From the Environmental Defenders Office: by Ella Wisniewski, EDOWA volunteer York landfill case postponed for five months Our office continues to assist the Avon Valley Residents’ Association (AVRA) in its opposition to SITA Australias proposed landfill at Allawuna Farm, approximately 18km west of York. The site is located in an agricultural and conservation zone near Wandoo National Park and the Mundaring Weir catchment, and the proposed landfill would accept up to 250,000 tonnes per annum of Class II municipal waste from Perth. Proceedings are afoot at the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), after SITA applied for a review of the Wheatbelt Joint Development Assessment Panel’s decision to reject the proposal in April this year. Proceedings were to begin in earnest in September. However, the SAT, on 22 August 2014 granted SITA’s request to postpone proceedings for five months, to allow adequate time for the Department of Environmental Regulation (DER) to conduct a works approval assessment. The assessment is expected to be carried out by early December 2014. As potential intervenors AVRA, the Shire of York, and two individual landowners near the proposed landfill opposed SITA’s request for postponement . The Shire of York raised concerns about the works approval being given an elevated, determining role in the proceeding. AVRA objected to the delay on the basis that the proposed development remains a matter of considerable community concern, and a further postponement would do little to alleviate community concerns. AVRA also expressed a desire for certainty about what role it would have in the proceedings. For its part, the Wheatbelt Joint Development Assessment Panel, which refused SITA’s landfill application, did not oppose the company’s request for extension. Whether AVRA will be granted leave to intervene remains to be seen. The right of the public to intervene or lodge submissions in such matters is strictly limited to circumstances in which a “sufficient interest” in the matter can be demonstrated. The would-be intervenor must also show that his/her participation will assist the SAT to make an appropriate decision.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 07:29:28 +0000
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