Martins Creek Quarry Project

If approved the hourly and daily scale of trucking operations proposed from the site will see many problems including; increased traffic to already terribly busy areas like Flat Road and Melbourne Street and ruining of country roads between Paterson and Bolwarra, pollution and dust that trucks raise and effects my son's asthma, safety of the public as pedestrians, particularly school children, and motorists, trucks are visually obstructive. I am extremely concerned about the quiet suburb of Lorn that is a 40km zone, trucks rumbling through and colliding with someone on the crossing.
Residents who live adjacent to the site will be effected by the noise and environment pollution of blasting, dust and industrial noise and deserve to live in peace, not constant noise that effects one's mental and physical health. The town of Martins Creek gets covered in dust not to mention the houses being shook from blasting. That is not quality of life.

I understand the Daracon Expansion proposal will put 280 extra truck movements a day onto rural roads which were never intended for this sort of traffic and certainly are not maintained to be able to accommodate it. These trucks will go through a village where PEOPLE live, work, shop and attract tourists for the country town ambience.
The area has been developed recently as a housing area in the country where families can live, send children to school and spend some recreation time.
I have lived in the area for 31 years. Firstly on Tocal Rd, and recently near Paterson Rd .There have been several fatal accidents on Tocal Rd involving trucks. With an extra 280 trucks movements a day and the normal increase from more residents we can only expect more accidents.
I have not heard about a planned increase in expenditure on infrastructure that is SUITABLE for this increase in traffic. What is going to happen to Paterson Village area? The talk of taking off the corner at the Post Office is completely UNSUITABLE. Just so two trucks with trailers can pass.What will this do for the amenity of the town? What will it do for residents especially the elderly trying to use the Post Office, the shops and the cafes?
Why can’t the railway be used and suitable infrastructure built so that it can be?. Surely if the project is one of State significance for which all this gravel is needed Governments should be providing this. Why do those in the area already have to put up with their whole culture being disrupted.?
I experienced adverse effects from extra trucks on the road when Daracon was operating illegally. Unfortunately not all truck drivers have consideration for other drivers especially car drivers.I found it quite confronting to be tailgated by not just one truck(FULL or EMPTY) but sometimes two or three. I had problems turning right into my driveway when there was oncoming traffic and the truck was too close. There was no room for it to swerve off the road around my vehicle.
In Bolwarra there is no infrastructure for vehicles coming in from side streets onto Paterson Rd. It is quite difficult now to enter Paterson Rd at peak times so 280 more will not help the situation. There will be this extra traffic to contend with when the buses are doing the school runs and there is no infrastructure enabling people to cross Paterson Rd safely to or from the bus stops.

I object to the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion. I now live in Bolwarra but previously I lived at 642 and 686 Tocal Rd for twenty-seven years. During that time I saw many incidents that were related to the Martins Creek Quarry . I recall that there were at least four road fatalities between Mindaribba Rail Station and the Webbers Creek Bridge. Three of the four fatalities involved large trucks.
My worst personal experience was when returning home from Maitland and being followed by an empty dog trailer speeding up behind me. Because I had to make a right hand turn into our property on a down hill run it was intimidating and frightening to have the truck so close behind me. I needed to slow right down or stop and on occasions it wasn’t safe to turn and I had to keep going to Eelah Rd,turn off and then do a U turn to get home.
This section of Tocal Rd should not be more than 80kph speed limit, as it is past Tocal College .If Flat RD has an 80kph speed limit then surely Tocal Rd should.
Another thing I distinctly remember is that DARACON never set out to be part of the Paterson District Community. When it took over the quarry they increased the price of road based gravel to an unrealistic price. The gravel was used extensively for farm and access roads.

This application from Daracon is
Absolutely totally unacceptable
This will burdon this community to unbearable living conditions
The amount of traffic is insane
And these vehicles are double trailer trucks,which is dangerous not only for other vehicles,for young children waiting to catch the school bus will be seriously in danger. Our roads in this area are terrible quality at best these trucks would absolutely destroy these roads completely. The noise and the air quality is another negative that the community should not have to endure. To close on this note, big companies like Daracon think they can make their own rules
Even against government orders such as the illegal expansion way in excess of the court agreement
They have already undertaken at their will.
Thank you
Kindest regards
Allan Hudo

As a mother or a small child the increase of trucks through Bolwarra and Lorn greatly concerns me. I walk my daughter to school down Paterson road and a high quantity of trucks poses a significant safety risk.

