Special Electors’ Meeting 11/02/2013 6.30pm

See minutes from the Special Electors Meeting http://www.york.wa.gov.au/council/council_meetings/minutes/2013minutes/specialelectorsmeeting/

 

Special Electors’ Meeting

February 11^th 6.30pm

York Town Hall

There will be a public meeting on Monday, February 11^th at the York Town Hall at 6.30 pm. It is advertised as an ‘Electors Meeting”, but everyone is invited. The format of the meeting is still being finalised, as it depends on which invited speakers are available. There will be some experts in the field of landfill and maybe some high ranking politicians from all sides of the political spectrum. There will be ample opportunity for the public to ask questions.

The meeting will be in two halves, firstly the Special Elector’s Meeting. This part will provide the opportunity of electors to send a clear message to the York Shire Council. Motions passed at this meeting will be considered by the York Council at its next meeting. One motion being considered is as follows: “That the York Shire Council does everything in its power to avoid the establishment of a noxious industry catering for metropolitan landfill within the York Shire.” If you like to have any input in the wording, please get back to us.

The second motion being considered is as follows: That the York Shire Council puts it full support behind the “York Proposition”.

So, what is the York Proposition? This is the Plan B, we have mentioned before. Full copy of the text is attached, but the short story is this. The Coalition did realise early on that to oppose this proposed landfill in our backyard was only part of the dilemma of landfill. Because of sustained neglect on the part of successive Western Australian Governments, the question of what to do with the metropolitan waste stream is now reaching crisis point. New landfill sites of metro rubbish are being parachuted into Darling Range communities. We think that the solution lies in part with an approach as outlined in the “York Proposition”.

The York Proposition states:

‘That within the first 100 days of the opening of the new parliament, the next government of Western Australia, with cross-party support, will carry out the following actions.

A. Commission a feasibility study into the establishment of one or more waste disposal plants in the metropolitan area. This plant will process and/or recycle the total metropolitan waste stream not already treated and thus alleviate the need for any landfill sites in country areas.

B. In tandem with section A, the government will commission a study designed to identify a single landfill site to cater for all metropolitan waste that needs to go to landfill, subject to the following conditions:

1. The site should be in a low rainfall area.

2. It should be away from a population centre.

  3. It should be on land already cleared.

  4. Choice of a site must take into account local seismic activity.

   5. The site should be large enough to provide sufficient waste disposal facilities for the next three generations.

6. All organic waste should be processed and used as a soil improver.

7. Metropolitan waste should be transported to the site exclusively by rail.

(End of Proposition)

The subject of the Special Electors Meeting is “Landfill in the Wheatbelt” and debate must be restricted to that subject, for the first part of the meeting. While York Shire Councillors will be at the meeting, they are not prepared to be questioned on the “Allawuna” proposals. They need to keep their opinions to themselves until SITA puts an official proposal to them.

It would be advantageous to close the “Special Meeting” if possible at 8pm so in the second half, an hour or so could be spend on other issues. Perhaps debate about the “York Proposition” and maybe endorsement of the strategy by well known WA people, etc, we are still working at it. But what happens at the meeting will be largely up to the people attending. While the Coalition is laying the ground work, what happens on the night will be in the hands of those attending. The first half will be run by the Shire, the second half by the Coalition.

For a change of subject, the York Landfill Action Coalition does now have an incorporated home. The organisation is called “Avon Valley Residents Association Inc” (AVRA). The inaugural AGM will be held on Friday February 1^st at 7pm at the Sandalwood Yards in York. The aims of the organisation are varied and wide ranging, so it can be used for just about anything that benefits Avon Valley communities. You are most welcome to attend, especially if you can offer expertise in the running of this landfill matter. We are looking for some fresh faces on the committee.

The Coalition is preparing to publish the “York Proposition” on a website at www.wawaste.com.au We are going to need a core of keen people who can assist us in a letter writing campaign (email) to newspapers all over the state. We need a coordinated campaign to target the various media outlets. If you are interested please contact us so we can form a little group that can take charge of it (we have a few volunteers already). A lot of work has already been done by individuals, but a degree of coordination can make it more efficient. Contact: yorklandfill@gmail.com if you can help.

Plan B once on the website, calls for a state wide distribution of emails inviting people to visit our website, in order to contact their local candidates. If you are a member of an organisation that has an email data base, let us know, so we can invite the organisation to become a sponsoring partner. If you have any good ideas that can assist our campaign, please contact us.

There is a facebook conversation going at https://www.facebook.com/Stop40YearsOfPerthRubbishInYork

 Also attached is the Coalitions EPA referral document. It gives the reasons why the Coalition thinks the Allawuna proposal is a bad idea.

