Nimby factor leads quarry opposition, lawyer claims

Much of the opposition to a planned quarry at Seadown was a case of "not in my back yard" Rooney's lawyer says.

Rooney Holdings has applied to the Timaru District Council for land use consent to quarry a 66 hectare site at Seadown. In its written right of reply to commissioner Patricia Harte, counsel Stephen Christensen said in reality the proposal was for a modest gravel harvesting operation that had been blown out of all proportion by submitters.

There was no intention to store large volumes of topsoilon the site, there would be no lighting on the site and concerns that the activity will create "a large dust bowl, or some kind of blot on the rural landscape, are simply misplaced".

Submitters' concerns relating to surface and ground water were issues that fell outside the scope of land use consent, Mr Christensen said.

"The proposal is not about a disruptive, noisy activity in a rural environment .. Submitters who suggest that they are somehow entitled to insist on a quieter environment, or are entitled to demand the status quo in perpetuity, can find no support for that proposition in law or good planning policy."

Rooney's have suggested conditions that ensure compliance with district plan noise limits when measured at the boundary of existing dwellings, and the operation of the crushing equipment does not breach the day time noise limits of the district plan.

The company has offered to disconnect reversing beepers on all machinery on the site.

Concerns that the site will be rehabilitated into some kind of stagnant lake reflected neither the detail of the proposal as advanced in the application, nor, Mr Christensen suggests, common sense.

While the applicant has specified maximum rates and depths of extraction, it is not required to extract the maximum consented volume and rate. "The applicant [Rooney] is satisfied harvestable gravel exists [within the constraints described relating to topsoil stripping and a buffer to groundwater] in sufficient quantities to make the proposal viable."

Mr Christensen urged the commissioner not to proceed on the basis that Rooney's would fail to comply with conditions although that was what many of the submitters alluded to. Noting river-sourced gravel in the Timaru area is in increasingly short supply, he said this application and similar proposals were a rational response to a real need.

While it was accepted abnormally high amounts of dust from windblown topsoil could have adverse effects on orchard production and performance, he said there was no reason to believe this operation would give rise to such a situation.

"The careful handling of topsoil, the small active area within the overall site, and the ability to use active dust mitigation are sufficient to safeguard the receiving environment, including potential or speculative future changes in land use."

Submitters have been given an opportunity to comment on Rooney's right of reply, and then Mrs Harte will have 10 working days to give her decision.

- © Fairfax NZ News