In addition to the safety concerns the increase of traffic down an already busy road should not be allowed to proceed for the local road ways are not designed for the amount of trucks the mine is proposing and the deterioration on the only road to bolwarra will be significant.

The expansion also plans to destroy a significant portion of native trees and the would have to negatively effect local wildlife. Already koalas are becoming extinct in our area and destroying more habitat is unacceptable.

I am further concerned about the reports linking silica dust to black lung and other cancers. Since bolwarra school is located near Paterson road the amount of silica dust could cause multiple health incidents to all our children.

To whom it may concern,

We object to the proposed expansion of the Martin’s Creek Quarry, as it will have a negative effect on our business. We have been at our current location for the past 12 years, and during the time the quarry operated illegally at a similar capacity to the proposed expansion, we noticed a negative effect on our local business as well as amenity in our local area.
Access for staff became increasingly difficult with regular traffic issues and road repairs on Tocal road, the proposed route. Trucks regularly queued to be the first on site from 6am, and when the rail crossing gates were in operation, traffic queues through Paterson were much more severe. The constant noise of trucks and engine braking was and continues to be another concern. These are residential roads, not built to carry such capacities of heavy vehicles.

Financially, as wholesalers to retailers on the haulage route, we noticed a drop in business, as village businesses experienced a decline in their patronage. Further, access to the post office became difficult, as it would be again with the proposed number of trucks on the road.

Perhaps most concerning of all is the dust which would be released from these trucks. Silica is involved in the production of many types of gravel they would like to produce in Martin’s Creek Quarry, which would be released into the atmosphere from the quarry site, as well as the travelling trucks (both full and empty). The health and safety of staff would become a major concern with any quarry expansion - the Cancer Council on its web page for silica states that exposure to silica dust causes lung cancer, silicosis and that the risk increases along with the increase in exposure. Further, they state that there is no evidence to support a safe level of silica dust exposure and that “wetting the material is not enough”, while “no RPE (respiratory protective equipment) can prevent all silica dust from being breathed in”. Our staff would be affected, along with customers of businesses that we buy from and sell to.

The 2016 Biodiversity report for this quarry prepared by Conacher consulting stated that Koalas were observed during the report. They live in the proposed area along with several endangered and vulnerable species. As a business that specialises in growing trees and plants, we believe the report’s suggestion of habitat planting or rehabilitation will not be ready for 2050 – the year given by a June 2020 NSW parliamentary enquiry for the extinction of koalas if their habitat destruction continues. It is highly fanciful to believe that a native woodland of Red Gum (eucalyptus tereticornis) can fully regrow into a mature forest in that time (Koala feed Table 5.4 Biodiversity assessment report lists Red Gum as the trees Koalas were spotted in, but no forest planted today will be ready for then). There are also species such as the Regent’s Honeyeater that theoretically would use the ironbark woodland as habitat, but their numbers are too low because too much destruction has already occurred, with as few as perhaps 100 left.

For our organisation, a quarry of the proposed size, in Martin’s Creek, is too close to residential areas, with a lack of major or arterial roads to deliver the materials without passing through villages and the suburbs of Maitland. It would cause too many issues for the people it must pass. While the proposal suggests use of rail to allay that concern, it makes no concrete commitment to use the rail connection, and the owners have previously stated that it was unfeasible to use, so it seems more like a suggestion to appease those concerned about trucks through the towns and suburbs than a genuine statement about how the materials would be transported. Having experienced the effects of Daracon’s unlawful operations last decade, and the effect it had on Paterson village we believe future operations of the proposed scale would have a negative impact on our business.


