I object this project as I live within the one of the affected areas. The impact of dust (including ultrafine particles), noise and blasting impacts will directly affect my everyday home life. Up to 500 truck movement a day, risks to Tuggeranong waterways and potential impacts to property values will directly impact the surrounding Tuggeranong community. The environmental impact to protected habitat will also be devastating to see. I strongly object this project

My name is Blake and I am a resident of Calwell. I am writing to formally object to the proposed quarry, asphalt plant, and concrete recycling facility in Royalla.

This development poses serious risks to the health, safety, and environment of residents across Tuggeranong and surrounding regions. The public submission period is unreasonably short, and there has been little opportunity for genuine community input.

MY OBJECTIONS:

AIR QUALITY & HEALTH RISKS
This project will release ultrafine dust, silica particles, and other known carcinogens. Tuggeranong already faces elevated asthma and respiratory illness rates from winter woodfire smoke and bushfire seasons. Adding quarry emissions will worsen community health, especially for children, the elderly, and vulnerable groups.

WATER SECURITY & GROUNDWATER
Runoff and groundwater disruption from the quarry risk long-term contamination of Canberra’s drinking water catchment. With declining rainfall, lower soil moisture, and increased drought stress, we cannot afford this additional pressure on water security.

TRAFFIC & ROAD SAFETY
The Monaro Highway is already unsafe and congested. Adding high-volume quarry trucks will increase accidents, road wear, and travel delays for residents who rely on this arterial route daily.

ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE & BUSHFIRE RISKS
Clearing bushland and operating heavy industrial machinery will threaten wildlife habitats and increase ignition risks in an already fire-prone area. The ecosystem disruption will be long-lasting and irreversible.

LIMITED COMMUNITY BENEFIT
The proposed 30 jobs and access to additional rock do not justify the massive health, safety, and environmental costs. The primary financial benefit goes to the quarry operators, not to our community.

PROXIMITY TO HOMES & SCHOOLS
The site is less than 6km from Conder, Banks, and Gordon, and under 3km from Theodore. This project directly threatens families, schools, and aged care facilities in the region.

HOUSE VALUES
Tuggeranong is often left forgotten when it comes to funding and this project will leave residents further behind as the health risks will mean a reduction in house value as no sound minded person would want to live here and put their families at risk.


This project will affect the health, safety, and environment of our community for decades to come. For this project to go ahead it is an ultimate failure on our children and any future generations who will feel the most impacts from this. There are 18 schools in the affected area and each one of those hold countless young people who count on us to make the right decision and to keep them safe. It is our duty of care not to fail them, I certainly don't want to be remembered as someone who failed my children and caused irreversible damage to their health, do you?

I urge you to reconsider the quarry and the ongoing, long lasting impacts it will have on our health, the health of our children, the animals and the flora of our homes.

Kind regards,
Blake Greenhalgh
Calwell

Reasons for Objection

1. Biodiversity and Environmental Impact
• The quarry will clear 22.44 hectares of critically endangered Box-Gum Grassy Woodland and a total of 77.83 hectares of vegetation.
• This habitat supports over 300 species of flora and fauna, many of which are already threatened or endangered.
• The destruction of this ecosystem is irreversible and directly contradicts government commitments to protect endangered communities.

2. Traffic and Safety
• The project is forecast to generate up to 500 heavy vehicle movements per day, including haulage trucks and concrete dispatch vehicles.
• This will dramatically increase traffic volumes on the Monaro Highway, rural roads, and Old Cooma Road, creating serious risks for residents and commuters.
• Increased heavy vehicle use near residential areas will heighten road safety hazards, noise, and disruption.

3. Noise, Dust and Air Quality
• Blasting, crushing, and asphalt production will produce ongoing noise, dust, and vibration.
• Dust will settle on homes, solar panels, and rainwater tanks, directly affecting residents’ health, quality of life, and access to clean water.
• Asphalt production will release persistent odours and harmful emissions.

4. Water Security
• The project proposes extracting up to 42.4 million litres of groundwater per year. This will reduce water availability for local residents and downstream ecosystems such as Tuggeranong Creek.
• Reduced groundwater levels will have long-term impacts on farms, households, and native habitats.

5. Indigenous Heritage
• The Environmental Impact Statement identifies culturally modified trees (ring trees, scar trees) and other significant artefacts. These sites should be protected and respected, not destroyed by industrial activity.

