Previous information about the SITA Contaminated Soil Treatment

Background

EPA received a Works Approval application from SITA Australia Pty Ltd on 11 November 2010 to install a contaminated soil treatment facility at 890 Taylors Road, Dandenong South. At the time of the application, proposed works were not permitted under the current planning scheme at the site.

The company applied to DPCD for a Greater Dandenong Planning Scheme Amendment C125 and Planning Permit Application 2010/013898. The planning scheme amendment was to rezone the subject land from farming zone (FZ) to industrial 1 zone (IN1Z).

Following this, the application was jointly advertised with DPCD seeking comment on the received proposal from interested parties.

EPA received submissions from 390 people in response to SITA’s works approval application.

As part of the works approval process, EPA invited all interested parties to attend a public conference on 21 February 2011, held pursuant to section 20B of the Environment Protection Act 1970 to go through issues raised in the submissions received. The Conference was chaired independently.

At this point, EPA’s works approval assessment was put on hold for the planning matters to be resolved.

In March 2011, the Planning Minister referred the matter to Planning Panel Victoria and appointed an independent planning panel to consider the submissions made to the planning scheme amendment and planning permit applications.

In June 2011, submissions were heard by the planning panel including EPA’s submission on the works approval application. In a combined works approval and planning scheme amendment process, the Planning Panel provides the opportunity for third party submissions to be heard, as in this combined process there is no appeal right to VCAT.

On 22 December 2011, the Planning Minister accepted the Planning Panel’s recommendations and approved the rezoning of SITA’s Taylor’s Road site from a farming zone (FZ) to an industrial 1 zone (IN1Z).

On 23 December 2011, the Planning Minister approved the planning permit to develop and use land at 890 Taylors Road, Dandenong South, for the purpose of a Material Recycling (Soil Processing facility) in accordance with the endorsed plan.

This was the trigger for EPA to recommence its assessment of SITA's application.