Sutton Forest Sand Quarry

It is no way possible to have this sand mine go through. The area is surrounded by natural underground springs that would no doubt be damaged in some way or form and the natural vegetation and animals that surround the proposed mine. Also the noise, lights at night truck movements and danger coming out onto the Hume highway it is no way possible to have this move forward. Just look at what the current sand mine is extracting to what is suppose to extract and the heavy vehicles that drive at speed on Hanging Rock Road. I totally appose this submission. Regards Steve Pettaras

This project is unacceptable in many ways,
ES4.2 the project is likely to result in significant impact to Gang Gang Cockatoos, Greater Gliders and Koala's. An environmental protection plan shouldn't be issued for construction and operation of the facility if it is going to adversely affect threatened species.
ES6.2 Land Resources Talks about erosion of the site specific soils/ slopes. If the soil is of a delicate nature or the slope is too severe, in this case over 20 % gradient don't carry out operations.
ES6.3 Surface Water the site falls within the upper catchment of Long Swamp Creek, which joins Paddy's River and then joins the Wollondilly River. There is a risk of pollution to these ecosystems which is unacceptable.
ES6.4 Groundwater "the watertable is predicted to recover to a slightly lower equalibrium within 10 years of the cessation of quarrying" . This is totally unacceptable, the watertable shouldn't be altered in anyway at all.
ES6.5 Biodiversity talks about ecosystem credits to compensate for impacts on native PCT's and ecosystem credit species. There shouldn't be any impact or need for credits.
ES6.6 Aboriginal Heritage 18 recorded aboriginal sites, one site (Rock art etc) may be subject to indirect harm, the other 17 sites would be subject to direct harm resulting in their complete loss. This is totally unacceptable.
ES6.8 Traffic and Transport up to 94 movements of asociated vehicles a day. the road system is already struggling with pot holes and cracks.
ES6.11 Visual the visual assessment determined that infrastructure may be visible from 17 residential viewpoints and one place of worship. Lighting is proposed for security and maintenance purposes, it will be inwardly facing. They beleive there will be no light spill to neighbouring properties, being an electrician, there will be some ambience light polution affecting neighbouring properties and local flora and fauna. Another set of unacceptable outcomes.
ES6.12 Social the potential health and wellbeingimpacts to community health (relating to dust, air quality and silicosis) is (medium) Medium is incomprehensibly unacceptable, there should be no impact regarding these health issues from the activities of the project facility.
This facility will give little in regard of rewards to the community as the problems and issues it will cause and have a lasting affect upon. This project should be stopped and rejected at all levels.

The proposed site for this sand quarry is dangerously adverse to Southern Highlands air quality (airborne silica dust), water table and future water availability, desecration of surrounding biodiversity, loss of local residential livability due to 24/7 noise and light, and adding to both local and Hume Highway traffic congestion due to hundreds of daily truck movements.

I have lived in this area for over 20yrs. I bought here because I love the quiet, peace, bush, birds, wildlife, and serenity. The sand Quarry would impact all of that and I would lose the quality of life that I have.
I have have fear of the air quality as the Quarry would be directly behind me, visible, and I already suffer poor health. A Quarry the size of the Sydney CBD should not go in at a sleepy small village and remote surrounding areas that we Jane here.
The operation would be 24 x 7, for 30yrs so destroying our wildlife corridor, threatening the dozen or so endangered species we have here, cuneiform or local country roads with 344 truck movements a day ( and that's not including trucks that would be used to bring in equipment, fill, etc!
The water level a. In this time of threatened bushfire, hotter temperatures etc. would be severely impacted as would the water quality. The latter will also impact water to Sydney as our water flows to the Warragamba Dam which feeds the Sydney basin
Our local Elders havent been consulted yet on the threat to a local Aboriginal sacred site that lies just west of the mi ne. This had give significance for its paintings and carvings.
The Quarry has we gashed consultants who are unethical and have already been prosecuted for illegal dumping! They obviously have no regard for our concerns!
Their recent report specifies recognised threat to both air and water quality! We should not have this imposed on us
I'm already having sleepless nights at the threat of this :-(

I object to the Sutton Forest Sand Quarry Project (SSD-6334) because of its environmental impact, impact on biodiversity, and damage to the major wildlife corridor.

