The Gara Valley Environment Preservation Association is concerned that the Armidale Dumaresq Council’s identification of Site 7 as its preferred site for its proposed replacement waste and rubbish dump has been made upon partial and highly subjective interpretations of the available data.

For example, and as noted in Section 1, the ADLCCC did not endorse the Maunsell Report, rather, it ‘accepted’ it. The distinction here is deliberate and important! Several members of the ADLCCC openly challenged the validity of the interpretations of data that were made by the Maunsell consultants, both verbally and in written form.

There is no obvious indication of this criticism being addressed in the final report, leading to the conclusion by some members, including Gara Valley Environment Preservation Association representatives, that the report is flawed.

Concerns have also been expressed in regards to the changes in selection criteria mid-process with regards to buffer zones, site gradients and a host of other anomalies.

Consequently, the Gara Valley Environment Preservation Association is not convinced that there are no other sites available within the area that will provide a superior solution to the waste dump problem.

Particularly with the recent changes in Local Government borders and structures, there is no reason why the new waste dump could not be located in any of the Armidale, Uralla, Guyra or Walcha Shires.

Indeed, with all four Councils now operating in a ‘Strategic Alliance’, this opens up a far greater area which can be searched for a more suitable waste dump site, that is, one that does not threaten the World Heritage Eastern Falls environment.

See Appendix III for a list of questions Armidale Dumaresq Council has been unable or unwilling to answer to the community.

Given the inability of Armidale Dumaresq Council to provide satisfactory answers to questions regarding the process, it appears to the Gara Valley Environment Preservation Association that the selection process has suffered from periods of inactivity and serious flaws.