6. Proximity to Residents
• The site is within 10km of over 49,000 residents, with the population projected to grow to 69,000 in the next decade.
• It is unacceptable to approve such a large-scale industrial development so close to a growing residential community.

7. Economic Need
• There is no demonstrated need for this quarry. The Environmental Impact Statement itself notes that four existing quarries within 30km of the site already have sufficient capacity to meet demand.
• Approving a fifth quarry is unnecessary and will only impose costs on the local community through health, safety, and environmental degradation.

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Conclusion

For the above reasons, I strongly object to the Monaro Rock Quarry Project. The risks to biodiversity, community health, road safety, water security, and Indigenous heritage far outweigh any potential economic benefit.

I urge NSW Planning to reject this application in order to protect the unique environment of Enchanted Hill and the wellbeing of the Royalla and surrounding communities.

Below is a summary of my submission. Further details have been provided in the attachment.
As a resident in Googong, I strongly object to the approval of the Monaro Rock (Royalla) quarry in its current form. I purchased land in Googong in 2023 and only very recently became aware of the EIS and its scale, which shows a lack of community consultation in areas affected by the proposed quarry. This oversight or neglect is a theme apparent in the project’s submission documents.
For a project that proposes a staged production of up to 1,000,000 tpa, involving asphalt, concrete batching, and heavy haulage, earlier and proportionate consultation should have occurred; the delayed notification has denied materially affected residents procedural fairness and meaningful participation. The EIS appendices prepared by the proponent (Northstar AQIA and enRiskS HHRA) contain material assumptions and gaps that undermine confidence in the proponent’s conclusion that health risks and amenity impacts will be “low and acceptable”, particularly regarding air quality, respirable crystalline silica (RCS), episodic PM2.5 events, and the use of distant background monitoring and uncertain emission factors. Additionally, the proponent has failed to consider the contextual situation in which it is seeking to create a quarry. This area is deemed a high-growth Local Government Area (LGA), with around ~9 per cent annualised growth (between February 2024 and March 2025). Given the strong and growing epidemiological evidence that even small increases in PM2.5 cause measurable population health harms, the Department should refuse the current application.

My concerns relate to the increased traffic on Monaro Highway, Old Cooma Road and inevitably through parts of Royalla and Burra Road, which are the detour routes in case of accident/emergency.
These roads are significantly more busy than in the past. Unfortunately they have not been maintained to the same standard. There are minimal overtaking lanes, crumbling shoulders, blind corners and large potholes. Additional heavy vehicle traffic will make this much worse, and I have no reason to believe that the maintenance standards will improve to compensate for this.
Tipper and dogs have accounted for several fatal accidents on the Monaro highway in recent years. These are the same trucks that will be servicing the quarry, in an area of increased civilian traffic, at challenging intersections. How will the safety risk be managed?

Submission of Objection – Proposed Quarry Development

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to formally object to the proposed quarry development near my home. The impact on myself, my family, and the broader community would be significant and overwhelmingly negative.

1. Traffic and Road Safety Concerns
The projected increase of up to 500 heavy vehicles per day on Old Cooma Road and the Monaro Highway poses a serious risk to road safety. My family and I travel these roads daily, and the additional heavy vehicle traffic will greatly increase the likelihood of accidents. Furthermore, such volumes will cause significant road damage, which in turn increases costs to the community.

2. Impact on Protected Land and the Environment
The proposed site is classified as protected land. Developing a quarry here would destroy important woodlands and habitats, putting native flora and fauna at risk. This is an unacceptable environmental cost.

3. Dust, Silica, and Health Risks
Dust emissions, including crystalline silica, are a major concern. Silica exposure is known to cause cancer, and airborne particles will inevitably settle into rainwater tanks used by local residents, including my family. This poses a direct health hazard and contaminates our household water supply.

4. Pollution of Drinking Water and Waterways
Quarry runoff and dust will not only impact tanks but will also enter local waterways and ultimately flow into Lake Tuggeranong. This contamination risks polluting our drinking water sources, damaging aquatic ecosystems, and creating long-term health risks for people, animals, and the broader community.

5. Blasting, Noise, and Proximity to Homes
Blasting activities and the resulting dust clouds will have a significant and ongoing negative impact on the wellbeing of local residents. The proposed quarry is far too close to houses, which will amplify the effects of dust, noise, and vibration on families. There are many other locations available where a quarry could be built away from built-up residential areas. My understanding is that this site has been selected purely to reduce transport costs for the business and therefore maximise profits. I urge the government not to put money ahead of the welfare of residents and the protection of our environment.

