Martins Creek Quarry Project

The Martin Creek Quarry project, which proposes to turn what is a rural ballast quarry into a mega quarry, is fraught with short and long term issues, which not only pose a threat to the local community, but will undoubtedly lead to Legal Action (potentially Class Action) against Daracon at some point in the future.

In this submission I set out my objections and propose alternative solutions for the Minister to consider. My objections are based on lived experience both here in Martins Creek and previously in Bulga, where the local mines were taken to the Supreme Court for proposed expansions that were going to be detrimental to local community. I am not seeking to shut the quarry, but rather find an equitable and agreed way forward.

OBJECTIONS
My objection is based on five key aspects (All of equal importance):
1. Roads
2. Location
3. Environment /Health Impact
4. Property Impact
5. Regional Mental Health

1.Roads
Martins Creek Quarry verges on a small village and every access road to this site is single lane (in each direction) country roads. Not only will trucks be passing driveways of local residences, making access to and from the homesteads dangerous, they are also travelling on school bus routes. This poses a high risk to the safety of children and their care-givers at two peak times throughout the week - 0730 - 0900 & 1430 - 1630.
None of the roads within 23km radius are designed or rated to take 280 trucks per day, which have double haulage capacity as they are all trailered (truck and dog).

2. Location
As a Mega Quarry, this site has significant road access restrictions in terms of connectivity to major road systems. The New England highway, being the nearest is 23km South (Maitland intersection) which means trucks will have to travel through at least 5 rural/semi-rural communities - again all on school bus routes and with property/farm driveways accessing the same roads. This poses a high-risk and will create black spot areas over a 23km distance.

3. Environment / Health Impacts
The quarry is surrounded not only by bio-diverse bushland, but also rural residential properties - Many within 1km (direct line of site). Blast impacts and sonic booms will be experienced from blasting at the quarry, which is proposed to operate 11 hours a day /6 days per week. Noise, vibration and dust are going to pose a HUGE environmental and health issue to residence within 5km of this site, with dB noise exposure and particulate inhalation.
The expansion proposal intends clearing 21Ha of bio-diverse bushland. This area has already been adversely impacted by previous action at this quarry and through bushfires in the area during 2020 - further removal of prime bushland will destroy much needed bush regeneration and local ecosystems, many of which are on the endangered list.

4. Property Impacts
As mentioned above, there are rural properties surrounding the quarry and although there may be ridge lines that aerially separate the site from these dwellings, subterranean and airborne vibrations from the blasting will be experienced. Overtime this is highly likely to create foundational and structural defects to buildings - this also applies to ALL buildings/properties along the intend trucks routes.
Further to structural impacts, the value of all properties in Martins Creek will be substantially devalued, along with those properties on the intend truck routes.

5. Regional Mental Health
It is a well documented fact that quarries/mines etc have a detrimental effect on Mental Health, not only for the workers, but those who live within the impacted areas surrounding them. As a mental health practitioner, working within our local communities, the tranquility of our area as part of the therapeutic process with clients. People choose to live in a rural setting to move away from the suburban impacts of light and noise pollution, swapping them for silence, dark nights and quieter days.
The proposal for the quarry to work 11 hours per day/ 6 days per week will have a HUGE negative effect on local mental health - Not even the weekends will be free of noise, light, dust and blasting pollution.

PROPOSED ALTERNATIVES & SOLUTIONS
1. Limit Operations - 0700 - 1700 Monday to Friday and STOP ALL WEEKEND operations to give local residences and the environment respite from noise, dust and blasting.
2. Limit Extraction Rate to 600,000 tonnes/year - Reducing Environmental impact and reduce bushland clearing from 21Ha - 12Ha (over lifespan of the quarry)
3. Truck transportation only occurs between 0900 & 1430 each week day to reduce the risks on local roads and longterm damage to properties - at ALL other times transport must be via rail only.(i.e. by rail from 0700 - 0900 & 1430 - 1700)
4. Number of trucks per hour leaving quarry to be limited to 10 per hour - Allowing 55 trucks per day (commensurate with reduction in extraction)
ALTERNATIVELY SOLUTION - All transportation is by RAIL to a holding hub on the outskirts of Newcastle; then use trucks for all road transportation on roads that are designed for capacity haulage.
5. db and particulate recorders are to be installed on various private properties within 1- 2 km radius of quarry for continuous monitoring of environmental pollution.
6. Daracon to hold regular meetings with Local Community Advisors (appointed by the community to represent the community) and conduct site tours to allow local residence to understand what Daracon are undertaking.

