Sutton Forest Sand Quarry

There is insufficient information on the impact of the project on the
Kingsbury VC Rest Area. Nor is there any information on how the access
road will impact on the rest area nor on what measures will be taken
to restore the rest area after construction.

You cannot let the proposed quarry at Sutton Forest go ahead! The untold
pollution from a mine of the size thats been proposed would have an
impact for decades to come! I want my grandchildren to be able to
enjoy the natural beauty that area has to offer not to have to see
vast blots on the landscape! We go bush walking off of Hanging Rock
Road and always see natural delights; gorgeous birds, swamp wallabies,
roos, wombats etc. these all need protecting!

The area of the mine is part of the Great Western Wildlife Corridor,
which links the bushland of the Blue Mountains and the area stretching
south from Morton National Park.This allows native animals to move
between these areas to increase diversity, repopulate after bushfires
or other disasters, etc. Establishment of the mine with clearance of
native vegetation will seriously impact the corridor.

Now it might be claimed that there will still be some bushland for the
animals, but the mine is to operate 24/7, with bright lights, nose and
smells. Native animals are mostly timid creatures, often nocturnal.
The mine operations will keep them away from the area and therefore
close off the corridor.

Hello
The building industry demands the cheapest product with needing to
properly account for environmental and social damage.
My concerns are:
* Lowering the water table of the Sutton Forest area and adversely
affecting the bore water on which so many locals depend. This is a 42
hectare hole to a depth of 39 metres below the current water table! It
will affect our ground water levels.
* Tipping 18 million tons of Sydney waste fill into the Highlands.
* Damage to the water quality of Long Swamp Creek and the underlying
aquifer, which feed the Nepean water catchment for Sydney.
* Adverse health effects of airborn dust that will be carried across
the populated centres of the Highlands.
* Dramatic increase in heavy trucking on the Hume Highway and the
Illawarra Highway overpass.
* Clearing of and blocking a significant wildlife corridor and
disturbance to flora and fauna.
* Noise, blasting and light pollution.
* Destroying of peace and tranquillity at The Shrine of Our Lady of
Mercy - Penrose Park, which attracts 10,000 national and international
tourists a year to the Highlands.
* Building an overpass on Hume Highway and local access road, just
south of Sally's Corner Rd, for which our Council has to approve,
build and provide ongoing maintenance for a private venture. Most
notably, one of the few pleasant Hume Hwy roadside rest areas at
Penrose Forest way will be all but destroyed by the roadworks

I strongly object to this development proposal. There are many aspects of
this project which are detrimental to the environment,the local people
and the community in general.
NOISE - there will be a lot of noise produced from machinery and
trucks at the Mine, this will affect the neighbouring properties and
people's ability to sleep at night. The noise modelling reporting in
the EIS is not convincing. We easily hear trucks driving on the Hume
H'Way near the proposed mine entrance, so we will definitely hear the
noise coming from the mine site.
DUST - will be created from ripping and crushing sandstone. The EIS
does not address this properly. This dust will have long term affects
on people's health in the area as well as create a visual dust cloud.
WILDLIFE - The area is home to much wildlife, which we and visitors to
our property enjoy observing and experiencing. The operation of a
large scale mine with 24hr a day machinery noise, blasting activities
as well as night lighting will force the wildlife away from the area.
TOURISM - will be affected in the area, this is obvious. Tourists wont
come to the area to see a Sand Mine. This is something the Southern
highlands does not need, an open cut mine 1km long x 500m wide.
GROUND WATER - Many of the locals rely on bore water for survival. The
impact on the ground water from the mine could be irreversible.
PROPERTY VALUES - these will be destroyed in the area. My husband and
I are planning to build a new home on our property, however this
investment cannot proceed if this Mine goes ahead.
NO BENEFITS FOR THE AREA- The benefits from the mine are mainly
profits to a few individuals. The offset of a small amount of
employment created by this mine is nothing compared to the long term
environmental damage this mine will cause. We need to think about our
future generations and the legacy we leave for them.
CONSULTATION- there has been hopeless consultation from the Developer
to the public and neighbours regarding this mine EIS. We have received
one letter only, back in March this year.