I have have been unable to attach my personal submission, so here is copy and paste
Environmental Sensitivity of the Land
Federal Protection
At the federal level protection is given to “Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone” as an endangered ecological community. Long Swamp, which is adjacent to the site of the sand quarry is such a listed endangered ecological community.
The federal Department of the Environment and Energy needs to be consulted as to the likely impact of the project on this sensitive environment. In seeking advice from the federal government, reference should be made to the Green Valley Sand Quarry, an even larger quarry located only 4 kilometres away, and also in close proximity to the same endangered ecological community. The federal assessment needs to take account of the cumulative impact of the two mega sand quarries in this fragile environment.

State Protection
The Long Swamp area adjacent to the site is listed in NSW as “Montane Peatlands and Swamps”, which is an endangered ecological community. It is habitat, for example, for the Giant Dragonfly, an endangered species. Again, I ask that the NSW environmental authority within your department be consulted and asked to give a report in relation to this. The ground water in the aquifer gives rise to springs that feed these surrounding swamps. As discussed under heading (2) Threat to Water (paragraph 8), the recently approved and nearby Green Valley Sand Quarry, which will ship 20% more sand (1,000,000 tons annually) than this proposed quarry, will be extracting even greater quantities of ground water. These mega projects threaten the endangered swamp habitats, and combined are likely to destroy the swamps.

Of even greater concern is that the site for the quarry is part of the Great Western Wildlife Corridor (as is the Green Valley Sand Quarry), which links the Blue Mountains to the Morton National Park. These wildlife corridors are increasingly important in the face of climate change and habitat destruction. As temperatures rise with climate change, many species’ habitat will shift upwards in altitude. The Great Dividing Range running down the East coast of Australia will, therefore, become a “Noah’s Ark” for many species. The site of the quarry itself is very large, and will fragment the wildlife corridor. However, it is not just the area of the site that is threatened, but large areas of surrounding habitat, as noise, light and dust are carried over long distances. Again, the overlapping and cumulative impact of two mega sand quarries within a few kilometres of each other will severely and negatively impact this strategic wildlife corridor.
The destruction on the site (110 hectares of bushland) and the wider area of negative impact narrows and fragments the wildlife corridor, thus severely compromising the connectivity achieved by the corridor. This is something that cannot be compensated for by offsets.

Threat to the water quality and supply of the aquifer and surface water

Ground Water
The EIS Ground water Impact Statement states (page 2 – xiii) that approximately 33 ML would be required to supplement water captured under harvestable rights.
The EIS further states (page 2 – xiii) Additional licensed water allocations will be required to account for the average 51 ML/year groundwater inflow into the extraction area predicted by the numerical groundwater model.
This combined amount of 84 megalitres per year of ground water will require water licences. As Hume Coal has discovered in relation to its proposed coal mine, there are not enough water licences available in the Shire. Indeed, as other State Significant Developments have been approved for the Shire the demand for ground water will have a massive cumulative impact on the aquifer.
It should be noted that the area will have even more demands on ground water because of the Green Valley Sand Quarry (just 4 kilometres away). This approved project will extract and truck 1,000,000 tons of sand, c.f. this quarry’s proposed output of 800,000 tons annually, indicating that there will not be enough water licences for the two mega quarries.

The springs emanating from the aquifer feed the surrounding endangered swamp habitats. As the water table is lowered the supply of water to the swamps will be diminished, further drawing on the springs and the aquifer.

As climate change grips and the amount of surface water to feed the aquifer diminishes, there will be more pressure on the quantities of groundwater available for extraction. The estimates of the recharge of the aquifer contained on page 2-30 of the water study are therefore highly optimistic for future decades. In other words, this quarry relies on a very short-term perspective in its projections. The cumulative impact of this quarry and the nearby mega Green Valley Sand Quarry on the surface water recharge rate has been grossly underestimated.

Of great concern also is the likely impact on the quality of the water in the aquifer. Disturbing the aquifer and dumping vast quantities of fill into a pit that will be almost 40 metres below the water table will have an unknown impact on the quality of the water. In reality, this is an experiment, and the aquifer is not something to take unquantifiable risks with.

The NSW Aquifer Interference Policy 2012 requires any development impacting on groundwater to have a neutral or beneficial impact on the water quality of the groundwater. As indicated above, the impact on quality is unknown and with another mega sand quarry just 4 kilometres down the road, the cumulative impact is even less predictable. It is highly unlikely that the State Government will be in a position to constantly monitor the quality of the backfill material, adding further uncertainty to the outcomes in decades to come.

