Martins Creek Quarry Project

I absolutely and very strongly object to the proposal by Daracon to increase the extraction tonnage, hours and truck movements currently in place at the Martins Creek Quarry.
My submission is not based on having read or understood the EIS currently on display - the EIS as I understand is approximately 2000 pages long and Daracon have had years to prepare it as opposed to the weeks that the community is given to review it. In my opinion this is both ludicrous and unacceptable to start with. My submission is based on having lived in the community of Paterson for 6 years, having experienced daily life in Paterson with the quarry activity as it has been for that period, with knowledge gained from attending every public meeting with regard to the quarry expansion proposal and with information I have accessed as a result of membership of the MCQAG.
It is my understanding that Daracon have repeatedly operated in excess of the current consent that is in place for the quarries operations. The amount of rock quarried at any given time depends on the current contracts that Daracon has to fill and not on the legal consent that is in place for the quarry. Daracon quarry and transport hard rock quarry material to meet their contracts. This is done with total disregard for the current consent in place, with total disregard for the residents of Martins Creek during quarrying and processing, with total disregard for the communities along the haul route (whether they be Martins Creek, Paterson, Bolwarra Heights, Bolwarra, Largs, East Maitland or Lorn), with total disregard for the environment, with total disregard for the damage they cause to the roads, with total disregard for the occasional insignificant fine that they may incur and ultimately with TOTAL DISREGARD FOR THE LAW. If Daracon has a contract that requires them to break their consent and put the local communities through hell at the same time - they do it. These people are currently in court with regard to this activity and I do not need to wait for the outcome of the court case to know that they as a Company "in my opinion" are CRIMINALS. And in my opinion - "Criminals" who are only interested in their own profit with total disregard for anyone or anything else.
I believe that the NSW Government and all of its' associated departments have a moral and legal responsibility to hold Daracon accountable both legally and financially for their current alleged CRIME, before they should even consider an application for expansion that is absolutely and completely submitted with total disregard for the environment and the communities affected by the activities.
In terms of how the quarries current activities have affected me, my friends in local communities and my family it has been in the following ways:
* damage the local environment resulting from the quarry activities
* more native wildlife than previously hurt or killed and presented to friends of mine who volunteer as carers for injured wildlife.
* decreased air quality during blasting
* Blasting noise
* Dangerous driving from quarry trucks
* High volumes of truck traffic
* Broken windscreens from passing trucks (3 in my family alone).
* Fear of crossing the street in Paterson due to the high volumes of trucks
* Fear of my children and grandchildren crossing the road in Paterson due to the high volume of trucks.
* Inability to have a conversation because of the continuous truck noise
* Fear of going for a walk or a pushbike ride because of the number and speed of truck traffic
* Repeatedly poor condition of the roads with lots of potholes and resulting damage to our vehicles - in particular wheel rims etc
* Living in the historic town of Paterson expecting peace and quiet and experiencing exactly the opposite
* Damage to the houses of local people I know as a result of blasting or truck vibration
* Friends and people I know who wake at 5:30 am every morning because of the noise from trucks passing
* Concern for my family or friends that live locally who are stressed and anxious about all of the above
* not to mention the drop in property prices across the area
* DARACON IS DESTROYING OUR COMMUNITY

These are problems that are present at the current level of consent; if the consent is increased they will be multiplied accordingly. How can this be allowed???
The government is at the moment experiencing a back lash from the community as a result of its own disregard of the community's opinions across multiple communities.
Is it not time that the government and its associated bodies finally listened to the community and not the interests of Daracon who have blatantly and repeatedly disregarded the welfare of the community for the sake of profit.
If the NSW Government considers the delivery of material from this quarry to be critical to the development of the state - then Daracon and the government need to take responsibility for spending the money to extract and transport the material in a way that causes less damage to the environment and that is acceptable to the local communities.

We Object to this development.

Our full submission is attached

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.
The amount of truck movements through our local roads is already causing problems, any increase would be dangerous.

Noise and Dust problems would be unbearable.

Totally unacceptable land use proposal.

Please find attached, my submission in opposition to the proposed expansion of the Martin's Creek Quarry.

I object to the proposed expansion to the Martins Creek quarry on a number of grounds, of which are listed below-
* the increased output, from 24 trucks per day to 80 per hour will place enormous strain on our rural roads. Dungog shire council already struggles to maintain our roads in reasonable condition due to cost constraints. These roads will deteriorate further with the constaint stress from trucks utilising same, increasing hazards & motor vehicle accidents.
* local rural towns, such as Paterson will be affected negatively. There are currently three cafe's in the township, two of which operate an alfresco area on the main street which trucks will use as a thoroughfare. This will affect patronage & could quite possibly see the end to some businesses in this township.
* The existing rail corridor, which is already under-utilized should be used as the most appropriate form of transport for the
purpose of movement of materials.
* The clearing of 37.8 ha of native vegetation should not be permitted. This area has been identified as a wildlife corridor, home to threatened species. Carbon capture occurs when mature trees are left standing, so please consider all of the above before making a decision on this proposed expansion. It is not in our best interests.