Finally, to build relations with the local community - Daracon should provide funding to local community groups and Mental Health providers to help with the impacts to Mental Wellbeing.

The impact on the local and surrounding communities is to great. These surrounding areas are having to deal with excessive road movements by heavy vehicles on roads that were not designed to take this type of traffic. The environmental impact far outweighs any ‘good’ that may come from extending the quarry. I strongly oppose this project.

Our roads aren’t designed to take that kind of traffic for that many trucks, we are a small country town and not a commercialised highway for large truck traffic. I agree some good things come out of quarries etc but the negatives far outweigh the positives.

We have a long history in our family of residing in the small township of Paterson in the Hunter Valley.
I’m appalled at the idea of Daracon increasing the truck movements and disturbing these small towns with the traffic and noise pollution among other concerns. People choose to live in rural towns for many reasons but one in particular is for the peacefulness of country life.
I have had several scary mornings when my son was trying to cross the road and could not. The truck movements were just endless and truck after truck. He just could not get across the road. The bus driver could clearly see what was happening and waited but it was very dangerous. This happened on many occasions and I feel someone is going to get hurt.
Our country roads aren’t designed for the constant battering of such heavy vehicles and to be treated like a highway.
Please, please stop this truck hell before it’s too late.

I object to the proposed expansion of Martins Creek Quarry on the following grounds:
>Proposed clearing of 21 Ha of native vegetation, already under threat.
>Endangering the ecosystems of threatened native wildlife, already under threat from high density urban expansion and emissions.
> Severe doubt that any parameters given will be ignored and transport volume will be seen as "flexible". This has happened in the not so distant past in very similar circumstances.
> High density urban development around the area is already causing traffic jams on weekends, accidents, pedestrian accidents and near misses. Not just in "operating times". Adding 280 truck movements per day to the mix will be a recipe for disaster. Many times I have been run down during operating hours along various sections of the proposed road haulage route by trucks, who REFUSE TO give way or slow down to pedestrians ALREADY USING the marked crossings. How can the safety of the public be assured?
>The roads through ALL the proposed road transport route are not built for the current volume of traffic, let alone bearing the weight of 500,000 tones per annum.
>The roads through ALL the proposed road transport route are not sufficiently wide enough for the trucks and other vehicles to pass one another on the roads of the area.
Many trucks and busses already have to veer onto the other side of the road encroaching on the safety of other road users along straight sections, let alone curves, bends and intersections. I, myself have been passively involved in a road accident when I was not seen as a CURRENT USER on the road, and driven straight through.
>Many houses in the area have stress fractures from the ground disturbance and dust. How will this be prevented all along the proposed road transport route as well as at the site its self. Where will all the water come from? Bore water?, and bring salt salinity to our region ... or local sources and impact on stock and wildlife?
>The rail line is there ready for use, why is so much transport by road when the railway would cause less impact to the wildlife, the road infrastructure, and our public health and safety.

I live in east Maitland and drive my son to Maitland Grossman school. The amount of trucks they are proposing will clog up the traffic and traffic intersections immensely. I don’t agree to all the dust which will come off the trucks. There are many schools and preschools along the route of the trucks. I work in Paterson and that beautiful town will be swamped with trucks and dust and traffic jams. The train line stops the traffic when a train goes through, so the extra trucks will completely jam the road up, not to mention the noise.

As a former resident of Paterson for 10 years, I object to the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion. The quarry expansion will create large amounts of noise pollution and destroy the quiet and modest nature of Paterson and surrounding towns. The main roads through Paterson do not have the capacity to accommodate such large amounts of heavy vehicle movement.

To Whom it may concern
I have lived in the Paterson area for over 30 years and my family over 100 years , Paterson is a unique country town with a beautiful river and lovely rolling hills that was until Daracon decided they could do whatever they wanted with no regard for the community or the rules with which they could operate , when they were told they were breaking the rules what did they do , they continued doing whatever they wanted.
The amount of trucks coming through town was unbelievable, the condition of the roads was unbelievable all potholes and damaged.
This town is to small for the amount of trucks and the T intersection at the top of town the trucks have to swing that wide their trailers regularly are on the wrong side of the road.
Martin’s Creek Quarry with all the blasting the dust and earth vibrations is just a joke.
Do not let this new submission go through Daracon have proven they break the rules and will do anything for the dollar and bugger the community.
Regards
Ian Crouch

The proposed expansion is detrimental to the environment both at the mine site and all along the transport route. The previous illegal expansion saw extensive noise pollution as well as dangerous conditions on the road which we live. I am yet to see how the current proposal remedies these impacts that have been previously demonstrated. It is completely unnecessary to truck ballast from a site that has an adequate and more environmentally sound train transport system.
One train's total hauling ability of 8600 tons equals 430 trucks hauling 20 tons each . This would equal 128 train loads per annum versus 55000 truck loads, if the owner is motivated by cost surely over 25 years this will be a worthwhile investment in a siding closer to main road networks.