Nick Adamson,
Heritage Plants

www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/silica-dust

I strongly object to this project on the following grounds:
1. The project will have an unacceptable impact on my family’s quality of life and enjoyment of our home and land.
2. It will put my safety and that of my wife, children and grandchildren at high risk by introducing an unacceptably high volume of heavy vehicles on the road passing in front of our home - a road which already has very high volumes of traffic and, at times, can take 5 minutes or more to exit our driveway.
3. On top of this is the excessive noise which will be generated by the additional heavy vehicles on a road which has many lengths of uneven surface - this will only increase the noise even more.
4. Increasing heavy vehicle movements by as much as 280 movements per day will see the already poor state of this road deteriorate rapidly, so causing even more noise and disruption to our lives.
5. With quarry operations nominated to start at 6:45 am, I can expect unacceptable disruptions and noise from around 5:30 am as heavy vehicles head to the quarry to be loaded.
6. I am also concerned about exhaust fumes from the heavy vehicles which will pollute the air that we breath and settle on the roof and walls of our home, and on other surfaces such as driveways and decks, creating an oily film which will be difficult to remove and increase the amount of maintenance I will need to do.
7. The unacceptably high number of heavy vehicles on Paterson Road generated by this project will have a dramatic affect on the value of my property from at least two perspectives:
- firstly, the fact that there will be so many heavy vehicle movements each day right past my front door will see the desirability and attractiveness of my property plummet, with its value plummeting correspondingly by many tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly even as much as $100,000 or more;
- secondly, the vibrations caused by so many heavy vehicles will lead to damage to my home, thereby increasing annual maintenance costs.

I object to this project in the strongest possible terms and fail to see how one company should be allowed to profit at the enormous expense, (environmentally, emotionally and financially) to many thousands of people who have the basic right to the quite and peaceful enjoyment of their property.

I urge the department to refuse this application outright because of the unacceptably high impacts it will generate to the community and the environment.

I am so disappointed that we do not have a voice for our town- the big company usually win our voices are nothing and its really sad
I have lived in Paterson for over 15 years and would be absolutely awful to have trucks ruining our roads..... our quiet town no longer
my objections
SAFETY OF MY CHILDREN- safety to all families children we wont be able to cross the road without a huge risk
SAFETY ON THE ROADS -trucks not obeying speed limits due to there workload and pressure they will be under
BUSINESS BOMBARDED WITH TRUCK NOISE
ROADS IN DISREPAIR
WILDLIFE DESTROYED AND OUR LAND DESTROYED
VALUES OF OUR HOMES DRAMATICALLY LOWERED
MARTINS CREEK LIVELIHOODS DESTROYED
OTHER TOWNS LIKE LORN -TRUCK NOISE CONTINUING AND DESTROYING MAITLAND ROAD ALSO
SAFETY OF THEIR CHILDREN AT LORN PRIMARY SCHOOL AND TILLYS PLAY AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE AND MOTHER GOOSE NURSERY
5 WEEKS given to object is a disgrace most places for something to this affect are given years

please help our community we don't need trucks every 1 and half minutes this is so sad i beg this to please stop, please consider the community that is based around our beautiful land and farms

I object to the project due to the effect it will have on roads near my home and the environment.

I hereby oppose the expansion of Martins Creek Quarry as outlined in the amended Development Application and accompanying Amendment Report(SSD-6612 – “the project”) for the following reasons;

1) Incompatibility with Adjoining and Surrounding Land Uses

Despite being zoned RU1 Primary Production along with much of the surrounding land, the level of expansion and associated noise, dust, vibration and environmental impacts together with the general day to day activities associated with loading, maintaining of equipment and haulage of quarried material is arguably in conflict with surrounding land uses.

Primary Production zoning allows for mining activities but is more broadly accepted as being for primary agricultural purposes such as plant and livestock farming and for timber production. The current dominant land use for land zoned RU1 in the Paterson Valley and areas to the north and east of the quarry site are the relatively low impact activities of cropping, grazing and poultry farming. Large portions of remaining lands are either cleared and vacant or native bush. The Paterson Valley has a long and rich agricultural history coupled with an alluring, natural rural beauty that attracts travellers and sightseers. The project will be incompatible with this and the dominant surrounding land use.

Directly adjacent to the site both to the south and west and very close to the north are areas zoned and used as RU5 Village or R5 Residential. These communities have lived with the quarry for decades and generally accept the quarry operations in their current form but they have the right to the peaceful enjoyment of their homes and properties and safe use of surrounding public roads. The project is in direct contrast with these principles and will therefore be incompatible regardless of any proposed mitigating measures.

