PROTECTING KEY SAND & STONE RESOURCES

The CMPA is concerned that strategic construction material resources within the Urban Growth Boundary will be sterilised, costing the community billions of dollars in additional transport costs. Below is a summary of the letter to the Department of Primary Industries outlining CMPA’s concerns.

THE Growth Areas Authority (GAA) is currently reviewing and expanding the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) to accommodate the future population growth of Melbourne.

This is one of the most significant infrastructure development projects in Melbourne’s recent history and the CMPA is deeply concerned at the level of government stewardship shown at identifying and preserving strategic construction material resources within the UGB.

Within this new, expanded UGB, about 26,000 hectares of land is proposed to be used for residential and employment development to accommodate the expected population growth. The six Local Government Areas within the new UGB predict a population increase of 666,169 in the 20 years to 2026.

Given the demand for extractive industry resources averages 10 tonne/person/year an additional 77 million tonnes of construction material will be required, just within the UGB.

Where will the additional resources be derived from if the quarries within these LGAs are unable to expand or new resources cannot be developed due to urban sprawl?

Whilst the GAA has committed to zone existing quarry operations and their buffers unsuitable for urban development, additional, significant strategic construction material resources are in danger of being sterilised for ever by residential development or environmental reserves.

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY INTEREST AREAS

The CMPA notes that urban development is scheduled to occur within large areas of Extractive Industry Interest Areas (EIIAs) in the west around Rockbank, in the north around Donnybrook and Beveridge and in the east near Clyde. In fact, the new proposed urban development areas will encroach on 27% of the EIIAs within the immediate Melbourne region.

A key purpose of EIIAs is to provide a basis for the long term protection of sand and stone resources from sterilisation by inappropriate land uses. This would appear to be a prime example of inappropriate land uses within large areas of EIIAs sterilising significant construction material resources.

It is time to protect these strategic resources now before it is too late.

Any such changes which impact upon EIIAs should only be finalised after detailed assessments have been made by Government. This has not been conducted.

The DPI and its predecessors have conducted significant work since 1993 in defining and refining EIIAs and incorporating them into the planning system. The government has a role as a steward of the stone resource. As steward, it is of great concern to the CMPA that DPI are not identifying and protecting strategic construction material resources.

CMPA encourages DPI to take a proactive role within Government to protect strategic construction material resources for the economic, social and environmental benefit of the State.

PROVISION OF LOW COST CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO THE MARKET

A key issue for Government in considering the location of quarries is the issue of transport costs of material to market. If quarries are forced to move further away from their market due to urban encroachment, increases in transport costs associated with longer haul distances from quarry to market will lead to significantly increased cost of infrastructure projects and a decrease in housing affordability.

In addition, there is greater environmental impact (greenhouse gases, air & noise pollution) and social costs (road maintenance, road accidents) from transporting materials a longer distance.

If it is assumed that half of the additional construction material resources required for the UGB are derived from the nearest alternative source to the existing quarries within the UGB over the next 20 years, additional costs due to transport alone are estimated at $2.9 to $4.7 billion.

There is definite community benefit and a role for Government in ensuring the non sterlisation of strategic construction material resources. As a representative of the extractive industry, the CMPA is deeply concerned that strategic construction material resources are being sterilised from future use to the detriment of the State.

The above letter follows a similar submission by the CMPA to the Growth Areas Authority in July 2009 (see Sand & Stone Issue 45 available on the CMPA website www.cmpavic.asn.au).

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