NO to Martins Creek Quarry Project

This project MUST NOT go ahead due to:
- Critically endangered Eastern Quoll habitat, one of only two areas where they may still be found. Their shyness and nocturnal habits make it even harder to come up with numbers here, but there scarcity can be shown by the number of sightings over the last 50 years. Any further action to disturb or destroy this habitat, will almost certainly leave to the final distinction of a once common marsupial species. How many other species do we have to wipe out before we take conservation of such endangered species more series than the acquisition of large amounts of money by uncaring corporations.
- Other animals will also be destroyed and killed by the movement of these trucks
- I, in common with several other people in Paterson, live in a heritage protected early colonial building. It, in common with the others, was built using a lime and sand mortar. This mortar is extremely susceptible to abrasion as a result of the shaking, already apparent, of these historic buildings.
- Australia may have a history going back 60 or 70,000 years but not a history of built environments, and that which we have is in urgent need of protection. After all, how many heritage listed buildings are likely to be damaged in the future. Such damage cannot be compensated for by more money.
- It would seem only a question of time before the old vicarage house on Paterson Road that there has not been an accident with the already numerous trucks, is simply good fortune not good planning. It is only a question of time before one of the huge trucks fails to take the turn and drive straight into the vicarage house.
- The close knit village depending, as it does, for its existence on the cooperation of the inhabitants, is going to be destroyed by a constant stream of heavy trucks, diesel fumes and damped down dust from the quarry in quantities that are guaranteed to destroy the enjoyment of this historic village and the ambience that makes it so special.
- I am the owner of three properties in the immediate vicinity of the quarry and I dread to think what the outcome will be for me and speak not of financial, but of the destruction of the far more valuable interaction of the community that we all value so highly.

• I object to the proposed expansion of the Martins Creek Quarry. I live in Butterwick Road and while I am not affected by blasting noise and vibration from the quarry I am exposed to the noise of the passing trucks and the damage to our road caused by the large truck and dog combinations. Approval of Daracons` Amended Development Application over the period of 25years would see the amenity of our area destroyed and the township of Paterson transformed from a rural village into a mining town.
• 200 to 280 truck movements per day is totally unacceptable given the road network used by the trucks from the quarry. The “road” through Paterson is little more than a suburban street through a small rural village and no amount of roadwork or curb re-alignment will change that fact. The damage to the amenity and way of life of the residents would be irreversible, particularly given the 25 year life of the development application.
• The roads further along the route namely Tocal Road and especially Butterwick Road suffer severe damage to the road surface from the trucks. Butterwick Road, which Daracon has stated will only be used as required, is narrower than most other roads in the area and as a result suffers from the road edges breaking away causing a traffic hazard and extreme noise when, particularly the empty trucks, rattle and bang over the rough road edges with a rumbling like thunder.
• We have school children waiting by the side of the road on Butterwick Road at several locations, usually outside their property entrances because there is little or no verge to maintain a safe distance from the passing traffic. The addition of large truck and dog combinations only exacerbates this unsafe situation.
• Ever since Daracon purchased the quarry from State Rail they have never abided by the previous license agreement that applied to State Rail. A few years ago, when Daracon accepted what they described as a “rush order” and a “one-off event”, we saw truck movements, that on a daily basis, far exceeded their license. The ensuing court case with Dungog Council is evidence that this company cannot be trusted to abide by the terms of their operating conditions.
• Other quarries and mines in the state have had to put measures in place to reduce the impacts of their operations, for example: contributing to the cost of designated haul roads. I believe that Martins Creek Quarry should be forced to undergo similar measures. Unlike most quarries in our region Martins Creek Quarry has a big advantage in that it is adjacent to a main rail line and has its own rail spur therefore it should be made to transport most of its product by rail. If for example 80% of the proposed 1.1million tonnes of the quarries annual production were to be transported by rail we would not be having the arguments over truck movements and destruction of the regions amenity because most people in our area do not want the quarry to close completely.
• If Daracon claim that they cannot operate economically outside their Amended Development Application then the Application should be rejected on the grounds that it is an unsustainable development. In other words a “Bad development in the wrong location”.

