Refer attached

I am a resident of Gordon, ACT. 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.

CALL TO ACTION
I request an independent review of the project’s health, safety, and environmental impacts.
I request an extension to the public submission period to allow proper consultation.

This decision will affect the health, safety, and environment of our community for decades to come.

When will it stop? How can you even imagine this is a good idea? The people who have spent their life's earnings on purchasing property in the area and surrounds suddenly have the government telling them "oh we'll just put this massive hole in the ground and start covering you with noise, pollution, silicone. It's OK we're here to help".
What a joke! How would any of the individuals involved in this decision feel if it happened to them?

I am completely opposed to the quarry going ahead myself and my young family live in the area that will be affected by the dangerous silica dust levels which could and most certainly have an affect on the health of our family and also of that of our community. Also the amount of heavy vehicles that will be added to the narrow roads around our area will make it a lot more unsafe for everyone around us.
The quarry is also going to decrease the property value of our entire community which is 100% unfair and uncalled for especially when there is already a few quarries in the region that aren’t being used to their full capacity so why start another one unnecessarily?

Truck Movements: Monaro Rock proposes to construct a dedicated intersection with the Monaro Highway to allow 200 fully loaded truck movements per day heading north. These fully loaded trucks would cross an existing overtaking lane (see page 7 of the EIS).

Potential Traffic Impact: I am concerned that, if the intersection is not approved by the ACT Government or quarry drivers cannot get across the overtaking lane, drivers may instead turn left and onto Old Cooma Road, potentially directing quarry truck traffic through Jerrabomberra, via Edwin Land Parkway, in order to rejoin the Monaro Highway at Lanyon Drive. These truck movements would add to the already unacceptable movement of quarry trucks through the suburban area of Jerrabomberra emanating from the Holcim operated Cooma Road quarry. This situation will continue unless and until the QPRC, in conjunction with the State and Federal Governments, constructs Dunns Creek Road. Construction of this road has already been subject to unacceptable delays due principally to the incompetence of QPRC.

This project has no positive benefit to the local and surrounding community. Only the direct companies will derive a direct gain and profit from this project.
It will have a negative impact on the air quality and road and transport safety will be impacted dramatically by the large increase in heavy vehicles accessing the area.
The community objects to this project.

This proposal will have a negative impact on us and other Googong residents as it could add 20 trucks per hour to the traffic going past Googong on Old Cooma Road. This poses a safety hazard between Googong and Queanbeyan, but even worse between Googong and Royalla due to the road being mostly one lane each way. It would be better if the trucks exclusively transported quarry resources on the Monaro Highway and not on Old Cooma Road.

A condition of approval must be that trucks CAN NOT depart the quarry onto Old Cooma Road and travel North. This will put quarry trucks into the residential areas of Googong, Jerrabomberra and surrounds, and create critical safety, noise pollution and road maintenance issues.

The quarry must only be approved if the entry and exit point for all quarry traffic is via the Monaro Highway, as proposed.
The current proposal does not indicate how trucks will safely depart the quarry and turn right out of the quarry onto the Monaro Highway.
With 200 truck movements a day, over an 8 hour period that is 1 truck every 2.4 minutes. The entry and exit from the quarry, north onto the Monaro Highway must be seamless and safe to protect all other road users, and to illiminate the potential of any traffic diversions onto Old Cooma Road.

I would like to express my complete opposition to the approval of the proposed Monaro Rock Quarry on Mates Road, Royalla.

My family, along with all other property holders in Royalla, have been alarmed and opposed to this quarry from the outset of its proposal. This groundwave of community opposition has been well documented in both local and national press, and as a former Fairfax editor and journalist of 24 years, I am certain my colleagues will continue to document Royalla’s outrage at every step of this process.

My wife and I chose Royalla for the natural open fields, quietness, safe roads and absence of pollution for our family of two young children. The proposal is completely out of character with Royalla. We already have one quarry at the end of Royalla, which causes great impact through noise, dust and vibrations. There is a rock quarry at the other end of the Old Cooma Road.

To be clear, there is no issue with the regional supply of rock. This is simply a profit grab at the expense of a close-knit community that contributes greatly to the fabric of the surrounding society.

Now working as a scientist, I have numerous, and well validated concerns based on fact.

1. Air quality: dust, and dust containing silica, poses a danger to my family and my neighbours. Control measures will not control all dust. This is impossible from a straight scientific point of view. Beyond the site itself, dust will come off the high number of trucks proposed. Even with covered loads, dust emanating from moving trucks that have driven through quarry sites is a documented certainty. This proposal will impact the health of residential citizens.
2. Additional traffic:
a. Monaro Highway – this stretch of road has required numerous repair works in recent years and it not equipped for the influx of extremely heavy traffic, particularly over the busy snow season that runs from June to September each year. An inspection of the area around the proposed intersection will clearly show that extensive and expensive maintenance work will quickly be required as damage is inflicted. Damage to the road will cause safety issues for all drivers. The site of the quarry adjoining the Monaro Highway is notorious with local road users for the significant fog that settles in the morning and in late afternoon, making visibility only a metre or two in front of your vehicle. This is because this part of the Monaro Highway is at the crest of the hill that lead down into the Tuggeranong Valley. I worry that B double trucks turning onto the highway will not be seen by drivers travelling at 100km/h along that stretch of road with visibility so low during these foggy periods.
b. Old Cooma Road: it is highly unlikely that truck drivers will take the longer route of the Monaro Highway to get to the Queanbeyan region. Faced with deadlines and profit margins, they will take the shorter route of Old Cooma Road. This is a two-lane, winding road that cannot handle the heavy traffic at even a third of the rate proposed. Such use would destroy the road, be dangerous for all the residents using the road, and kill a great deal of wildlife. This proposal will impact the safety of the users of two of Canberra’s main arterial roads.
3. Depreciation of land values: We work very hard like many Australian families and are deeply concerned by the current and future impacts of depreciation of our home. Our home is our nest egg, of which its value will allow us to retire without the need for government support. It will also impact our ability to help our children set themselves up as adults. Beyond that, we carefully purchased our property in good faith, noting the zonings, and believing this was our best chance for a good investment. This proposal will financially impact all Royalla land owners – except for the quarry owners.
4. Light and dust pollution: I build and use some of the largest amateur telescopes in Australia from the pristine skies of my property. I am an experienced amateur astronomer, and former associate editor of Astronomy Technology magazine. I directly contribute to the scientific research that feeds into Australian and international professional observatories such as the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search (BOSS), a collaborative program of amateur and professional astronomers in Australia and New Zealand who use highly advanced astronomy equipment to discover and study supernova. The light pollution alone will badly degrade the darkness of the sky, and dust will further degrade seeing conditions to the point where it is doubtful I will be able to contribute research. This proposal will impact important astronomical research that is part of a larger international effort.