MOD 1 - Revised Road Design

As a resident (part time and full time] of Windeyer for over 30 years and
travelling Aarons Pass road at least twice a month over this period, I
have put up with the terrible condition the road is normally in except
when the Council does its yearly grading. I think it would be a God
send to have the road upgraded and would consider local residents
should be eternally thankful for any work that makes travelling on
this road safer .

Its a great project for the community
Not only is it a great alternate power source
But it brings job opportunity's to the community and positive revenue
to local business

I object to the Crudine Ridge Wind Farm Modification 1, primarily on the
grounds that an important Koala habitat will be jeopardized, the only
reason they were overlooked in the first proposal is because Ed
Mounsey was conniving enough to have his paperwork lodged before there
was a change to the Protection Act which included Koalas. It didn't
seem to matter that there were in fact actual living breathing animals
in the proposed destruction zone because CWP managed to dot their
"I's" and cross their "T's". Now is clearly the time to address this
situation given the following:
In NSW the koala is formally listed as "vulnerable to extinction"
under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 because of declining
numbers and the ongoing pressure of threats.
Such listing gives the species more protection and attention and means
proposals for development that will affect koala habitat are
rigorously assessed".
Will this be rigorously assessed?? Is a mere 37 turbines more
important than an Australian national icon that in all reports is
facing extinction? Isn't it a little hypocritical to class this as a
"green project" when koalas have to die in the process? And what about
all the other plants & animals (too many to list) that will be
destroyed and or misplaced if the clearing of thousands of trees along
Aarons Pass Rd is allowed?
CWP were approved to remove 54 trees only, they would have removed
that in the first few hours!!! Clearly they submitted false
information in order to avoid public outcry and to convince the PAC of
minimal impact, how can they be trusted? They clearly had every
intention of clearing as much as possible and just accepting a fine
which I'm lead to believe are pitiful!! So obviously a risk worth
taking.
CWP have marked thousands upon thousands of trees for removal along
Aarons Pass Rd, is this made clear in the current modification? Is
anything in their proposal worth believing or do they just intend to
pull the wool over everyone's eyes and forge ahead doing their own
thing regardless of consent conditions?
Given the detrimental effects this could have on the environment isn't
it time to stop these foreign owned morally corrupt companies!

To whom it may concern;

Although this is a personal submission and alone will hold little
weight in your decision, I still feel it is important to highlight the
positives this project and road upgrade will have for the local
community, its residents, and local business.

This project offers local residents tremendous employment
opportunities on a project that everyone will benefit from. In turn,
local revenue will increase by local workers, contractors and their
families investing money back into local businesses and the general
community. Main areas of the local economy that would be stimulated by
this project and upgrade would be Health, Education and Local Small
Business.

In addition to Local residents, businesses such as Vets, Department of
Local Land Services, Stock and Station agents, Australia Post
contractors etc whom use Aarons Pass road on a regular basis, will
benefit from this upgrade in the long term, many years after the
project has finish. Meaning this upgrade will not only improve the
road conditions in the short term, but offer a safer route for local
residents and businesses in the long run.

To not consider an upgrade on this road, I feel shows a short sighted
vision, disregard for the region and an overall dismissal of the
benefits this project will offer.

Regards
Nick Fittler

I have lived in the area my whole life and have seen a number of close
calls involving cars and heavy vehicles. This road has been in need
for a desperate upgrade for many years. It is only putting further
lives at risk if the upgrade dose not go ahead

I hav lived in the village of Windeyer and traveled to Sydney for work
each week back in the 1982 for a number of years and have been
traveling the route regularly and fine that the road is still
dangerous and needs upgrading
I think the wind far will be great for the economy

Our town of Mudgee and the businesses in it need the Government to move
quickly on this Aarons Pass deadlock to ensure we can deliver the
services in a cost effective and timely manner.
Local businesses have geared up and made resource commitments that if
let go will cost them undue money and waste that will compromise their
future sustainability.

It is with deep regret that I learn the Crudine Ridge Wind Farm (the
project) has been reduced in its total productive capacity by the
casual intervention of the Federal Government; Whilst I realise that
this is largely irrelevant to the NSW State Planning modification
currently in review for the project.

As the impetus for fair and reasonable action in Greenhouse Gas
emissions' is now at a critical "knife edge" near the "point of no
return" then any hindrance of the project should be resolved to a fair
outcome for all concerned as soon as possible.

To Whom it may concern

As an account manager at Cotes Hire and based in Mudgee NSW I would
like to convey the importance that the Crudine Ridge Wind Farm project
has on both Coates Hire employees and our community.

Firstly as an employer Coates Hire is one of many companies in the
area that employ local families. All of whom are firstly tax payers
and rate or rent payers within our community. This project and others
like it are critical to the viability of Coates Hire in the area.
Without such projects there is no guarantee that the Mudgee Branch of
Coates Hire will remain.

I truly believe that it is critical for growth to continue in regional
Australia for our great Nation to prosper.

Antony Tuit
Account Manager


, Mudgee, NSW,
E: [email protected] | W: www.coateshire.com.au
P: | M: 0408 212 930 | F:

We support low emmission energy

as an earthmoving company we were involved in early stages of the project
& support the Crudine Ridge Wind Farm as being beneficial to the local
businesses & community. After being subcontractors to the Bodangora
Wind Farm at Wellington we saw the positives for the local community
with additional cashflow via accommodation, fuel & meals for workers
staying locally. Clean energy is the way of the future.