REF: SSD 14_6612 Martins Creek Quarry Expansion
Director - Resource Assessments
Planning Services
Department of Planning and Environment
GPO Box 39
Sydney NSW 2001

Dear Sir/Madam
I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion for the following reasons:
(1) The use of truck transport instead of rail is my most important reason.

The negative effect on the environment of the increased vehicle emissions from expanded quarry traffic could be eliminated by the use of the existing rail transport.

The environmental impact of transport is significant because it is a major user of energy, and burns most of the world's petroleum. This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon dioxide, for sector. By subsector, road transport is the largest contributor to global warming.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_transport

(2) Given that trucks will be used, I have concerns about the increased traffic congestion on Tocal Rd, Paterson Rd and Belmore Rd.

(3) The negative effect of the increased truck traffic on the Flat Rd-Melbourne St intersection at East Maitland will be considerable. The resulting congestion will increase commuting time as well as producing increased vehicle exhaust emissions from all the cars waiting in the queues.

(4) The effect of the extra truck movements will make our roads less safe and add to the deterioration of the local roads. I regularly make the turn into and out of my street (Wesley Street) into Tocal Road and dread the thought of even more trucks making this turn even more perilous.

Yours sincerely
Mrs G.H. Ellis
12 Wesley Street
Bolwarra Heights
21st November 2016

I have not made a reportable political donation
1

I am objecting to the massive expansion of the Martin creek quarry. Maitland is our major service town and as such we are regular users of the road. Even under current use the quarry trucks are intrusive they roar though the small town of Paterson ruining the amenity of the town. The old wooden bridge has been under repair for months and I have seen it shake as the trucks go over. Then the trucks go through heavily residential areas in bolwarra heights and other suburbs of Maitland. They tailgate if you slow down looking for parking and make crossing the road a nightmare. It is completely inappropriate.

As the owner of the gallery in Paterson I am writing to object to the proposal for the expansion of works at the quarry in Martins Creek. I teach and operate Art Classes and Workshops in the gallery on duke Street in Paterson. My classes run 6 days a week after school and on Saturday mornings. The classes are for children and I have quite alot of children and parents coming and going from my front gates. The traffic is very busy at these times and the trucks in particular are far too frequent, very noisy, dangerous and sometimes scary. I worry terribly for children who have to cross the road or walk from the public school. Quite often trucks with trailers will park right across the entrance to the gallery which is actually a driveway. They block the entrance which is a problem for parents dropping off or collecting their children. It is also annoying as the drivers leave their engines running for an extended period off time. We have to close our doors and windows to shut out the noise and the exhaust fumes. I suggest that the trucks need to have an alternate route to the quarry that avoids Paterson all together and more use should be made of the rail line.

I would like to support this submission as the Martins Creek Quarry helps maintain over 850 jobs at Daracon and over 1000 Contractors.
I feel we need the Quarry as it provides materials to many projects crucial to the growth and prosperity of the region, being road construction, residential and commercial subdivisions, railway construction and other public infrastructure.
With the current and future amount of infrastructure projects in the Hunter, limiting material supply may increase the cost of projects which the taxpayer is funding.

I am a resident of East Maitland, and, as such, am not impacted upon as directly as those unfortunates who live on or near the road that winds through Paterson. As I use Paterson road quite frequently I am appalled by the fact that there will be , if the proposal goes ahead, a huge increase in the number of truck movements up to 430 movements per day on roads that were never built for that amount of heavy traffic. Truck movements will impact adversely on Bolwarra, Lorn Maitland and East Maitland all of which have traffic problems especially at peak times.
Compounding the sheer volume of traffic will be the noise and speed of the vehicles which will have a deleterious effect on residents along the route from very early in the morning, thus contributing to a loss of social amenity.

A further concern that I have is the loss of 37.8 hectares of koala habitat as Daracon seeks to expand into native vegetation. Koalas are heading down the road to extinction yet this company wishes to place this colony in jeopardy.

Daracon has not shown any regard for residents with its current much smaller operation and there is no reason to expect the company to suddenly change to one that works with residents. This proposal has unacceptable effects for residents and for the environment and must not be given the green light

Submission as attached

Letter Uploaded.