I strongly object to the sand mine proposal for Sutton Forest (SSD 6334).
I represent a family property situated on the Wombeyan Caves Road at
Bullio, which. forms a significant part of the Great Western Wildlife
Corridor. This proposed development will remove 63 hectares of native
bushland from a very important wildlife connection between the Blue
Mountains and the Morton National Parks. Many endangered species are
struggling to survive in Australia as a whole, and a significant
number of these will be impacted by this proposal. The site of the
sand mine is at a nexus of this corridor, and will reduce its width to
a mere 500 metres, severely limiting the viability and purpose of the
entire corridor. On top of this, the noise and general disturbance of
their habitat that will be caused by the blasting and heavy truck
movements (more than 400 per day over thirty years!) will no doubt be
the final nail in the coffin for the success of the corridor.
The wildlife is our particular concern, but there are many other
significant concerns we have about this proposal, most importantly the
effect that it will have on the water table in the Sutton Forest area
and beyond.

My parents own the property at 160 Hanging Rock Rd, which adjoins the
proposed Sand Mine site. I spend a lot of time at the property and can
foresee the impact the Sand Mine will have on the area and the
neighbours. I would one day like to live in the area, possibly at my
parents property, but I don't think I would like to live there with a
24hr operating Sand Mine next door.
There will be a lot of environmental damage from clearing vegetation.
Run off form the Mine site will pollute the Long Swamp Creek.
There will be a lot of noise and dust from the Mine site, which will
ruin the tranquillity of the area.
Excavating a large hole 35m below the groundwater table could have a
major effect on the area water table. The EIS says
approx.140,000litres per day will flow into the mine pit, that is from
a hole in the ground 1km long by 500m wide. Yet the same or more
volume of water is extracted per day from a few commercial bores in
the immediate area. The ratio of area to water extraction volume don't
relate. The EIS needs to explain the reasons behind their projected
numbers. Maybe some different experts should be asked to look at this
issue.

This whole project is too close to a religious site, the Our Lady of
Mercy Church, Penrose Park, attracts over 10,000 pilgrims and visitors
a year and this project is far too close and will likely cause a lot
of noise and dust pollution to the site. It seems a little unfair that
you would consider doing this to a Catholic site of worship. This
place is important to so many individuals. Please stop this. You
wouldn't do this next to a town or next to any other public area so
please don't do it next to such a sacred site.

I am apposing the mining to the Sutton Forest from the Hume highway.
Deforestation and mining on such a large parcel of land that is
neighboring our place of worship will cause great disturbance and
destruction. We do not want another mining company tearing up the land
and causing possible future pollution and possible sink holes. There
has been known cases where these mining has cause catastrophic
consequences that we do not want to affect our sacred land and place
of worship. Please understand it is 30 years of going to your place of
worship and instead of being able to pray in peace, to be blasted with
noise pollution from constant machinery and digging.

Please do reconsider and do not allow for this project to continue. We
plead you to rethink the development of mining, the pollution and
destruction that accompanies these developments.

My parents own the property at 160 Hanging Rock Rd, which adjoins the
proposed Sand Mine site. I spend a lot of time at the property and can
foresee the impact the Sand Mine will have on the area and the
neighbours. I would one day like to live in the area, possibly at my
parents property, but I don't think I would like to live there with a
24hr operating Sand Mine next door.
There will be a lot of environmental damage from clearing vegetation.
Run off form the Mine site will pollute the Long Swamp Creek.
There will be a lot of noise and dust from the Mine site, which will
ruin the tranquillity of the area.
Excavating a large hole 35m below the groundwater table could have a
major effect on the area water table. The EIS says
approx.140,000litres per day will flow into the mine pit, that is from
a hole in the ground 1km long by 500m wide. Yet the same or more
volume of water is extracted per day from a few commercial bores in
the immediate area. The ratio of area to water extraction volume don't
relate. The EIS needs to explain the reasons behind their projected
numbers. Maybe some different experts should be asked to look at this
issue.

I wish to object to this proposal as I feel it will cause adverse
environmental effects to the area

The Sutton Forest Quarry Project should not be approved.
This project is another threat to the aquifers of the southern
highlands.
The project is likely to impact negatively and significantly on water
tables in the southern highlands and consequently adversely affecting
natural vegetation and all other water users.
The project is likely to impact adversely on biodiversity as it will
restrict the wildlife corridor between Blue Mountains National Park
and Morton National Park by clearing 63 hectares of native bushland
The project will impact negatively and significantly on Long Swamp by
dust and declining water tables.
The project will generate dust that under prevailing winds affect a
large are of the southern highlands.
the removal of such a large volume of sandstone and sand will
adversely affect the natural filtration system the area provides
leading to a degradation of water quality.
This project if approved will lead to degradation of the quality of
life for people living in the southern highlands through noise
pollution, dust pollution, water pollution and reduction in bore
levels and additional truck movements on our roads.
After the mine, a fill tip is proposed. This will lead to further
pollution and environmental degradation.
This project is a bad idea and should be stopped.
Projects such as this and the Hume Coal Project are an affront to the
values of people all over NSW. Water is our most valuable commodity
and this project and others like it are consigning us and future
generations to are more impoverished life, a life with less water,
decreased biodiversity, more sickness and a degraded environment.