THIS IS A PROJECT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS,GET IT HAPPENING GET PEOPLE JOBS

We are writing to express our support of the modification for upgrades to
Aarons Pass Road submitted by CWP.
A1 Earthworx is a long-standing family-owned business based in Mudgee,
which undertakes earthmoving and heavy haulage activities in and
beyond the Central West of NSW. We employ a large number of local
people as plant operators, truck drivers and administrative support.
With a project the scale of the Crudine Wind Farm project, we have
employed an additional fifteen local employees full-time and committed
to purchasing a number of machines to cater with the increased
long-term demands of the undertaking.
In addition, we have spent a considerable sum in obtaining staff
medicals and testing, attending inductions and upgrading equipment in
compliance with site specifications. We have also engaged the services
of a number of other local sub-contractors in support of our
activities and to ensure compliance requirements are met in a timely
and seamless manner.
In the event that works are suspended, our new employees will likely
become redundant, and our business may be placed in a financially
challenging position due to the reduction in work activity. This will
also have a knock-on effect to our subcontractors too, as their
services will not be required to their current extent.
We understand that our circumstances will be common amongst
contractors on site, with a number of other local businesses investing
heavily to provide support for this project, who no doubt will be
placed in difficult positions, through no fault of their own.
It cannot be emphasised enough the importance of keeping this project
on track, on time and on budget, and we strongly encourage all parties
in the planning and execution process to act swiftly to resolve any
and all issues presently hindering progress of the undertaking.

I agree with the project and the road upgrade

I have used the Aarons Pass Road most of my married life, which is 40
years.
The road has at times been almost impassable due to the narrowness of
the road, falling trees, wide gutters and wash outs. There are lots of
sharp bends that are difficult to have good vision.
It does not get graded often by the MWRC and can get quite rough.
I think the proposed work that CRWF are planning, can only be a good
thing. The road is in desperate need of widening in many places, that
would improve access for the local residents and safety during the
construction of the Wind Farm. The project needs to continue to be
able to get these improvements done to the road for the safety of all
concerned.

I support the upgrade of Aarons Pass Road as it will improve the safety
of the road for the community.

I am in full support for the wind farm and any modifications they have
put through for the Aarons Pass Road. These modifications will be
great for the local infrastructure and the local population will
benefit immensely from the road upgrade. The local economy will also
reap massive benefits in hospitality and accommodation industries and
I believe other services will also see benefit.

With regards to the proposed road modifications to Aarons Pass Road we
still have a major concern with the "DUST". We understand that the
proposal calls for "re-sheeting" of the road however this will reduce
some dust but does not mitigate the problem. Experienced through the
recent start-up of the project where it was quite evident that the
increase of Road traffic going to and from the work site of 10-20 work
utes plus additional heavy vehicles caused significant clouds of dust
from Aarons Pass Road. These vehicle numbers are minor compared to the
quoted figures of 60 - 193 work utes per day not to mentioned the
other large numbers of heavy vehicles.
Therefore our concerns are three pronged:-
1) Considerable amounts of dust in our drinking water for our human
consumption as well as our stock.
2) Considerable amounts of dust coating the grass/paddocks for our
stock where supplement food if required.
3) Safety concern for all road users. Since the initial start up of
the project we have experienced several near misses on Aarons Pass
road due to the clouds of dust.

We propose that as part of the project that Aarons Pass road be at
least two coat tar sealed to totally mitigate any dust and greatly
improved road safety.

Re: Aarons Pass Road Upgrade

I have been driving on this road for the last 40 years and in all that
time there has not been any upgrade to it, making it a dangerous road
to travel on. It is a one lane track (I wouldn't call it a road), very
dangerous when another vehicle comes towards you as you can't really
get of the road, winding, corrugated, large pot holes, bare rock bars
and trees extremely close to the road.

The problem with the people against the Aarons Pass Road Upgrade is
that they are really against the Crudine Wind Farm project. If there
was no wind farm and only a road upgrade I'm sure they would not be
against it. Most of them don't even travel on this road preferring the
Pyramul Road to Mudgee or the Sally's Flat Road to Bathurst. Of course
there are a minority who use it to get to their weekenders from Sydney
and I'm sure they would love the road to be fixed. There have been
some nasty accidents on this road during my time. Livestock trucks
hate this road as it is dangerous but they have to use it for the
livelihood of the farmers in that area for transportation of their
animals.

The Crudine Ridge Wind Farm has brought investments into our community
giving contractors from nearing towns the opportunity to work on this
project. Not only would they realign the corners but widen to improve
road conditions resulting in better visibility, drainage and passing
opportunities. A new local gravel supply would be used providing a
more durable road base, less dust and in a better condition. Not only
are they willing to invest in this road but 50% of employees are from
local regions.

The Crudine Ridge Wind Farm is underway, they have spent 10 years of
consultation to get to this spot, why are these people against it
complaining about the road now. They have done all they could to make
it difficult for the Crudine Ridge Wind Farm Project / Aarons Pass
Upgrade and annihilating themselves from this community.

What a great opportunity for the Mid Western Regional Council this is,
not only is the Aarons Pass Road going to get an upgrade but the
upgrade is entirely funded by the wind farm.

Why would the people against it try to stop progress to this area, it
is such a great opportunity to have Aarons Pass Road Upgraded!!

See attached