Surface Water
We understand that there very limited testing sites for the quality of the surface water, and that the tests were undertaken quite a few years ago. The EIS does not, therefore, contain up to date information. Nor does it contain information that is comprehensive, given the limited number of test sites. Further, the right to harvest surface water on the property is limited to 10% of the rain. However, given the size of the pit the Applicant will be harvesting many times this allowable amount.

The washing process involved in the sand production will result in massive amounts of fines and dirty water. In addition, there is the huge quantity of water extracted from the pit itself. Although the EIS glosses over this with an assurance that the holding dams and collection of fines will be properly regulated, past experience with mining indicates that because of the sheer quantities involved the project will present insurmountable problems and a high risk of spills into the surrounding land. Given the environmental sensitivity of the location, this could have catastrophic environmental consequences. Great emphasis is placed on “monitoring” in the re-submitted proposal. However, no amount of monitoring will avoid the negative impacts of the project, which is inherently flawed because of its location and sheer scale.

Unlikely availability of water licences
This has been touched on above. Water licences in the Shire are in short supply, and I ask that the Department ensure that the Applicant has secured the requisite water licences before giving any approval.

Catastrophic impact of the development on the surrounding properties
This raises the vexed question of morality. Landowners need to be assured that when they purchase a property their amenity will not be lightly dismissed as dispensable in the interests of the wider economy. Some of the neighbours live a mere 60 metres from the proposed quarry operations.
The severe and likely health impacts on the neighbouring properties are discussed under heading (5) Health Issues below. These include silicosis and respiratory problems from dust, extreme stress from noise (trucks, blasting and grinding), and night-time disturbance from industrial lighting. There is also the emotional toll from awareness that they may be powerless in the face of big mining and an acquiescent government. I understand that one of the landowners was told by the staff of the Applicant in relation to the first iteration for the project “You know you won’t be able to live here”. This is not a surprising comment, considering the hours of operation envisaged (page 2-49 of Section 2 of the EIS), being 5.00am to 10.00pm for extraction, and continuous for processing [grinding], despatch (trucks) and maintenance. The amenity of adjacent properties would clearly be destroyed.
There has been a massive and spontaneous rise of opposition in a very short time. This will only increase as time goes on. Now that the local Council has made or will make a submission opposing the project and sufficient numbers of objections have been received from the general public, the project must be referred to the Projects Assessment Commission (PAC). I understand that the Department of Planning is to hold a public consultation meeting, on a date yet to be set. I have no doubt that the meeting will be well attended. The level of community opposition must be factored in when assessing the project.

Health Issues
The EIS rightly identifies SEPP 33 (Hazardous and Offensive Development Application Guidelines) as a requisite consideration. However, the EIS assumes that “hazardous or offensive” industry is limited to industries involved in “hazardous materials”, whereas SEPP 33 is much more general than this. Accordingly, the data presented in the EIS is deficient in that it only addresses chemical hazards and makes no mention of dust, noise or light as hazards or offensive pollutants.
Silica Dust
Silica dust has long been recognised as a health risk, ..Unable to copy and paste remainder

Just noting what is planned would mean dreadful environmental degradation for years to come.
The mine proposal is to clear 110 hectares of land, mostly native bushland and mine sandstone to a depth 60 m below ground level - well below the water table. The silica rock will be processed on site by crushing to sand and trucked out 24/7, 365 days for 30 years. The pit will eventually be filled with trucked-in waste, becoming Sydney’s new tip. The size of the proposed mine and plant is massive; half the Sydney CBD and more than 5-times that of Hi-Quality’s operations at Windemalla and Menangle. This is in the middle of the rural-residential community of the Southern Highlands.
Our local communities, specialist experts and Government Departments and Wingecarribee Shire Council have serious concerns about this project. The mine company proposes only minor changes to the initial plan and our concerns remain valid. If approved it will have enormous impacts on the local environment and all but destroy our local community.
I object to the Sutton Forest Sand Quarry Project (SSD-6334) because of its environmental impact, impact on biodiversity, damage to the major wildlife corridor, too risky with our water table height.
This proposal should be refused.
Regards
Erica Rink

The environmental impacts of this proposed sand quarry are potentially severe and irreversible:
- dust and air pollution, destruction of wildlife habitat, lasting damage to the water table, noise from quarrying and truck movements, to list only a few.
It is proposed that these and even more devastating impacts would continue for 30 years, 7 days a week - it is too much, it is abhorrent, it is inconceivable that such insensitive "development" or rather "destruction" can be allowed to take place.
I absolutely and strongly object to this proposal.

