Wyalong Solar Farm

I take the opportunity to submit concerns and questions about the
proposed Wyalong Solar Farm as a Land Owner of neighbouring property
to the development site on the Newell Highway.
Despite the outcomes published of the significant environmental impact
study and the transparency of the conclusions and planned mitigations
I list below areas which as a neighbouring land holder continue to
raise concerns with the suitability of the location and nature of the
project:

* Observations made and the extensive impact during the 2016 local
flooding event raised concerns about water flow issues and established
drainage systems of the Newell Hwy. I question why such a recent major
weather event does not appear to be noted to help form any
understanding of the probable flood hazards of this proposed location.

* There does not appear to be any disclosure of what would happen once
the operational stage is established, for the monitoring or future
minimising of impact if issues do arise.
What happens in the event of the emergence of such issues as
reflectivity, glare or visual impact or the development of
electromagnetic interference? What are the future safe guards held for
any implications over time to the impact upon neighbouring houses and
land, if the occurrence of such issues or any other arose? What
recourse and measures of support would be provided? What if in reality
it's not as the environmental impact study proposes?

* A question of suitability of location due to the vulnerability of
the solar farm being adjacent to productive functioning agricultural
land. Despite upmost best practise, what are the ramifications in the
event of any contamination to the solar farm from farm chemical spray
drift or dust from soil disturbance during cultivation and tillage.

Thank you for referring the Notice of Exhibition to TransGrid for review.

Please be advised TransGrid has no comments for this Development as it
does not affect TransGrid's infrastructure.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

Kind regards,

No State Heritage issues or concerns.

FRNSW recommends the following conditions of consent:
1. That a comprehensive ERP is developed for the site.

2. That the ERP specifically addresses foreseeable on-site and
off-site fire events and other emergency incidents (e.g. fires
involving solar panel arrays, battery storage systems, bushfires in
the immediate vicinity) or potential hazmat incidents.

3. That the ERP detail the appropriate hazard control measures that
would need to be implemented to safely mitigate potential risks to the
health and safety of firefighters and other first responders
(including electrical hazards). Such measures would include the level
of personal protective clothing required to be worn, the minimum level
of respiratory protection required, decontamination procedures,
minimum evacuation zone distances and a safe method of shutting down
and isolating the photovoltaic and battery storage systems (either
totally or partially, as determined by risk assessment).

4. Other risk control measures that may need to be implemented in a
fire emergency (due to any unique hazards specific to the site) should
also be included in the ERP.

5. That two copies of the ERP (detailed in recommendation 1 above) be
stored in a prominent `Emergency Information Cabinet' located in a
position directly adjacent to the site's main entry point/s.

6. Once constructed and prior to operation, that the operator of the
facility contacts the relevant local emergency management committee
(LEMC). The LEMC is a committee established by Section 28 of the State
Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989. LEMCs are required to be
established so that emergency services organisations and other
government agencies can proactively develop comprehensive inter agency
local emergency procedures for significant hazardous sites within
their local government area. The contact details of members of the
LEMC can be obtained from the relevant local council.

These development conditions are contained within the current EIS -
section 8.10.4 Management and Mitigation, pages 82 & 147.

Further to the above recommendations, Fire & Rescue NSW requests to be
consulted with respect to the operational compatibility of the
proposed fire and life safety systems and their configuration at the
project's preliminary and final design phases.

While there is currently no requirement for a fire safety study, FRNSW
may request one be undertaken at a later stage should information be
provided such it is deemed that the development poses unique
challenges to the response to and management of an incident.

The EPA has responsibilities for pollution control and environmental
management for scheduled activities under the Protection of the
Environment Operations Act 1997. Based on the information provided the
proposed development is not a scheduled activity under the Protection
of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and the solar farm does not
require an Environment Protection Licence. Under the Protection of the
Environment Operations Act 1997 Bland Shire Council will be the
Appropriate Regulatory Authority for pollution control and
environmental management issues for this proposal should it be
approved.

On this basis the EPA has no further comments to make in relation to
this proposal and requires no further consultation in relation to this
application.

Bland Shire Council supports the ESCO Pacific Wyalong Solar Farm (SSD
9564) and please find attached Bland Shire Councils submission.

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