Harden Shire Council has found that it was in breach of its own Development Consent on Monday October 13 when truckloads of demolition material arrived at Shea’s Pit.
A contractor from Young commenced dumping the rubble with the assistance of Harden Shire Council Staff before a stop was put to the process Monday afternoon.
General Manager Max Kershaw said “he site has now been closed and the matter referred to the Environmental Protection Agency, I anticipate an on-site inspection by the EPA in the next few days.
He said “I have seen several consultant reports provided by the company that states that asbestos is not present in the rubble”.
The September Harden Shire Council business paper states: “The Development Application T09-056 was lodged with Harden Shire Council for consent to fill “Shea’s Pit” gravel quarry on Lots 409 and 521, DP 753624, Back Demondrille Road Harden with ‘Virgin’ excavated natural mineral (VENM) won from construction projects undertaken by the Harden Shire Council.”
The demolition rubble from Young is not only not allowed to come from Young but it is not also allowed to come from a private contractor. On top of this the ‘fill’ provided is not allowed to be used on the site as it does not fit the conditions set within the Development Consent.
The applicant for the Development Application proposal was Harden Shire Council and therefore the assessment was undertaken by Yass Valley Council as Councils cannot approve their own (in house) Developments. The Development Application states that “The Applicant has been very clear in stating that the fill will not contain any rubble, rubbish or putrescible materials.”
VENM is regarded as according to the Development Application as commonly known as – clay, gravel, sand, soil or rock fines that have been excavated or quarried from areas that are not contaminated with manufactured chemicals or process residues, as a result of industrial, commercial, mining or agricultural activities.
The Development Application also states “No other material is permitted to be used to fill the erosion gully”.
Kershaw said “The application was approved in September and breached within 1 month which is very disappointing”.
An investigation is currently underway as to the process of how the private contractor managed to dump the ‘contaminated’ material in the pit on Monday.