I object to the Sutton Forest Sand Quarry Project (SSD-6334) because of its environmental impact, impact on biodiversity, and damage to the major wildlife corridor.
I am involved in bush care projects and land care projects in this shire and do not wish to see any further destruction of our local environment.

As a resident of the area, I STRONGLY object to the proposed Sutton Forest sand quarry. It would destroy important bush & swamp zones, have a catastrophic environmental impact & the increased traffic, noise, dust, pollution, etc, would be unacceptable without any local advantage. Please do NOT sanction this dreadful commercial proposal!

I strongly object to this destructive mining project and consider that it must be disallowed. I have many concerns including local environment, water, rehabilitation and social environment. This is a flawed proposal on many levels and I urge the Department and NSW Government to reject it.

This proposal will be ongoing for 30 years, 24/7, it will destroy native pristine environment and bushland, severely damaging allready endangered fauna and flora, damage the water table, it backs right up to the Shrine of Our Lady of Penrose Monastery Park, a place of peace and tranquility, reflection and prayer, which thousands of people come to every year, let alone the silica and other mining dust being released into the atmosphere and impacting everyone's health, damaging crops, gardens and residences, impacting holiday accomodation and retreats and after it's finished the proposal to fill the giant hole with waste, a further insult to injury, so that the land will never recover. This kind of mining has no place in the beautiful environment of then Southern Highlands, this beautiful place in which we live, love and work and which people from Sydney and elsewhere come to get away from pollution and noise. This Sand Quarry proposal must be rejected outright. Thank you for your time.

I strongly object to the Sutton Forest Quarry for all of the following reasons.
The size of the quarry has decreased in the new proposal but the volume of sand to be processed is the same amount as the old proposal.
The traffic impact assessment is totally floored.
Page 6 operational hours states processing and product dispatch – 24 hours per day, seven days per week and on public holidays. Page 36, safety risks Hume Highway, contradicts this statement saying the quarry will not operate on public holidays.
Page 10 Fails to mention that trucks and vehicles exit the intersection at Penrose Forest Way and Kingbury VC Rest Area can turn right to travel north along the Hume Highway just south of the truck layover/stop they propose to use as an entrance to the quarry. What will stop traffic from doing U-turns at this intersection and where are the traffic figures for this intersection.
Page 10 States the Hanging Rock Road intersection provides access to a number of properties on the western side of the Hume Highway including a bottling plant facility operated by Alka Power and the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy (also known as Penrose Park) It fails to mention there is a total of 20 properties down Hanging Rock Road, 5 of which sell water to the bottle water industry including one owned by Coke Cole, these properties all use A double and B double water tankers to transport the water north to Sydney and operate 24 hours per seven days a week and are a lot busier in the summer months. They also forgot to mention the existing sand quarry at Wandoo, on Hanging Rock Road that, uses tuck and dogs to again transport sand north to Sydney, all these trucks enter and leave Hanging Rock Road very day. There is no taper lane out of Hanging Rock Road so traffic must stop and take off from a complete stop, travelling slow up the hill north, faster vehicles have to move to the fast lane to avoid the slow travelling traffic. Traffic doing U-turn at this intersection would greatly affect the traffic on the highway.
Page 12 South Marulan Interchange, no truck will want to travel over 50 km out of their way. There are already problems with trucks travelling south to the quarry at Red Hill Road Marulan. They are also meant to travel south to the Marulan Interchange, but many have been turning left down Highlands Way, doing U-turns and reentering the highway turning right, then left down Red Hills Road.
Page 14 States traffic counts occurred on Wednesday 23 May 2022 on both Illawarra Highway and Hanging Rock Road, not possible 23rd May 2022 was a Monday. The traffic counts should have been taken when the highway is at its busiest like Friday or Sunday afternoons.
These are only a few of the glaring problems in the traffic impact assessment.
The impact that the quarry will have on the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy Monastery, which has been part of our community for many years, is incomprehensible, it will destroy the peace and quiet of the place which brings a thousands of visitors to our area to worship.
No matter how much you water the quarry the dust and pollution it will produce is of great concern. It will affect anyone living with a respiratory disorder such as asthma, bronchitis or any other lung disease. No level of dust or pollution, no matter how small is acceptable. We all live here for the peace and quiet, the clean air and to be surrounded by the beautiful natural nature of the Southern Highlands why should we have to move because a big business wants to build a quarry.
Even if we did up and move who is going to want to buy our homes and live next door to a quarry, especially one that operates 24/7. The only reason anyone would purchase our home is because they are being sold dirt cheap, because of the quarry.
The most concerning aspect of this quarry is the fact that it sits on land that is considered part of the Sydney catchment area. Long swamp runs into the Nepean River which feeds the Warragamba dam.
For God’s sake we are not even allowed to farm pigs on our land because it could contaminate the ground water and you want to allow a quarry that is going to mine 40m below the water table.
How can I faith in your water report when the beautiful maps and photos you supplied can’t even get the position of the properties along Hanging Rock Road right. You have Selective Clay and Sand, Coca Cola Mt Franklin and Aqua Spring water all marked on the wrong properties, and you have used the same photo numerous times to point out various things e.g. figure 1.2 5.2 and 6.8
Your photo showing bores along Hanging Rock Road is also incorrect. You have only shown a few and have left out many bores, especially the two with the biggest allocation, close to the quarry.
My family, like many other on Hanging Rock Road, have run a bulk water business for over 25 years and I have records that go back 25 years that show the water quality and quantity has never changed in that time. When the water table begins to drop and the quality of your water changes, and it will eventually, who do I call. Once the ground water is polluted and Long Swamp is affected by this quarry there is no going back.
There are many other less populated places such as up the Putty Road north of Sydney that have great supplies of sand, why not look there.
The sand will always be there but once you destroy the ground water there is no way to fix it.
As the saying goes you can drink water but you can’t eat sand.

