AN apparent breakdown in communication has a Southern Highlands council committee threatening to delay a water pipeline if its environmental concerns aren’t addressed.
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In fact if they’re not resolved, a busload of angry ‘greenies’ will arrive on Goulburn Mulwaree Council’s doorstep at its next meeting, Cr Jim Mauger told a forum last week.
The Wingecarribee Shire councillor was speaking last Thursday at a Highland Source Project working party meeting, of which he is a member.
“They are irate. Make no mistake, they will be here by the busload if this is not resolved,” Cr Mauger said.
“...I have brought this up before and if you don’t give them the respect they expect, then they’ll make life difficult for you and hold you up until you do agree.”
Cr Mauger said his council’s environment committee was upset it didn’t have adequate input into an environmental offset strategy’ associated with the 81km pipeline. Basically this means that if the pipeline’s route is affecting vegetation, Goulburn Mulwaree will compensate for the impact.
The strategy is just one of the State Government’s consent conditions. Two of the ‘offsets’ they’re proposing are the Cookbundoon playing fields in Goulburn and the effluent irrigation areas at Murrays Flat and Kenmore.
While State legislation allows Goulburn Mulwaree to take a holistic view of offset along the 81km route, the Wingecarribee committee is angry that it is not a like for like approach. They say if stands of vegetation are affected in their Shire, then the offsets should also be on their patch, not in Goulburn Mulwaree.
As it is, the approach will place an “unreasonable cost to the community” and a “resource burden”, says Cr
Mauger. Specifically, they’re concerned about the removal of 2.3 hectares of Southern Highlands shale woodland and 0.1ha of box gum woodland, the only endangered ecological communities affected by the project.
Members also maintained pipe consultants GHD have not fully considered offsets for other threatened species or addressed the presence of Frost Hollow Grassy Woodlands.
Committee chair Cr Larry Whipper told the Post members did not have enough time to respond to the offset strategy. It was issued to the council just before Christmas for a response by January 24, which covered much of the break. They requested an extension until February 4, which was granted.
“We have been making noises on this for a long time,” Cr Whipper said.
“We were concerned initially about the process and that there was an element of tokenism. They give us this at five minutes to midnight and then expect us to jump in line.”
But Cr Whipper said while Wingecarribee had a clear understanding with Goulburn Mulwaree Mayor Geoff Kettle and general manager Chris Berry on a like for like approach, consultants GHD were applying the letter of the law.
“If they (GHD) don’t listen and continue to be bloody minded we’ll get a busload of people come down there and sit on the council steps,” he said.
“We believe the lines of communication are scratchy.” Cr Whipper described as a “nonsense” any notion that offsets in Goulburn Mulwaree could compensate for losses in Wingecarribee.
That council enlisted a consultant to provide feedback on the environmental impact of the pipeline and used those comments in their response.
