Vol. No. Vol. 2618No. 4 27
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Wednesday, January 13, 2023 2016 Wednesday, July 26,
GOING STRONG: Supervisor Mila Kean interacts with Emperor tamarin Yesinia at Halls Gap Zoo. The popular Grampians tourist attraction has marked its 40th year of operation. Story, page 13. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
A sigh of relief BY ABBY WALTER AND JESSICA GRIMBLE
T
he developer of a proposed wastewater treatment facility near Horsham must consider an alternate location after plans were rejected following a years-long, community-led campaign.
36-page AgLife lift-out
Horsham councillors have refused to grant Water Sustainability Farming, WSF, a permit for the use and development of a waste treatment facility at Lanes Avenue, Quantong – including processing brine waste, a food manufacturing by-product and the construction of two evaporative ponds.
including Mallee Machinery Field Days feature
INSIDE TODAY
WSF is affiliated with Australian Plant Proteins, APP, which produces high-grade protein from pulses at its Horsham plant. WSF had forecast to process an average of 57,000 litres a day of brine, trucked from APP to the facility across a 30-year lifespan. Grounds for the refusal included that the permit was inconsistent with Horsham Planning Scheme objectives and policies; the proposal would permanently remove agricultural land from production; significant potential for environmental and amenity impacts on neighbouring properties; the location was inconsistent with surround-
ing rural-residential land use; and the use of the land might limit future review and application of rural zones. Quantong resident Jesse Raggatt said the community was united against the location since it was first proposed. “We’re all taking a big sigh of relief now,” he said. “We were impressed the councillors made a unanimous vote to deny the application for a planning permit. We submitted our official objections in September last year. “It has been a couple of years since the applicant was first reported for starting construction without a permit,
which led to an approval process with the EPA.” WSF obtained an Environment Protection Authority development licence in March 2022 for the project. It also required the council permit to proceed. The council received 18 community submissions. Objections included the rural-residential nature of the area, risk to groundwater, odour, road safety, devaluation and illegal works. Quantong is a historical irrigation district with rural-residential lots of four to 20 hectares. Continued page 3
IN THIS ISSUE • Service centre proposal • Waterways flowing • Phantoms dare to dream Phone: 03 5382 1351 Read it online: www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au
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