Modification 3 Quarry Continuation and Stockpile Area Extension

See attached.

Please see my attached objection letter.

Submission – Objection to Barina Quarry Modification (DA 1-01-2001 Modification No. 3).

I travel Collector Road on a regular basis, including the area of road access between Barina Quarry and the Federal Highway. I object to the Modification due to traffic modifications and road upgrades not being binding prior to commencement of heavy vehicle traffic movements. This is a public safety issue.

1. Collector Road Access and Traffic Safety

Previous Obligations Not Met

The original consent required that Collector Road be upgraded before any truck haulage commenced. The current modification seeks to replace that clear obligation with a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA), which is only in draft form and does not commit either the applicant or the council. This effectively weakens the original safeguard. The quarry owners did not comply with their prior obligations, and there is no evidence that conditions will be strictly enforced under the proposed modification.

Traffic Risks

The applicant’s own report acknowledges Collector Road is currently in poor to moderate condition. Heavy quarry vehicles will accelerate road degradation. The introduction of heavy truck and trailer traffic will increase the risk of accidents. Narrow bends force heavy vehicles to cross into the opposite lane, creating unsafe conditions. Regular fog events further reduce visibility and increase risks. Public safety is rated the highest risk on the project’s risk management matrix and will remain so unless road upgrades are completed prior to haulage.

Required Conditions

• Road widening to Austroads standards, with sufficient lane width for truck and trailer movements on bends.
• Fog and low-visibility conditions explicitly considered in design and safety measures.
• No truck movements permitted until the road upgrade is fully completed and independently certified.

3. Conclusion

The modification (DA 1-01-2001 Modification No. 3) seeks to reduce obligations that were previously imposed for public safety and environmental protection. Specifically: replacing mandatory road upgrades with a draft, unenforceable VPA undermines community safety.

Jennifer Filmer OAM
The Angle, NSW 2620
8 September 2025

Please replace my previous submission that includes my name and address within and replace with this version.
Latest version has had name and address removed.

Please see attached rejection letter for the Barina Quarry.

I object to the project as I am concerned for the safety of my family and the community.

The trucks entering and exiting Collector Road from the Federal Freeway is extremely dangerous due to vehicles travelling at 110ks. The trucks will need to cross three lanes on the Freeway and then will have to merge.
The exit lane to Collector road is not long enough to slow the trucks down without interruption of the traffic on the Freeway.

I believe it will only be a matter of time before a major accident or a fatality occurs.

The company had their licence revoked due to multiple breaches previously eg. clean fill was contaminated. Process and procedures were not followed and resulted in multiple fines.

I have no faith in this company and strongly object the quarry reopening as I don’t believe they will comply with legislation as previously demonstrated and don’t believe they should be given the opportunity again.

Our safety, well being and a healthy environment must be considered first.

Is the proponent Chris Eveston the same Chris Eveston who has been fined by the EPA for operating unauthorised waste facilities in Goulburn (NSW) and Hume (ACT)? In the event that they are the same individual that should disqualify the applicant from operating any facility requiring an EPA license as they've demonstrated repeated failures to comply with the appropriate laws and regulations and couldn't reasonably be trusted to only import clean fill to the site.

The consultant has failed to accurately represent that the Federal Highway has a 110km/h speed limit (not 100km/h as stated). If they are unable to compile simple factual information the rest of their analysis and presented facts should be subjected to greater scrutiny. It's highly likely that the remainder of the report is full of simple inaccuracies misprepresenting the case of the proponent and inaccurately minimising the risk to the community from the Quarry's operation.

There are other shortcomings and inaccuracies in the traffic reporting - the use of 134 laden trucks is (unlike as described in the report) a minor change - it will effectively double the carried weight on the road as 12 trucks per hour (during the 11 hour operating window of the quarry) move during commuting and school pickup and dropoff windows. The report claims that less than 10 trucks per hour will use the road.

The report mischaracterises the need for upgrades to intersections claiming "These intersections were
assessed as being appropriate for the traffic volumes associated with the Proposed Modification
(less than 10 vehicle / hour), with appropriate sweep paths. " There are greater than 10 vehicles per hour using the intersection as noted further down in the report - "The assessment considered turn volumes and traffic volumes, given the relatively low turning volumes from the development (20 vehicles per hour, evenly split in both directions"

Is the consultant or proponent being deliberately inaccurate or misleading choosing to quote only those numbers which would seem to give them a positive outcome.

The blasting and dust from the quarry will also be a disturbance to the local community affecting and interrupting study and play at Collector Primary School, work from home activities, quiet enjoyment of the rural lifestyle and disturb the agricultural, sporting and agisted animals in the vicinity.

The proponent should be required to not engage in a VPA but have a condition of the DAs approval to be a mandatory update and improvement of the road prior to the commencing of any other works. The road in its current condition will not be safe for even limited heavy vehicle movements about its current use.

There exists a significantly increased probability for severe vehicle accidents at the Collector Rd/ Federal Highway junction as slow moving heavy vehicles cross multiple lanes of traffic during busy times of day putting local and commuter lives at risk.

The proponent and their consultant claim that community consultation was undertaken but it was not a genuine attempt at consultation being performed on a Wednesday from 4-6pm when a significant proportion of the local community were unavailable due to work commitments.

I have concerns about the traffic management entering and exiting from the hwy . This is an extremely busy road with traffic at 110km/h sign posted. Many vehicles travel at much higher than the posted sign limit. The current infrastructure does not support the proposed volume of trucks slowing to turn on a sharp corner without adequate turning out lane, and then to cross four lanes of highway traffic with fully loaded truck and trailer to return northbound. I am concerned about the dangerous and difficult merging conditions, volume of traffic. I think this greatly increases the chance of a fatal accident, if roads infrastructure is not significantly improved to accommodate this process.

I am also concerned about airborne silica particles, given collector and surrounding localities are on tank water. Silica dust settling on roofs or buildings or potential for airborne particles- unsure that the water suppression mitigation is adequate to address this.

The safety and lifestyle risk to residents and wildlife is too high. With this and the Tarago Incinerator, it feels our area is completely abandoned by our government.

The attachment is a result of broad community consultation and a number of community meetings. It outlines the general views of most of the community.
This is a link to a petition on change.org that attracted 80+ signatures, mainly locals, in the first two weeks it was open.
Apologies, I could not see how to provide an attachment to this petition.
https://www.change.org/u/me

We have owned land & lived in the Collector/ Wollogorang area for 26 years + , during this time when the Quarry was fully operational , we did not experience any problems , with traffic control or environmentally. In fact it assisted with the commercial viability of Collector itself. We would welcome the reopening of the Quarry to try to generate new business and employment opportunities for the locals, as longtime residents we are concerned for the long term viability of Collector itself, as gradually business have been shutting down, and the town is quietly dying, will this eventually mean the school & currently existing businesses will shut down as people move or die as we can not offer incentives for young & /or new people to move here ?
Please help our area to regrow and let people enjoy country living close to two major cities, with the ability to also access infrastructure that would support this.