THE Howlong compost plant fight will drag into the Federation Council election battleground after the Joint Regional Planning Panel deferred a decision for a second time on Tuesday.
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The panel chaired by Gordon Kirkby re-convened at the same venue it staged a public meeting two months ago when a call on Cleanaway’s plan to build a compost plant on the edge of the town was initially delayed.
Panel members met representatives from Federation Council including administrator Mike Eden, the Howlong Community Committee and lastly Cleanaway in secret sessions.
Pre-poll voting starts in the council election on Monday.
“There are still a lot of issues,” he said.
“There are a number of issues around conditions and issues around information we’ve had from both sides we still need to look through.
“It’s not a decision we want to rush.”
The HCC delegation was led by chairman Stuart Sizer, Louise Shields, soil and compost expert Simon Leake and hydrologist John Skinner.
“More and more issues are being raised and making it harder to make a snap decision,” Mr Sizer said.
“Odour is not the only issue.
“The growth of the town and the selection of the site had more discussion than any other question.”
The JRPP had requested more information from Cleanaway, about air quality, traffic and management of the proposed site within the Howlong tip area.
It also wanted additional information from council on whether the proposed site would be within or in the vicinity of land identified for Howlong’s future growth.
Cleanaway project manager Mathew Kiervan said he remained confident the compost plant development application was compliant and a beneficial re-use for organic material.
“The concerns of the community have always been at the utmost to try and deal with,” he said.
“The community has put forward the whole time their sticking points are odour and traffic.”
The Howlong-Goombargana Road, where the tip site is located, will be widened to accommodate the additional traffic generated.
Truck movements within Howlong will be confined to between 18 and 34 movements per day in Sturt Street between Monday and Friday.
Albury Council recently made an offer to locate the compost facility within its waste management centre.
The Border Mail understands waste is presently being transported to a site near Sale and not Wagga.
