Stop the Hanson Quarry Expansion

Hanson Quarry?

The Hanson Quarry is one of two open-cut hard rock quarries located on the southern side of 1140 Wellington Rd, Rowville/Lysterfield. Hanson took over from Pioneer concrete in 2000, and the site covers an area of approx. 162ha, and contains substantial reserves of high-quality stone comprising granodiorite and hornfells. These are extracted and processed on-site, and the quarry is located adjacent to Lysterfield State Park and Churchill National Park.

At a time when Knox has less than 3% remnant native vegetation remaining, Hanson is seeking a work plan variation application from Earth Resources Regulation to extend the life of the quarry to the southwest of the site which includes sites of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage. This is controlled by the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990. The Quarry operates under a planning permit issued in 1999, and will apply for a new Planning Permit Application to Knox City Council. (Which falls under the Planning & Environmental Act (1987) and should represent the interests of the community.)

This area of the remnant bush was always intended as an extension of adjacent parkland and was subject to a Public Acquisition Overlay. On 28 May 2018, Knox Council supported the State Government’s proposal to remove the overlay thereby making possible the expansion of the quarry. This was done without informing residents. Also, the remnant bush and the likelihood of rare and endangered species was not considered.

The Expansion of 400m Buffer distance will allow the Hanson quarry to encroach 550m closer to the residential houses and Churchill National Park, (According to the EPA publication 1518 there is a buffer distance for quarries where blasting takes place – this is 500m.) The Quarry depth will increase by 15m, which will make the shielding of the benches and hills weaker which is an environmental time bomb digging a hole 15 Metres below sea level. As the current ground vibration is at 10mm/s and Air blast limits 120.00dba, while the current limit of extraction is already happening at 380m from the nearest resident. However, the current Australian standard is 5mm/s for ground vibration.

The proposed expansion has the potential to have many significant social and environmental impacts, via the removal of 46.5 acres of natural green wedge land. Which will lead to loss of native animal wildlife, a huge loss of biodiversity as flora and fauna habitats are destroyed. Moreover, adjacent eco-systems will be affected by noise, dust, pollution and contaminated water.

Residents living in Rowville and Lysterfield, are significantly impacted by the 2 hard rock Quarries (Boral and Hanson), as both quarries are located close to dense residential properties.