeting.

The state government is considering Daraon’s EIS as part of its five-fold production increase application that would see its extraction limit increase from 300,000 tonnes per year to 1.5 million.

The company said residents along the haulage routes would be exposed to a maximum of 215 truck movements a day, but residents said there could be up to 430 when considering the number of empty trucks that travel to the quarry to be filled or stored overnight. 

The community group members live on or near Tocal Road which is one of two haulage routes for quarry trucks.

They said there were many reasons why the plan should be rejected.

Spokesman Stuart Fullerton cited pedestrian and vehicle safety, the noise impact on homes, and dust and air quality impacts as reasons why the proposal should be refused.

Hunter Environment Lobby backed the concerns.

He also said the extended operating hours cited in the application meant trucks would be on the road before the quarry opened, and after it closed.

“This is unacceptable for a residential area,” he said. 

“Houses on Tocal Road are very close to the haulage route and exposed to high volume of dust and diesel engine exhaust emissions from truck movements.

“Diesel emissions contain carcinogenic substances and increase the risk of lung cancer, therefore we deem it unacceptable to be exposed to 80 truck movements per hour on top of regular traffic.”

Lobby president Jan Davis said the expansion would have a negative impact on flora and fauna, as well as residents. 

“These impacts are massive on the property holders and on the infrastructure of roads and bridges in that long haulage journey,” Ms Davis said.