The Board of the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has concluded its assessment of a proposal by BG & JM Barwick Pty Ltd for an In-vessel Composting Facility at Boyer in the Derwent Valley Council municipality.
The proposal involves the receival of waste materials within an enclosed building, with four sealed tunnels for composting the waste materials to produce compost. The building and tunnels are negatively pressurised, with odorous exhaust air being directed to an odour control system. The odour control system treats the exhaust air before it is discharged to the atmosphere.
The Chair of the EPA Board, Andrew Paul, said that the Board concluded the proposed development can be managed in an environmentally sustainable and acceptable manner, with certain conditions. The Board requires these conditions to be included in any permit subsequently granted by the Derwent Valley Council.
“Various environmental issues were considered in the assessment, particularly air quality. The design, management and maintenance of the composting facility are considered critical to effectively manage odour from the receival and composting of waste materials, therefore a suite of conditions have been imposed to ensure that appropriate operational procedures and parameters are followed and maintained." Andrew Paul said.
“In addition, a suite of conditions require certain plans to be developed and implemented for the monitoring and sampling of the odour control system and odour surrounding the site. This will allow verification of the modelling undertaken as part of the assessment and ensures that any potential impacts are identified and managed appropriately, so as not to cause environmental nuisance to sensitive receptors in the surrounding areas.".
Public consultation was open for 28 days from 8 May 2024. No representations were received in relation to the proposal.
The proposal was considered by the Board in the context of the sustainable development objectives of the Resource Management and Planning System of Tasmania (RMPS), and in the context of the objectives of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control System (EMPCS) established by the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA).
The functions of the Board are to administer and enforce the provisions of EMPCA, to further the RMPS and EMPCS objectives and, in particular, to use its best endeavours to protect the environment of Tasmania.
The Board undertook assessment of the proposal in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Principles defined in Section 74 of the Act.
The environmental assessment report, including the environmental conditions, has been issued to the proponent and Derwent Valley Council.
This decision and all assessment documents can be viewed at BG & JM Barwick Pty Ltd, In-vessel Composting Facility, Boyer.
Published on:
1/08/2024