Parkes Shire Council has asked to be exempt from major waste control measures to be introduced state wide.
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Council believes that not all councils should be judged on the same criteria – and that costs would be very high and the time frame not practical.
It has formulated a motion to be put to the Local Government NSW Conference outlining its concerns.
Director Planning and Environment, Steven Campbell presented a detailed submission to the last meeting of Council which unanimously supported the measure.
Mr Campbell said the response was as a result of the far reaching impacts the proposed changes to waste regulations were likely to cause in the manner waste management services (garbage tips) were provided and the costs associated.
“The regulations will have a major effect on Parkes and other regional councils,” he said.
Council has prepared the following recommendation:
“The NetWaste region (of which Parkes is a part) be exempt from the provisions of the (Waste) Regulations proposed for ‘Land Pollution Offence’ and that the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) work with local government bodies to address landfills on a case by case basis.”
Mr Campbell said it was only through NetWaste that Council had actually become aware of the proposed changes.
“Although the EPA has conducted information sessions to assist stakeholders understand the proposed changes, these sessions have not been made available to councils in western NSW, focusing on the metropolitan areas of Sydney and the coastal townships,” he explained.
“Council’s opportunity to prepare a response has therefore been limited in information and time, and is intended to highlight the particular issues that would confront Parkes Shire Council that are distinctive from those of the Sydney area and more populous centres of NSW.
“The cost burden will be significant and the community’s capacity to pay will come under extreme pressure.
“Parkes Shire has a small rate base, a large geographical area, significant travel distances between population centres, low household incomes and small population densities.
“These factors combine to reduce affordability for council to achieve the requirements of the proposed changes.”
The proposed changes include:
Annual returns to the EPA; details of site location, name and address of occupier; confirm landfilling activity is lawful; at least once a week all waste to be covered to a depth of .15metre; odour, dust, mud and noise management; avoid discharges causing water pollution; secure site against uncontrolled public access; minimise fire risks; provide and maintain suitable plant and equipment; and achieve best practice.
Mr Campbell said a 2002 review (but still relevant) of Parkes Shire established there are eight landfills, seven located near small village communities.
“Each village has a small operating landfill that provides for the waste disposal needs of the local community.
“The population of these villages ranges from around 20 persons to 900.
“These small landfills receive low volumes of waste, have reasonable ‘lives’ and operate with meagre budgets.”
Leaching affecting surface water was also mitigated by local rainfall.
The conclusion was that where sites are more remote, populations relatively small and travel distances between villages and the major town become significant, feasibility of landfill rationalisation is becoming increasingly difficult to support.
Mr Campbell said the proposed changes aimed to reduce risks to human health and the environment, ensure environmental standards are met by smaller facilities, and establish a level playing field across the waste industry.
“These are respectable ambitions and formulated in the best interests of the environment,” he said.
“However, for the smaller and remote communities in NSW, it could be argued that they are overly disadvantaged by ‘catch all’ legislation that seems to be focussed on metropolitan issues,” he said.
“For Parkes Shire, any changes to current practices for landfill management should be based around risk on a case by case basis and not come under the banner of catch all regulations.
“These are special cases and should be addressed accordingly.”
Mr Campbell also stressed that Council had prepared a plan for the management of waste, set fees/charges for 2014/15 and established budgets for future years.
“The implication of these proposed changes will require a re-evaluation of the waste plan,” he stressed.