2) Concerns Over Blast Vibrations and Noise Pollution

Of major concern to me is the proposed increase in blasting and potential damage to my home as a result of ground vibration. Various reports and monitoring plus proposed measures to be taken in the blasting operations themselves have concluded that levels of ground disturbance and potential for damage to homes will be below the accepted maximums however with many homeowners in View Street having reported damage to their homes over the years which has not been disproven to have been caused by blasting operations at the quarry even by specialist analyses, the concern is legitimate. We have large areas of exposed shelf rock within our property and have felt vibrations. If damage is done to the house or garage/slabs it will be too late and then the onus will be on us to prove it was caused by the blasting. The project will undoubtedly result in an increase in blast sizes and frequency.

Furthermore there will be the additional burden of noise pollution from the site. Many measures have been proposed to suppress/diminish noise however with prevailing winds in the summer it is likely that we will be exposed to unacceptable levels of intrusive and unrelenting noise.

Daracon or it’s agent have not consulted with us over any of these factors and we live well within the affected zone of the site.

3) Too Many Trucks Movements

The amount of proposed truck movements has been well documented and discussed. Its difficult to put a number on what would be an acceptable amount of truck movements and we don’t live on the proposed haulage route. But for a predominantly rural area for the bulk of the route, up to 40 movements an hour is unacceptable. Safety and road surface destruction by the trucks are a concern for me as the haulage route is the same route I take for access to most services, shopping, work and travel for entertainment or visiting family and friends. Sharing this route with heavy truck and dog vehicles on pretty much every road trip I take will increase the potential for stone strikes, overtaking risks, unacceptable noise and air pollution and time of travel. I ride a motorbike and these hazards are increased significantly on a motorbike.

For the above reasons I strongly request that this application not be approved.

I object to the Martins Creek quarry project because I am concerned about the local and arterial roads not being of the quality to support the truck volume and with it brings pollution issues and pedestrian safety issues.
Paterson village is of historic significance and the volume of heavy vehicles causes ongoing maintenance issues with the historic buildings.
I am concerned about the stress the volume of traffic and it's noise and road congestion has on local residents trying to use local businesses

>I am a cyclist who uses Paterson as a stopping destination from Morpeth at least once a week. I cycle Flat Rd three to four times per week to Bolwarra and Lorn.

>The roads are currently very narrow but due to them being fairly traffic quiet, I find them safe, especially in the morning between 6.30am and 10am.

>I also commute by car to Dungog 1-2 times/ week, and to East Maitland via Melbourne Street three times per week for work.

>This amount of heavy vehicles would make these roads unsafe to cycle and chaotic to drive; as the roads would become so ruined, they would be extremely unsafe.

> I am not a resident of Martin's Creek, however, I feel for their health and well being. I am very certain I would not want this kind of project on my doorstep!

> I am aware of the court case in 2014 where Dungog Council took DARACON to court over their wrong doing and miss leading information regarding the material being extracted from this quarry. Therefore, their honesty in with this project to be somewhat compromised.
I strongly appose this project.

The expansion will adversely effect the environment, amenity of town ship, and local roads with too much land clearing, loss of natural habitat, too much noise and dust and excessive truck movements.

The project appears to suggest a proposed route using Belmore Road through Lorn for heavy vehicle movements. Belmore Road is already significantly congested and delays are significant. The current infrastructure and single lane roads can barely cope with throughput for residential demand let alone heavy vehicle loads and movements.