I wouldn't like to have the sand mine put behind the lady of mercy
monastery- Penrose park.
it is a nice quiet place to relax and enjoy nature but it won't so
nice and quiet with the sand mine behind it.

I strongly OPPOSE the proposed sand mine at Sutton Forest. This rural
area contains residences, small farms, state forests and places of
worship. I cannot agree to the ecology of the area been seen as
secondary to this destructive mining process.
Our faith and our Church are an integral part of our family. It is
steeped in sacred traditions passed on from one generation to another.
Family gatherings and celebrations such as births, baptisms,and
marriages, are important, enjoyable social activities and are all
integrated with our beliefs and our Church. I therefore need to stand
up for the community that see the Shrine as an integral part of their
family.
The location of the mine sits directly next to the very well
established and renowned place of worship, The Monastery,The Shrine of
our Lady of Mercy, Penrose Park. A 47 hectare open-cut pit mine and
all the additional activities associated with the mining process will
destroy this centre of devotion visited by thousands of national and
international pilgrims a year. The Sacred Grotto is located several
metres from the border of the mine site. It is just not comprehensible
to allow this proposal to go ahead in an area so sacred to so many.

Lowering the water table at Sutton Forest will adversely affect the
bores on which the Monastery and so many locals depend for agriculture
and life as the mine site would drill well below the water table in
this area. There is also the added risk of pollutants from the mine
site and associated activities entering the ground water and directly
impacting on the quality of water. The removal of sandstone and its
critical biological role in filtering water will affect the purity of
water not just in the area but the water flowing into the Nepean
Catchment area which forms part of The Sydney water supply. We should
be confident that our water supply remains clean and free from
contaminants and should not be under any threat at all from
contamination

It is unacceptable to put a mine site right in the middle of a rural
area that is populated or visited by so many, therefore putting their
health at risk. Dust from the mine site poses a serious health threats
to the community. It is well documented that the adverse health
effects of airborn dust include diseases such as asthma, silicosis,
fibrosis and cancer. The winds in this area are very strong and dust
particles will be blown across vast areas of the Highlands posing a
huge threat to not only people who live in the area but to those
visiting. Both long (over years) and short term (hours or days)
particle exposure pose a serious threat. This is not a safe place for
this mine.

Safety is also a major concern in regards to traffic in the area. I
regularly travel on the Hume Highway and other roads in and around
Sydney where there are large numbers of trucks on the road. I have
seen scenes of devastation where trucks have collided with other
trucks, cars or run off the road. Accidents involving trucks have a
high fatality rate.
An additional 300+ a day influx of heavy trucks exiting on to the Hume
Highway coupled with the extra influx. It is stated in the EIS that
the drivers and their vehicles will be constantly checked. This may or
may not be the case but there are insufficient checks and balances on
other truck drivers that use the Hume to ensure that they will share
the road in an acceptable manner with the extra few hundred trucks a
day. The demanding hours of work for truck drivers cause driver
fatigue leading to poor decision making.This poses a huge threat to
this already busy and notoriously dangerous section of The Hume
Highway.
We do our utmost at home to protect our environment. We have instilled
in our children, who are now young adults, positive environmental
attitudes and knowledge, a belief that their actions will make a
difference, a sense of their responsibility and role in caring for
their environment. I want to pass on to them a world that is
sustainable.
This mine proposal is so counter productive to this.
To allow any form of contamination to a pure water supply is an
environmentally irresponsible decision.
To clear a huge stretch of land in the only vegetated habitat corridor
shows total disregard for the environment. Our native animals rely on
this track of land to move between regions around The Blue Mountains
in the north to Bungonia in the south. Human impact on native habitats
have huge consequences both short and long term.


Muna Phillips

I am writing to you in relation to the proposed Sand Mine at Sutton
Forest in the Southern Highlands

As a resident since 2002, I am annoyed at the continual proposals by
Mining Companies to wreck the peaceful way of life we have here in the
area of the State.
The scale of this operaton is the real problem, 47 hectares of
bushland will be destroyed and will also pollute the water table.The
blasting which will go on continually will test the nerve of the
locals and the nearby gas pipe line. There will be serious affects on
peoples health as well. The area is also a wildlife corridor and a
retreat centre for 1000s of Pilgrms each year to the Pauline Fathers
Monastery.

