• The Welby Landfill, located at 40 Colo Street, Welby, accepted and landfilled waste from 1957 to 2002. The waste accepted at the Landfill primarily consisted of household and building & construction waste.
  
• Landfilling ceased in 2002 and the site had a capping (soil layer) placed over it after this. Around 2009-2010 organic material and foundry sands were imported to the site, stockpiled and processed as part of a recycling endeavour undertaken by a private company

• Prior to 1957 the site was used as a sandstone quarry. Between 1957 and 1989 the landfill was operated as a trench and burn tip and was followed by a period of more traditional landfilling. It is landfilling ceased in 2002, at which time the site was capped.
  
• The waste accepted at the site primarily comprised residential and construction & demolition waste. There is potential the former landfill could contain a mix of wastes, including hazardous waste as access to many old landfills were not well regulated in their earlier life. Landfilling ceased in 2002 and the site had a capping (soil layer) placed over it after this.
  
• Around 2009-2010 organic material and foundry sands were imported to the site, stockpiled and processed as part of a recycling endeavour undertaken by a private company. This endeavour unfortunately was not successful and the company no longer exists.
  
• Wingecarribee Shire Council currently manages the capped landfill and remaining stockpiled material, including and monitoring the sites ongoing stability and environmental impact.

It is currently proposed that some form of BMX/Mountain Bike facilities will be built as a separate project once the closure works are complete.

The site is owned by the NSW Crown Lands Department and Council are the Crown Land Manager. As part of the project a Draft Plan of Management for the site will be prepare, exhibited and adopted in accordance with the Crown Land Management Act 2016 and Local Government Act 1993. This Plan of Management will enable the appropriate and desired uses of the site.

No, the site will be a construction site for the entire duration of the works (expected to be between 12-18 months). The public will not have access to the site for their own safety.

The walking and mountain bike trails in the in the areas will remain open, however there is expected to be some localised restrictions on access to ensure safety.

Yes, the walking and mountain bike trails in the in the areas will remain open. However, there is expected to be some localised restrictions on access to ensure safety.

Up to .23 of a hectares of Native Vegetation and 8.82 hectares of exotic vegetation are expected to be disturbed during the works. This removal is required to enable drainage structures to be built around the perimeter, and some larger tress are currently creating issues where their root structure has penetrated and opened the existing landfill capping.

The proposed works aim to avoid removal of large trees where possible, limiting removal to two hollow-bearing trees of the nine recorded within the immediate study area.

Direct trauma to native fauna is expected to be minimal as the scope or works is unlikely to alter fauna habitat significantly nor disturb fauna hiding or sleeping. The local Eastern Grey Kangaroo population would be impacted by the work and the animals would be pushed into adjacent forested areas. It is unlikely that any direct mortality of kangaroos would occur from the work as the species is highly mobile and would move away from the disturbance.

More information regarding the removal of vegetation can be found in Appendix E – Revegetation Plan and Appendix F – Flora and Fauna Assessment Report.

There will be an increase in traffic of the area during this period. In addition to staff and contractors working on the site each day and general deliveries of construction materials, there is approximately 9 400m3 of waste material on-site that will need to be removed and taken to another landfill, plus approximately 38 000m3 of clean fill (dirt) to be imported into the site. The removal and importation of these material will involve the use of large truck and trailer combinations.

The removal of the waste materials is to occur at the beginning of the works and is estimated to involve up to 20 vehicle movements per hour during working days for approximately 3 weeks. The importation of materials is likely to be later in the works and is expected to involve 10 vehicle movements per hour also for around 3 weeks. These trucks will be accessing the site using Meranie and Colo Streets from the Old Hume Highway.

The contractor is to prepare a Traffic Control Plan for all heavy vehicle movements that will regulate their access to and from the Site (including safety of bushwalkers and mountain bike riders), and no truck movements that involve removing waste or importing fill into the site are permitted on Saturdays during the Hockey Season.

More information regarding construction traffic management can be found in Appendix K – Construction Traffic Impact Assessment.

The works will involve re-shaping some of the existing landfill and importing soil materials to use as capping, there are times where large areas of the site will have no vegetation on them. All works will be managed to minimise and capture any sediment run-off before it enters nearby watercourses.

Once complete, the works will improve the overall management of stormwater on and from the site and are expected to improve the quality of water leaving the site and entering nearby watercourses.

More information regarding water quality can be found in Appendix G – Soil and Water Management Plan and Appendix H – Stormwater Management Plan.

No, studies of both Aboriginal and other historical heritage found there are no items of significance present in the works area. Notwithstanding, works are to proceed with caution and the Contractors are to be trained in recognising Aboriginal cultural grinding grooves and artwork, and works are to cease in the areas (if any) where these are found until a thorough assessment can be made by a suitably qualified Archaeologist.

More information regarding heritage can be found in Appendix I – Aboriginal Heritage Due Diligence and Appendix J – Preliminary Historical Heritage Due Diligence

Yes, the works involve the use of large earthmoving equipment (bulldozers, excavators, graders, rollers etc.) and trucks. The use of this equipment will generate noise and vibration that may be heard in nearby properties of up to 10 decibels above normal noise levels.

The Contractor is limited to working on site during standard working hours (generally Monday to Saturday 0700 – 1700 hours) and they are to develop and an implement an approved Noise and Vibration Plan to minimises the impacts to nearby properties. The measures to be used are outlined on Page 24 of the Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment.

More information regarding noise and vibration can be found in Appendix L – Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment.

Yes, as the works involve re-shaping an old landfill, there is a very high chance that the contractor will expose materials that could create unpleasant odours and dust and there is also a chance that material that contain asbestos (mostly fibro) could be discovered during these works. Asbestos is known to exist in some of the Stockpiles of waste to be removed from site.

The health and safety of the workers on-site, people using the nearby walking and riding tracks and residents of Welby is of the utmost importance. To ensure that the health and safety of all of these groups is maintained, the Contractor is to implement a number of measures to manage these risks.

The measures to be implemented include;

• Monitoring weather forecasts before undertaking certain works
• Dust suppression using water
• Minimising areas left exposed before re-vegetation
• Covering of stockpiles if dust generation is expected and limiting their height
• Management of any discovered asbestos in accordance with Safework NSW requirements

More information regarding air quality can be found in Appendix M – Air Quality Management Plan. Pages 7-10 outline in detail the measures to be taken to manage air quality.

It is currently proposed that when the works are complete the site will be used for bushwalking and mountain biking. Before this can happen, as the land is owned by NSW Crown Lands and Council is the Crown Land Manager, a Plan of Management (PoM) needs to be prepared, exhibited and adopted by Council for these uses to be permissible. It is currently intended for the process of preparing and exhibiting the PoM will commence once the works are underway with a view to the PoM being adopted by the time the works are complete.

Discussions are underway with the local Mountain Bike Club and a Mountain Bike Track Designer to progress designs for the site that can be constructed once the PoM is adopted and funding for their construction is obtained.

Currently the estimated timeframe for the works are;

1. Lodge Development Application and receive Development Consent – July 2024 to Feb 2025
2. Tender Works and Engage Contractor – March 2025 to June 2025
3. Undertake works on-site – July 2025 to June 2026