I strongly object to this project for the following reasons:
Destruction of flora and fauna: 12 endangered species locally
Threat and damage to a local sacred aboriginal site that has both carvings and paintings. No consultation has been had with the local aboriginal elders ( 12 mobs identified, 3 contacted but no local mobs impacted have been contacted)
Destruction of wildlife corridor
Grave fear of air quality pollution and risk of various lung problems ( I have a compromised immune system so am more susceptible). Their assessors have already identified this as being MODERATE risk.
Water table reduction and impacted water quality, which their own assessors have already identified as MEDIUM. Since then, we have also had Black Friday fires. Are once again about to have an extremely dry, high risk for season and little to no rain on the radar. They mention that monitors will be put in. That's hardly sufficient. Local landholders will meanwhile be impacted.
Noise pollution. 344 (!) truck movements a day and we are in prestige rural countryside. Bulldozers etc 24 x 7. No consultation notes on noise impacts were included in their latest submission even though it was raised as a concern by the locals
Light pollution. The nocturnal wildlife will be impacted considerably as well we be as we have already been told we'll be able to see the Quarry from our Lot.
Potential pollution from any fill used
I would like to know why one of the existing 4 quarries within a 5 mile radius of Sutton Forest, can't be used.
I have concerns that they have engaged a company that has already been fined for illegal dumping so they obviously have no regard for the laws in place
This is the wrong place for a new Quarry the size of Sydney CBD
People travel for miles to come to the Southern Highlands for its natural beauty, wineries ( there are local wineries that would be directly impacted). The don't want noise, pollution, road kill from trucks, etc. Neither do us locals. We bought here too live in peace and clean air

I spend a significant amount of time at a property in Hanging Rock Road for relaxation and I also work remotely from there a number of weeks of the year.
I get time to do bush walks, spend time in nature and admire the endangered flora and fauna species present.

I have significant concerns around;
- The impact of this project on local native wildlife species including Koalas, white tipped wallabies, Gang Gang birds, Echidnas and Wombats.
- Water table impacts including the water level and water contamination impacting endangered native flora species.
- Risk of dust particle management and air pollution impacts on the human and wildlife inhabitants
- Impact of noise pollution on the tranquility of the region.

I spend a significant amount of time at a property in Hanging Rock Road for relaxation and I also work remotely from there a number of weeks of the year.
I get time to do bush walks, spend time in nature and admire the endangered flora and fauna species present.

I have significant concerns around;
- The impact of this project on local native wildlife species including Koalas, white tipped wallabies, Gang Gang birds, Echidnas and Wombats.
- Water table impacts including the water level and water contamination impacting endangered native flora species.
- Risk of dust particle management and air pollution impacts on the human and wildlife inhabitants
- Impact of noise pollution on the tranquility of the region.