The peace and clean air will be gone.

The increase in truckling by over 400 trucks a day will lead to more
congestion and accidents on an already busy dangerous road. Road
fatalities are common here and I do not want to see more.j

As a small scale farmer, I treasure the water and good soil and its
quality. So please respect the people here and take ;your mine
elsewhere, as your mine is NOT WELCOME AT All

Re: Sutton Forest Quarry EIS Submission - Noise and Vibration Assessment

Please be aware that within Part 4 Noise and Vibration Assessment
carried out by R.W.Corkery, there is no recognition that location 34
(Filetron) is currently being sold as a proposed subdivision of 11 40
hectare lots. Consequently in the near future there could be up to 8
new residences/dwellings closer to the proposed excavation site than
any of those declared and considered within the EIS. Refer to page
4-14 for the currently assessed locations as receivers.
The currently assessed closest residence to the north of the proposed
quarry is about 1.6km away. The subdivision plan would have the 8 new
residences between 0.8 km to 1.3 km away. Using the Noise Contour maps
provided in the EIS, at least 6 of the new residences will sit within
the 35db and 40db areas to the north. This noise level would be during
the proposed operational hours of 5am to 10pm every day of the week.
These likely building area locations have not been considered as
receiver locations in this EIS assessment.
It is noted that existing residence locations R1, R2, R3, R4 and R15
to the east of the proposed quarry fall into similar Noise contours
however the noise would be more from truck movements rather than
excavation equipment.
Benedict Sands at High Range is a similar sized venture and it is
noted that the operational hours are 6am to 4pm for 6 days per week,
rather than 24/7 or 17 hours every day. Hence I suggest that the
operational hours within the proposal should be reviewed.
In terms of position of the excavation site and the noise generated,
it would appear to favour properties to the south, many of which have
existing quarries. Under the proposal, extra geographic height blocks
noise in this direction, but not to the north. I would suggest that
the the site be moved 100 metres or so into the earth barrier allowing
a deeper pit wall to the north, thus reducing noise and evening
floodlight wash in this direction.
Photos of the subdivision land sale ads, the proposed subdivision of
the Filetron property, the Noise Contour map and the
residence/receiver locations map within the current EIS Assessment are
all available and can be forwarded, but not as a PDF.

Sincerely,
Craig McCarthy

Attention: Director - Resource Assessments
This is a submission on the Sutton Forest Quarry Project: EIS SSD 6334
I object to the 30 year, 63 hectare proposal for the sand mine and
possible future dump at the Southern Highlands location.
The location is a major problem, being that it is proposed at the
critically narrowest point of the Great Western Wildlife Corridor.
Which is also in close range to delicate Long Swamp, a somewhat
prehistoric sponge that has among its sensitive flora and fauna a rare
giant dragonfly. This sponge, or peat filled filter of the area's
groundwater also feeds the giant aquifer that supplies the
Nepean/Sydney Water Catchment. The open pit would excavate a proposed
39 meters below the current water table which would lower the aquifer,
pollute the swamp and damage the wildlife habitat. If Sydneysiders
were to learn that their water is to be polluted at its source they
may become litigious towards the Department of Planning and
Environment or local government regarding irresponsible action.
Another major concern being the location of the Gas Pipeline, and the
proposal for sandstone blasting that may damage the pipeline
infrastructure as well as being deleterious for the wildlife in
regards to noise and light pollution for the 24/7 proposed production.
The large sand mine would be a disastrous addition to the area in
regards to environment, water and property prices for the Southern
Highlands which also relies on tourism. This flawed proposal should be
rejected by the Department of Planning and Environment and NSW
Government.

Sincerely,
Ingrid Skirka

We strongly object to the proposal. We are concerned that the water level
which will be required will be greatly affected not only in levels
that they will be required which will affect the whole community, but
also to the quality. At the moment our supply is of high quality.
Second issue is the proposed waste disposal to backfill the whole once
completed. Seapage of rubbish could pollute the current pristine
quality that we have by our own bore water.

I would like to OPPOSE the Sutton Forest Quarry Project.
This mine will lower the water table in the area affecting the
livelihoods and amenity of local people as well as adversely affecting
the environment. Clearing 63 hectares of native bush for this project
will harm the sustainability of the Great Western Wildlife corridor,
which is already fragmented, and destroy much precious flora and fauna
including endangered species.

I wish to submit my OPPOSITION to the proposed sand mine at Sutton
Forest. This quiet rural area is not the place for a sand mine of the
proposed size. There are far too many impacts environmentally and
socially to accept this proposal.