LANDFILL SITE ISSUES SUMMARY

        Flawed Site Selection Process

• No scientific study has been undertaken to determine the optimum site.

• Only ten sites that were for sale in the mid 1990’s were considered. Almost exclusively only sites within the Armidale Dumaresq Council area were considered.

• Site selection parameters are arbitrary, subjective and questionable.

• The real estate agent engaged to identify initial sites has no relevant qualifications.

• The selected site is owned by a sitting Councillor and a local real estate agent engaged to undertake the site selection.

• Owner of the site gained a position on the Landfill Committee to provide Council with the ‘selected site’.

        The Selected Site is Unsuitable

• Contrary to Council’s claims, the Australian Government is concerned that the World Heritage area will suffer significant long term environmental damage as a result.

• The site is 3.9km upstream from the World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforest.

• Even with an artificial liner It is widely agreed that ALL landfills eventually will leak so that dangerous toxins and pollutants will drain into the waterways and groundwater will be polluted.

• Site only 500m from the Gara River in an area that ‘shows previous evidence of flooding’. Licensed water bore 50 metres from proposed dump site.

• Threatened species and a critically endangered, known koala habitat will be further diminished. 1000’s of mature trees and habitat to be cleared and destroyed for the site.

• There has been no clearance from Traditional Owners. Traditional Owners have not been properly consulted. There have been suggestions that the discovery of artefacts at the site should not be made public.

• The site is highly visible from, and within 1km of The Waterfall Way, an established tourist route with significant social and scenic amenity.

• The location will prejudice businesses that are growing on New England’s emerging reputation as a premier cool climate wine and food appellation, particularly those that may choose to locate on such a well known tourist route.

        The Sums Haven’t Been Done

• No detailed engineering plans or site operating plans have been prepared.

• Because there are no detailed plans capital, operating and closure costs have not been reliably/accurately quantified.

• The site is environmentally unsuitable, which means that the costs will be higher than a more suitable site selected on scientific grounds.

• There has been no analysis of the cost to emerging wine and food businesses.

• The clean up costs are left to future generations. What will they be?