Council last night adopted the Planning Scheme Amendment (C242gben) to introduce a buffer overlay around Eaglehawk Landfill, which aims to minimise environmental impacts in the future.
Eaglehawk Landfill is unusual as it is over 40 years old and remains one of the few landfills in Victoria located in an urban area with established residential, commercial, and industrial land uses within close proximity to the site.
The City commissioned an environmental audit in response to Environment Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines Best Practice Environmental Management – Siting, design, protection, operation, and rehabilitation of landfills 2015.
The guidelines require local governments to carefully consider any potential offsite environmental impacts of a landfill before approving new uses or development within a landfill buffer area.
The Amendment implements the findings and recommendations of the Buffer Risk Assessment for Eaglehawk Landfill, AECOM, 2019 (the Buffer Risk Assessment) and Section 53V Audit of Risk of Harm - Landfill Buffer Eaglehawk Landfill.
Mayor Cr Andrea Metcalf said Council recognised the importance of implementing a buffer overlay.
"The landfill is actively managed by the City of Greater Bendigo under strict licence conditions, including the management of waste to reduce odour, regular gas monitoring and extraction," Cr Metcalf said.
"A buffer overlay plays a key role because decomposition can generate landfill gas for more than 30 years after a landfill stops accepting new waste.
"To minimise any potential impacts from the landfill, the audit recommended planning controls within 500 metres of the landfill site to manage any potential risk of landfill gas migration and to manage off-site odour impacts from the transfer station where activities are expected to continue as a waste and recovery hub."
Following a six week public consultation, Amendment C242gben was referred to an independent planning panel. It concluded the Amendment was strategically sound and should be supported subject to minor changes to the schedules for the Buffer Area Overlay. These will improve the clarity of the controls and make them easier to apply.
The adopted Amendment affects 276 properties that are in close proximity to the landfill and the transfer station on the site.
The Amendment comprises:
- Updating the Municipal Planning Strategy and Planning Policy Framework to identify the site as a waste and resource recovery hub of state significance with land use compatibility issues to be managed
- Rezoning residential land within a 500 metre buffer of the site from General Residential Zone (GRZ) to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 1 (NRZ1) to identify the land as being constrained due to its proximity to the site
- Applying the Buffer Area Overlay (BAO) to land within 500 metres of the site, with two schedules:
Schedule 1 (BAO1) will be applied to manage the risk of potential off-site landfill gas migration for properties located within 500 metres of the landfill site boundary. A planning permit would be required if the owner wishes to subdivide the land, construct a building structure that is enclosed, activities that involve ground disturbance, or if they plan to conduct works, including demolition of a building.
Schedule 2 (BAO2) will be applied to manage the risk of elevated off-site odour impacts from the transfer station. It contains restrictions to limit sensitive uses within 250 metres of the transfer station activities due to the potential for odour impacts. It limits residential development on these sites to a single dwelling and prohibits the use of the land for other sensitive uses.
"Amendment C242gben is the result of significant work undertaken by the City to consider the potential off-site impacts of the landfill and transfer station, undertaken in accordance with EPA requirements.
"I congratulate City staff who have prepared this amendment with a highly meticulous approach to incorporate newly introduced policies and legislation and a new planning tool.
"The City is one of the first local governments in Victoria to use the buffer overlay, BAO, to manage the off-site environmental impacts of a landfill and transfer station.
"The aim of the Amendment is to give landowners certainty in regard to the future development capacity of their properties because of their close proximity to the site."
The Amendment C242gben will now be sent to the Minister of Planning for review and approval.