I object to the proposed increase in extraction from Martin's Creek Quarry. I travel regularly on the roads to and from Paterson and the number of large trucks has already increased over recent years to the point where I do not feel safe any more.
Furthermore, The noise and dust levels from the quarry have also increased and I do not wish to see any more expansion of the quarry as this would mean more dust, noise, and heavy vehicle traffic which will be detrimental to the quality of life of those who, like me, live near the quarry.

Daracon is a supporter of local communities and charities
As a resident of the Hunter Valley, Daracon creates opportunities for people from many different backgrounds

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.

The result of this expansion will result in the loss of safe neighborhood streets for my children to play on.

The value of my residential property has already decreased due to the impact cuased by pit operations and mining haul roads, let alone what will happen if an extension is permitted.

We have already seen a down turn in local businesses trading in goods & services, hospitality, tourism and wedding functions along haul roads, an extension will only make this worse.

This expansion will also cause a loss of amenity for surrounding residents of the site who will be further impacted by vibration, lighting, noise and dust.

As a wildlife embassidor this expansion will also see a loss of EPBC listed threatened species habitat and corridors which is unacceptable.

The expansion of this quarry will kill our village and destroy peoples lives and livelyhood. Do not fail us - put a stop to it.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.

The result of this expansion will result in the loss of safe neighborhood streets for my children to play on.

The value of my residential property has already decreased due to the impact cuased by pit operations and mining haul roads, let alone what will happen if an extension is permitted.

We have already seen a down turn in local businesses trading in goods & services, hospitality, tourism and wedding functions along haul roads, an extension will only make this worse.

This expansion will also cause a loss of amenity for surrounding residents of the site who will be further impacted by vibration, lighting, noise and dust.

As a wildlife embassidor this expansion will also see a loss of EPBC listed threatened species habitat and corridors which is unacceptable.

The expansion of this quarry will kill our village and destroy peoples lives and livelyhood. Do not fail us - put a stop to it.

I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion.

The result of this expansion will result in the loss of safe neighborhood streets for my children to play on.

The value of my residential property has already decreased due to the impact cuased by pit operations and mining haul roads, let alone what will happen if an extension is permitted.

We have already seen a down turn in local businesses trading in goods & services, hospitality, tourism and wedding functions along haul roads, an extension will only make this worse.

This expansion will also cause a loss of amenity for surrounding residents of the site who will be further impacted by vibration, lighting, noise and dust.

As a wildlife embassidor this expansion will also see a loss of EPBC listed threatened species habitat and corridors which is unacceptable.

The expansion of this quarry will kill our village and destroy peoples lives and livelyhood. Do not fail us - put a stop to it.

To whom it may concern;
As a resident and ratepayer of the Maitland Shire, I would like to draw your attention to my concerns, re the application for plans for the Expansion of the Martin's Creek Quarry.
I fear that if this project if given approval, it will heavily impact the residents of the Maitland, Dungog and Port Stephens Shires, especially those whose homes are located on or close to the truck routes used to transport the quarried materials through the said Shires.
I strongly object to and oppose the application of the Expansion of Martins Creek Quarry based upon the following:
1. Road safety due to the introduction of a large volume of heavy vehicle traffic.
2. A vast increase in noise levels which will be produced by the heavy haulage vehicles
3. Air purity levels, due to dust exuded by the laden vehicles.
4. Interruption and congestion to normal road use to Maitland Shire residents. There is already congestion caused by the current volume of trucks at the Belmore Road and, High St intersection Maitland and the Flat Rd & Melbourne St intersection at East Maitland, causing disruption to local traffic flow.
5. Increase of the already existing damage to Maitland Shire roadways caused by these heavy vehicles.
6. Reduction in Property values due to the increased operation hours and road haulage needs that will be required by the quarry operators.

Please consider your duty of care to the residents and ratepayers of these areas.

Dear Sir/Madam, I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion for the following reasons:-
1-Truck noise-increased hours of operation, 6 days/week
2-Traffic congestion-80 trucks/hr plus along Tocal Rd-Paterson Rd and Belmore Rd resulting in a choked Flat Rd-Melbourne Street intersection.
3-Safety and deterioration of our local roads-our tax/rates funding frequent repairs.
4-Quality of life.
5-Property value-devaluation of house prices in the area.
6-Wildlife - the expansion = the destruction of 37 Ha of native vegetation.

Dear Sir/Madam,
I oppose the Martins Creek Quarry Expansion for the following reasons:
1. The increased truck movements will have wide negative impact on the transport route. These impacts include noise, road surface deterioration road safety, congestion and loss of amenity. I know that this will occur because these are already significant issues with the current level of truck movements.
2. Property value reductions. This area's property values are predicated on rural lifestyle and being an area that is safe to raise children. The proposal will make the area known for truck noise and congestion and jeopardise its current reputation for semi-rural living