 

The Story So Far of the Proposed Landfill to be in York...

First we would like to give you a little background on what has happened so far.
This Landfill proposal, the establishing of a landfill site catering for metro waste for the next  40 years on the property known as “Allawuna” farm on the west side of York, came into the public domain, the neighbour sat down for morning tea with his shearer and the shearer said to him something like “ You lot are going to have fun, when this landfill is in operation next door”. He spoke to his neighbours and nobody knew anything about it.  He called a meeting at the Sandalwood Yards in early November 2012 which was attended by some 28 concerned people.

A group of people, mainly from the area directly affected by these proposals but also some town folks, had a meeting soon after and an incidental committee was formed. Several people took the bull by the horns and started work. The closest neighbour painted signs which were put along the Great Southern Hwy. They started producing flyers to hand out in the street and a petition was started by a number of people. It was soon after that SITA, the proponents of the Landfill announced that it would hold an information meeting in York. See link to SITA media release http://www.sita.com.au/media-releases/new-landfill-proposed-for-york/

The scramble was on to prepare for the meeting. The petition and handouts created lots of awareness of the issue and a stall was manned at the market.

The Coalition members prepared lots of questions for the SITA meeting in the York Townhall attended by over 350 ratepayers. Two thirds of people asking questions at the meeting were associated with the Coalition. The meeting went rather well. A recording of the meeting was made by Bryn Watkins who volunteered his services and did so on our behalf. The video can be viewed  http://www.entityvideo.com/yorkTip/tipMeetingHomePage.html

A DVD of the meeting is also available from Bryn Watkins by email: entitymedia@iinet.net.au  

The Transport Issue

The transport issue.

The location of the York road has not changed much since early settlers made their way from Guildford to York. Most twists and turns are still in the road, especially from the Lakes to York. SITA tells us that three road trains per hour will service their needs. They are applying to the EPA for 250,000 tonnes, which amounts to five road trains per hour. It is a fair assumption that within ten year, this will probably double. Once the landfill is established, if extra capacity is needed, a quick call to the Minister will give them the permission needed. No Government is going to refuse them, as landfill on the metro plains is deemed unsuitable and to dump it in King’s Park might be frowned upon. With the uncertainty of the Tier 3 rail network, it is likely that in the coming years, hundreds of extra grain trucks will use this road as well.

There are other issues, dust, wind blown rubbish and a general degrading of a relative pristine environment. The negative affects on property prices of surrounding landholders. The order of importance depends a bit on one’s point of view.

 

The Department of Environment & Conservation will also have a role in assessing the landfill proposal. DEC has a stakeholder registration procedure. It has taken a while to discover how it works, but we have just been informed that all you have to do is contact the person below and he will register your interest in the SITA landfill proposal on “Allawuna Farm” in York.

Alexander Malini. Email: Malini.Alexander@dec.wa.gov.au

The person is the Environmental Officer, Industry Regulation, Swan Region Ph: 9333 7554

General Pollution

The issue of general pollution.

From time to time, landfill sites, do catch fire creating major air pollution issues. No landholders to the East of the landfill and West of York have a reticulated water supply. Everyone collects their own water from roofs or dams and stores it in tanks. A fire in a landfill would compromise the quality of the water and possibly jeopardise people’s health. There are issues with birds settling on evaporation ponds storing the leachate. Not a very healthy proposition for the birds and a distinct possibility of spreading salmonella and other nasties to surrounding properties.

 

The Water Issue

The water issue. Possible pollution of surface water – leachate leaking into creek systems, draining into the Avon river. Then there is the possible pollution of ground water supplies. The area around “Allawuna” is known to have Palaeolithic channels, These are underground streams that come to the surface in various places in the form of springs and soaks. While it is known where the soaks and springs are, the precise locations of these channels are not known, as nobody has ever pinpointed them. What is known is that the system drains into the Helena River, which in turn drains into the Mundaring weir. Leachate leaking into the ground water can not be recovered and could lead to possible pollution of these channels. In the area to the south/southeast of the proposed landfill, a huge amount a rehabilitation work has taken place in the last ten year. Water courses have been fenced off and tens of thousands of trees have been replanted. All this could be jeopardy if the landfill leaks. Just last month, Geoscience Australia identified York as the most likely place to have an earthquake in WA. Landfills have enough structural problems without adding earthquakes to the mix. Landfill liners are very strong but are unlikely to be a match for sideways movements and stretching caused by earthquakes. As water is our most precious resource in WA, it seems unwise to take any chances with possible pollution of water sources. All landfills leak, the question is “does your landfill leak more than the next one”. The technology of landfill is deemed unsuitable for the coastal plain. Why is it then suitable for the Darling Range?