I am basing my objection on the grounds of 'lived experience'. When the quarry operated previously at or near the proposed capacity (apparently illegally), the traffic situation in and around the village of Paterson was horrendous. The quarry trucks, both Daracon's and their contractors, seemed to be driven with little regard for other road users. On more than one occasion, particularly near the Gostwyck Bridge, I have personally been involved with near misses with these trucks encroaching onto the wrong side of the road and travelling at high speed. The proposed haul route will not alleviate these problems.
In relation to the village of Paterson and the road through it, is not designed to handle the proposed volume of traffic and the length of the haulage vehicles. These two elements alone will create hazards for pedestrians, school buses and waiting children and other regular traffic. Additionally, children waiting by the road, particularly Gresford Road for school buses (and the buses themselves) will be exposed to an increased risk of serious accidents that have a high potential to be fatal.
The previous experience of this increased traffic volume affected the amenity of Paterson Village. It made it difficult at times to conduct day to day business eg banking, postal services, food suppliers, farm equipment suppliers, purchasing fuel etc. The volume of traffic made parking and even alighting from vehicles difficult. This, in turn, made it hard to maintain our support for the local businesses. As a primary producer living in the area for about twenty five (25) years, I need these suppliers to remain viable to support my business ie in turn, we support each other.
In closing, this proposal appears to have scant regard for the wellbeing of the Village of Paterson, it's residents and those rural families who live in the immediate area and along the haul roads.
Do we and the historic Village and our way of life, have no value?
Are we, the residents, not 'STATE SIGNIFICANT'??

Please see attached, to re-iterate, I strongly object to this project and would suggest that the quarry operator be limited to using the installed rail spur for current transportation. The proposed road route is not fit for the purpose of carrying large heavy vehicles, the route runs through beautiful heritage areas, for example Paterson, which will be severely impacted. I will personally be impacted by this proposal as I live close to the proposed route for the vehicles and fear for my safety during my morning exercise routine. I regularly cycle along Flat Road, to Morpeth, it worries me to think of how exponentially more dangerous it will be to me as an individual with the proposed increase of truck traffic, as the existing vehicles already cause concern.

See attached Submission

Hi all,
Paterson road will be subject to 280+ truck movements per day for the next 25 years plus. If these trucks are given the go ahead, those trucks plus the trucks coming from the recently approved Brandy Hill quarry and will be converging at the BP garage on Paterson Rd. The chance of exiting the estate and other side roads including the intersection at Flat rd/ Melbourne rd and then Melbourne rd/ New England Hwy. Travel times for residents would absolutely be horrendous. The 18 wheel trucks travelling past school children going to school, cyclists, walkers and dog walkers will pose quite a danger when the people try to cross the road or for the cyclists.
The noise factor for residents of the constant trucks travelling on the road will be extremely detrimental to all residents’ mental and general health and would ultimately be a burden on the health system.
This company exceeded its previous legal extraction limits for years.
The owner of this company was asked during a meeting about the last submission, that if he lived in Paterson,how would he feel about the truck movement and he said he would move.
House price WILL be affected as who would want to live on a haulage route. The roads used will need increased maintenance so residents rates will go up and it’s likely other services would reduced.
These are country roads made for tourists and locals. Not for dual trailer trucks continuously running all day.
It’s extremely important that Daracon seek a non residential area to implement their project.

I have lived 50 meters from the Paterson Post Office for the last 13 years. The noise these trucks make is extremely loud and disruptive to the peaceful village atmosphere you would expect in a place like Paterson. It is also very difficult and dangerous trying to cross the road here when so many large trucks are going through. The trucks also damage the road surface and I have even had my windscreen smashed when one of these trucks passed me going the other way.
I strongly object to the presence of these huge trucks and the pollution they cause, as well as the damage to the environment, both at the quarry and along the route they travel on.
I do not want to see and hear the return of these large disruptive vehicles.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion!
The country township of Paterson NSW and surrounding areas does not have sufficient infrastructure to support such a large amount of heavy vehicle traffic on a daily bases.
Past operations out of of the Martins creek quarry demonstrated the local roads could not handle the quantity of heavy vehicle traffic causing large potholes and diverts in the roads . Second to this the community of Paterson and surrounds have worked hard to secure there own slice of paradise in a quiet country community, this will no doubt crush the community with continues heavy vehicle operation every day peoples dream of a quiet country environment.
Thirdly the environmental impact of the quarry expansion would be detrimental to the Koala community with the Koala already on the break of endangered this would be detrimental to the species in the Martins creek area.
An alternative to the project no going ahead at all, would be for the material to be transported utilising the current train line that has been designed for this purpose and well maintained however this is not an alternative for the environmental impact this project will have on the Paterson & Martins creek area.