6. Existing Quarries Operating Below Capacity
There are already several quarries in the region that are only operating at approximately 40% capacity. Given this under-utilisation, the development of yet another quarry in such close proximity to residential areas is unnecessary and unjustified.

Conclusion
The proposed quarry is unnecessary, unsafe, and harmful to both the community and the environment. The risks to traffic safety, drinking water, public health, protected lands, waterways, local ecosystems, and nearby households far outweigh any potential benefits.

For these reasons, I strongly oppose this quarry development and urge the responsible authorities to reject the proposal.

Sincerely,
Donna

I formally object to the Monaro Rock Quarry Project (SSD-27223807) on significant social grounds. While the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and its supporting documents present a series of technical assessments, they fail to adequately address the profound and irreversible social impacts that this project would have on the community of Royalla and surrounding areas.
The Social Impact Assessment (SIA) itself acknowledges that "social acceptability remains contested" and that "the burden lies with the Applicant to earn, and maintain, community trust over the life of the Project." This statement is a critical admission that, from a community perspective, the project's social risks have not been sufficiently mitigated.
My objection is centred on the following points, as highlighted in the EIS and informed by my personal experience as a resident:
1. Erosion of Community Identity and Sense of Place - The community of Royalla is defined by its rural, peaceful, and family-oriented character. As detailed in the SIA, residents deliberately chose to move here to escape the noise, pollution, and chaos of city living. They have a strong connection to the rural landscape and a deep sense of self-sufficiency and neighbourly trust. The introduction of an industrial quarry in a greenfield location, just 1.5km from the nearest residence, fundamentally changes this identity. The presence of heavy machinery, blasting, and truck movements—regardless of whether they technically meet regulatory thresholds—will permanently alter the rural character that is central to our well-being and sense of place.
2. Inadequate Mitigation of Amenity Impacts - While technical assessments claim that noise, dust, and visual impacts will be manageable, they cannot account for the lived experience of these changes.
• Noise and Blasting: The EIS states that noise and blasting will be within acceptable limits, but this does not mean they will be unheard or unfelt. Blasting, even at low levels, creates a constant state of anxiety and stress. Residents, particularly older individuals, will be continually reminded of the proximity of an industrial operation, disrupting the peace and quiet they cherish.
• Dust and Health Risks: The community has significant and enduring concerns about dust, specifically the risk of respirable crystalline silica (RCS). The HHRA found the risk to be "low and acceptable," but this conclusion is based on conservative assumptions and is not aligned with our direct experience of air quality in the region, which is often affected by bushfires and other pre-existing sources. The proposed mitigation measures, such as water carts and enclosures, rely heavily on human adherence and are not a guarantee against all impacts.
• Visual Impact: The proposed Visibility Barrier, while intended to screen the site, is itself a significant landform that will become a dominant feature of our landscape. We are concerned that its effectiveness is contingent on the successful establishment of vegetation, which is a long-term and uncertain process.
3. Heightened Stress and Anxiety - The SIA acknowledges that the project may compound existing stress from events like bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. The community's opposition is rooted in a deep-seated fear that the project represents an unacceptable cumulative impact on our quality of life. The perceived lack of control over local change and a distrust of regulatory processes—which the SIA also identifies—has already caused significant anxiety. The constant presence of heavy vehicles on the Monaro Highway, even with a dedicated access road, raises genuine fears for road safety and our families' well-being.
4. Failure to Address Cumulative Impacts - The community’s experience with existing quarries in the region has left residents with a sense of "fatigue" and a heightened sensitivity to this new proposal. We are concerned that the cumulative effect of an additional quarry, with its associated traffic, noise, and environmental pressures, will push the social and environmental fabric of our community beyond a breaking point. The EIS does not adequately address how the social and emotional burden of this cumulative impact will be managed.
5. Flawed Justification of Need - The project's economic justification hinges on a forecast resource shortfall that the community believes is overstated. Even if a shortfall exists, the costs to our community's health, well-being, and lifestyle are not justifiable. We believe the local social and environmental costs far outweigh the regional economic benefits, which primarily serve large-scale infrastructure projects.
In conclusion, the Monaro Rock Quarry Project represents a fundamental betrayal of the social contract that underpins our community. We chose to live here for a specific way of life, and this project threatens to destroy it. I urge you, as the planning minister, to consider the overwhelming social costs of this project and to reject the proposal.