Kind regards,
Kirsten

My parents used to live in the Southern Highlands and I have friends still in the area I visit regularly. It is a beautiful area with a variety of flora and fauna and it would be heart breaking to see the area damaged by any form of mining. The pollution to the areas water supply and air quality would also be high, not only from the mine itself but from the increased traffic, which would also cause more damage to the highways and arterial roads.

I wish to express my total opposition to the proposed sand-mining operation at Sutton Forest, NSW.
Firstly, the inevitable damage to the environment and the water table that provides drinking water to the locals is of concern. There are also historical aboriginal sites that would be at risk. What assurance do we have that Sydney’s drinking water would not suffer from the run-off? Can we trust Government regulation to protect against such harms? Looking at some of the building defects that have come to light – eg. Mascot Towers – it is clear the Government regulation has failed to protect the public.
But secondly, the proposed operation is immediately adjacent to a very sacred shrine that is a pilgrimage destination for people from all over the country. At a time of rampant domestic violence, drug abuse, sexual crimes and many other social upheavals in our society, this shrine provides a beacon of light and hope to all the victims of all these many abuses. The peace and tranquillity that this shrine offers would be totally disrupted by the noise and dust that would inevitably emanate from the proposed operation.
Our society has already wandered too far from giving human needs second place to monetary gains. Let’s start putting people before profits and block this project. There must be plenty of other places from which sand can be extracted.

I strongly OPPOSE the proposed sand mine at Sutton Forest. This rural area contains residences, small farms, state
forests and places of worship spread I cannot agree to the ecology of the area been seen as secondary to the
destructive mining process. I also fear that the extra trucks on the road will make this a very accident prone area.
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. There are always mishaps that are a threat to our environment. This area should
not be risked.
The increase in heavy trucking on the Hume Highway will cause additional stress on an already busy and
dangerous road. As a motorbike rider I have had first hand experience of difficulties faced when travelling with
trucks. In congested traffic, trucks tend to change lanes and are not often aware there is a bike in their blind spot.
An increase in heavy, sand laden trucks will just increase this risk. That part of the Highway is notorious for truck
accidents. South of the truck exit onto the highway there is a slight incline where trucks, cars and motorbikes roar
up there doing at least 110km/hour. The trucks would exit in between this incline and the Sally’s Corner Service
Centre where vehicles slow to change lanes and exit the Highway. An extra 300 trucks a day exiting onto the
Highway and increasing speed as cars slow and change lanes to exit puts the lives of motorists at risk. This should
not be considered a safe exit for trucks. It might look a really easy solution on paper but in reality it is very far
from it.
The Monastery at Penrose Park is under threat. Why is there no consideration that this is a sacred place for
thousands of people? How can a mining company put in a proposal to create a huge mine with all its associated
noise, air and water pollution so close to an established place of worship? I strongly object to a well established,
place (viewed as sacred by so many local, national and international visitors) being put as secondary over the
mining company . This is not an acceptable place for a sand mine.
My friends and I are regular visitors to the Highlands as the pace of life is so much more relaxed than city living.
We breathe the fresh air, enjoy all the bush walks in the area and visit wineries and other tourist attractions. All
this is about to change and I am concerned on the effects of mining on tourism in the area. The livelihood of not
just the farmers, but local business owners is under threat from the air, water and noise pollution created by the
mine.
This proposal should be rejected outright. This is not the place for a huge sand mine. It is residential rural country
and should remain that way.

I am objecting to the Sutton Forest Sand Quarry for the following reasons:
the inevitable dust/air pollution from crushing and transporting high-grade silica rock will not only create respiratory and other health risks it will compromise the quality of drinking water we consume. This is due to the fact that the dust will settle on our rooves and when it rains the dust will be washed into our water tanks - the water that we drink daily. We are not on town water.
the mine will lower the water table. The water table is where we get our bore water from - our 'Plan B' should it not rain! We need water to live! Where will water come from if the water table is lowered?
polluted surface water and removal of sandstane will cause environmental destruction to Long Swamp ecosystem
clearing @ 110 hectres of native bushland will destruct part of the Great Western Wildlife Corridore, home of the endangered koala and black glossie cockatoos
disturb the peace and quiet of The Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, a 'tourist' attraction for thousands of people whic in turn will affect the southern highlands reputation as an easily accessible weekend destination
damage to Aboriginal cave paintings west of the proposed pit
what benefits will the mine bring to our community?
would any of the people involved with the proposed Sutton Forest Sand Quarry want to live with their loved ones within a 10km radius of the mine?