I am objecting to this project on environmental grounds - the expanded quarry will destroy high quality bushland habitat containing a number of threatened species (including yet again Koalas). The Hunter is a strong hold for Koalas but this is the second significant project which will impact koala habitat as well as number of other species including a number of microbats. No rehabilitation can replace such habitat in the short term.

In addition the noise and traffic generated by this project is completely unacceptable in an area which has an increasing population. The quarry wishes to operate from 6.00am to 10.00pm and run trucks from 6.00am to 6.00pm daily. Under the previous operation the quarry trucks were huge, threatening, noisy and very frequent through the village of Paterson and suburbs of Maitland such Bolwarra Heights. It was common to be tailgated all the way along the road to Maitland. Turning off the road to places such as Tocal and stopping in Bolwarra Heights often meant running the gauntlet of these trucks in both directions. The amenity of historic Paterson was seriously diminished as the trucks thundered through turning the sharp corner in the middle of town. These area are full of people and pets including children and oldies. It is completely unacceptable that this operation should override the objections of so many people.

I submit that the authority should take into account the irreversible damage to the precious habitat of the quarry site and safely and quality of life the many people who have chosen to make this beautiful area their home without any knowledge that the unacceptable operation of this quarry for 25 years was intended for the area.

The original Daracon Project was presumably an ambit claim as it imposed a hugely unacceptable burden on the residents of Martins Creek and Paterson and all those within the zone of affectation of the proposed truck route. The Amended Development Application reduces that unacceptable burden by an insignificant degree. In particular, the impact on the village of Paterson and all those who live within its boundaries and all those who are dependent on it for shopping and other services will be unacceptable. Heavy haulage truck movements affect human pedestrian and vehicle safety, truck exhaust imposes a risk of respiratory disease including cancer (diesel soot is a known carcinogen) on non-consenting community members (including children), truck noise affects human hearing and safety, dust from trucks and loads negatively impact residents and truck induced vibrations affect the integrity of nearby buildings (particularly heritage buildings) and the integrity of the road surface. The overall impact on the amenity of people within or visiting Paterson will be intolerable.

The biologist, Jakob von Uexküll, the man who coined the term 'umwelt', defined it as the particular view of an organism as it perceives the world. The view of the world as perceived by the owner of a quarry will not be the same as that of a person confronting explosions, noise, dust and truck movements. The impact on community amenity as a result of the expansion of the quarry will be a crucial part of the umwelt of every person who lives close to the quarry or along the trucking route. The lived experience of negative environmental change of all people in the zone of affectation of this mine is part of their personal and community umwelt.

I have in my professional capacity as an environmental philosopher described this lived experience of negative environmental change as 'solastalgia' (see attachment). This term, understood as a loss of 'sense of place' has been used to interrogate the actual and proposed impacts of open-cut coal mining on people in villages in the Upper Hunter of NSW and the town of Gloucester. In both cases, the Land and Environment Court of NSW concluded that this type of amenity loss was an unacceptable social impact and could not be compensated by the economic benefits of the projects. I argue here that the historical impacts of the Martins Creek Quarry were unacceptable, in part, because of the tightly constrained village geography of Paterson and that this ADA proposes to hugely amplify them over a long-time frame. The ADA will willfully impose yet more solastalgia on the residents of Paterson.

Paterson village straddles a major road which, because of the proximity of the Paterson River, is the only way to travel by road north or south. It is bisected by a national railway line complete with boom gates, it has a right-angle intersection located in the middle of the village and limited off street parking because of the river location and the railway line. What Paterson actually needs is further pedestrian safety such as crosswalks, increased off street parking so that road safety is increased and a heavy vehicle alternative route so as to get all heavy vehicles out of the village.

What should not be imposed on the people of the village of Paterson is a trucking nightmare for the next few decades. It is the wrong mine with its trucks in the wrong village.

We strongly support the Martin Creek Quarry Project as it will provide significant economic prosperity for the region.