Local residents are upset about the possible expansion of the Stornoway-run quarry after Southern Midlands Council (SMC) received an application to increase the extraction of aggregate.
According to Stornaway?s environmental effects report the company wants to increase the extraction limit from the current 9000 tonnes per annum to 90,000 tonnes per annum.
Resources at the site are expected to last in excess of 40 years at the increased extraction rate of 90,000 tonnes per year. Expansion of the quarry will ensure demand for construction materials within the northern suburbs of Hobart and the Southern Midlands region can be met.
Boral?s Bridgewater Quarry, which is also located in the district, has a finite life due to encroaching residential and commercial development pressure.
Residents are alarmed because trucks could be on the road from 7am until 7pm weekdays and 8am to 4pm on Saturdays if the expansion is approved. The quarrying operation will involve drilling and blasting of the quarry face, followed by crushing and screening with mobile plant.
Opponents of the application claim the proposal puts lives at risk, as the 4.2m wide gravel road is too narrow for large trucks to pass each other and the 100km/h speed limit too high. A traffic impact assessment along Black Brush Road and the intersection with Elderslie Road has been lodged with council, according to SMC general manager Tim Kirkwood.
“The Mangalore quarry extension development application is still going through the approvals process,” Kirkwood said.
The Tasmanian Department of Parks, Infrastructure, Primary Industry and Water will do an environmental assessment. Safety, dust and speed are the issues the SMC will assess as part of the application.
Stornoway spokeswoman Lyn Southon said the company was ?working through and following the planning process with Southern Midlands Council and the EPA? but would not comment further.
Sources: Stornoway, EPA Tasmania, News.com