BY EL FITCHETT/ISABEL EVERETT/ KAYNE STEPHENS
A proposal to build a crematorium at Farley has been approved by Maitland City Council overnight, leaving the community reeling.
Residents of Old North Road where the $3.2 million dollar facility will be located have ongoing concerns about the level of mercury and other substances which will be produced by two gas-fired cremator units and emitted into the air.
Council acknowledged the development would generate emissions, but was satisfied results from an air quality impact assessment (AQIA) showed that the crematorium could operate within the required NSW Environmental Protection Authority air quality guidelines.
Council's Manager of Development and Compliance, Cindy Littlewood, said all requirements for approval were met.
"An extensive assessment was undertaken of the development and it complied with all of the provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and the other relevant legislation," she said.
An AQIA was undertaken by SLR Consulting in 2019 on behalf of the developer Hill Top Planners following a request by Council for more information to be included in the DA.
The Director of Hill Top Planners is Richard Bennett, who prior to becoming a developer, was the Manager Strategic Planning for Maitland City Council from 1983 to1994.
Ms Littlewood said Council was satisfied by the results of the AQIA.
"We reviewed that assessment upon submission and agreed that the development did meet the requirements of the EPA guidelines".
The AQIA predicts the highest percentage of any pollutant will be Dioxins and Furans with up to 21% of the relevant criterion predicated, followed by Mercury with concentrations up to 7.5% of the relevant criterion.
The results from the AQIA indicate the impact on the surrounding environment will be negligible.
However, the figures are based on a single cremator operating at its peak hourly activity rate, while the plan for Farley includes two cremators.
Council approved the development on the condition a detailed operational and management plan is prepared, to ensure the crematorium is maintained and operated in accordance with the AQIA.
Owner and future operator of the facility, Fry Brothers, will need to guarantee only one of their cremators is in operation during any given hour under the AQIA.
Farley residents Geoffrey and Barbara Bright are still worried about the emissions, and have been strongly opposed to the crematorium since 2018.
"They've not said that they're going to measure it, they're not going to minimize it, and they don't have any management plans," Geoffrey Bright said.
The suitability of the development's location on Old North Road has also been called into question, as a number of surrounding homes rely on tank water.
Hunter Water's Farley Wastewater Treatment Works is also located around 10 kilometers southeast of the development site, and is open to the air.
Council says the results of the AQIA indicated there would not be significant impacts on rainwater
for drinking or watering gardens used for the production of fruit and vegetables, and there would be no potential for the dust deposition.
Council noted there were more suitable locations for the crematorium, including industrial areas, and remote locations within the region.
Retiree Grant Liddell worked in the planning industry for 40 years, and has a sister who owns property on Old North Road, directly opposite the site of the crematorium. He believes a full Environmental Impact Statement should have been carried out.
"There's what they call a Statement of Environmental Effects which is the lowest level of addressing the situation and it's probably one of the worst I've seen," Mr. Liddell said.
He also feels Council's decision to approve the development flies in the face of recent steps taken by the Government to limit emissions of Mercury.
"The Commonwealth Government is signatory to the Minamata Convention, what that means is they've agreed that there will be no further increase of Mercury into the air from any source," Grant Liddell said.
Australia signed the Convention in 2013, but are yet to ratify it.
Cindy Littlewood said existing mercury levels were considered in the application and the overall levels were not of concern.
"They did look at cumulative impact. The levels of mercury in the area as a result of the subject development were so low that the cumulative impact was not an issue," she said.
"It's not been ratified, so it's not law, but the NSW EPA has decided that they wont allow any further unabated cremators," Grant Liddell said.
The Farley community could take the matter to the Land and Environment Court.
"All these bones of contention are able to be contested in the Land and Environment Court. So we don't have to take the full determination, we can take parts of the approval process before the courts and get them to adjudicate," Grant Liddell said.
Council defended the approval, saying it was in the public interest.
"The public interest was considered as part of the assessment and given the fact that the development met all of the relevant provisions of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, it was considered to be within the public interest," Ms Littlewood said.
She said the it was determined the approval was in the public interest on the basis "that it didn't have a significant impact".
"The Council Officer's assessment was extensive and the development applications were lodged in late 2018 so Council spent two years ensuring that we checked all the relevant provisions and that the development certainly met the requirements that it needed to adhere to," she said.