As a member of the Paterson community I object to the project. There are already too many trucks in Paterson.
We are a family of 5 with 3 school age children. Each day my eldest is dropped at the bus stop in Paterson. Each afternoon he has to cross the main road at Paterson outside the Post Office by himself. It is very busy and dangerous now. The bus can't park properly. Next year we will have 2 children crossing this road alone. It is dangerous now let alone have more trucks. We use the township of Paterson each day. We cross the road from the Post Office to get to the chemist and back to the IGA. It is dangerous now let alone with more trucks. There is a dance school at the School of Arts. Each day I see mum's with babies an toddlers trying to cross the road to get to the school. It is so dangerous now let alone with more trucks.
We bought at Paterson 10 years ago to escape to a quiet small community, Daracon do not have the right to wreck our community. Daracon will need to reimburse us for the drop of our property prices if this goes ahead. We will seek legal action.
Daracon trucks already cut corners when coming into Paterson at the bend before the butcher and nearly wipe cars out when turning the bend at the Post Office. They do not stay on their side of the road.
We are currently dealing with Daracon trucks, chicken haulage, cattle haulage, buses, and train. when a train comes we can be backed up 200m with traffic and then cannot walk across the road safely.
We travel from Paterson towards Vacy 2 times a week for soccer. There are dead wallabies possums and birds constantly on this stretch of road. Extra trucks will add to further dead of our wondrous loved local wildlife.
Our local school and preschool are growing and expanding. New local land us being released, meaning more people parking and accessing our town of Paterson. More trucks mean more danger. It is only a matter of time before a child or elderly person gets hit by a truck. There are no crossings and no safe place to cross the road.
People in the NSW government do not live in our town. The people who run the quarry do not live in our town. We are fair people but my family and I do not accept extra trucks in an already congested and dangerous township.

The noise from trucks on Paterson Road is already unbearable, not to mention dangerous with semi trailers flying around narrow country roads. The area is too busy and built up with families for this.

1. the amount of truck movements in this proposal means a considerable increase in heavy traffic through the streets of Paterson, Bolwarra and Lorn.
When the proposal mentions truck movements are the trailers included as most of these trucks are towing a trailer. The suburbs I have mentioned are continually growing larger which results in an increase in light traffic which will only increase in the next 25 years.
2. This quarry already has a rail siding to load trains why would not Daracon build an unloading facility in an industrial area e.g. Hexam to allow trains to unload and then load trucks without hauling though our suburbs. This application is for a 25 year Project and should be able to justify a considerable capital expenditure.
Some coal mines in the Hunter Valley have a shorter life span than this quarry and would not be permitted to haul the proposed tonnages through suburban streets.
I would suggest that this this company is trying to minimise the capital spend and increase their profits at the expense of the residents along their proposed haul road.
3.Daracon and their upper management have shown by their prior flouting of production limits that they cannot be trusted to comply with project approvals.
4. A percentage of the product from the quarry at Brandy Hill is currently hauled along Patterson Road in Bolwarra and through Lorn the extra trucks from Martins Creek would add to the trucking volumes through these suburbs.
5. The proposed trucking route passes close to the Bolwarra Primary School and alongside Lorn Primary School.

To whom to may concern,

This is to register my opposition to the proposed expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry.

As a resident of Bolwarra, I’d be directly impacted by the expansion, particularly the proposal to allow up to 280 extra trucks onto the roads in the region. We live directly on Paterson Road, and along with other residents with driveways where the views are restricted, the thought of such an increase in heavy fast moving trucks is terrifying.

The current road is already not fit for purpose, and the trucks pose an undue hazard on roads that are very narrow and susceptible to breaking up. Also, the speeds these trucks are meant to adhere to appear rather arbitrary, as when travelling between Bolwarra and Paterson, at the speed limit, there always seems to be an impatient truck driver trying to get past! More of these can only exacerbate the situation.

It seems strange that the company are reluctant to use the proposed safer option, rail, as the infrastructure is already in place. For this reason alone I’m don’t feel they should be allowed to expand their operations.

A company that has already been proven to have "unlawfully obtained” around $100 million in revenue, is not one to be trusted, and I don’t feel that any of the promises they come out with will be adhered too!

Finally as someone that regularly cycles along Flat Road it worries me to think of how exponentially more dangerous it will be to me as an individual with the increase of truck traffic, as the existing vehicles already cause concern, with what appears to be a disregard for the rules of the road!

So, again, I strongly register my opposition to the proposed expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry.

Regards,

Stephen Blaxhall
23 Paterson Road
Bolwarra
2320

The expansion will ruin the quiet enjoyment of people's homes through maitland to Paterson. The amount trucks needed per day will have a disastrous effect on traffic in the area, the quality of the roads and noise pollution levels.

I believe the quarry should be approved because it is a local business that will benefit the community. A family owned business that will keep interests on a local level.