‘Our lifeblood’: Ondit farmers say quarry expansion will hurt water source
Ondit residents and farmers are battling a nearby quarry’s plans to expand, saying the plans would be “disastrous” for the region.
The “lifeblood” of Ondit farmers is under threat, they say, as a nearby hard rock quarry looks to expand its operations.
Swiss-based company Holcim Australia has applied to expand its hard rock quarry near Colac, Southwest Victoria, through the state government’s Development Facilitation Program with an “accelerated” assessment.
The proposed expansion would produce an average of 1000 tonnes of product a day, or 3000 tonnes on “exceptional days”, operating 15 hours a day, five days a week.
Neighbouring farmers Karen and Dale Angus, from Ondit, have 360 milking cows on their 372ha property with volcanic plains and said the expansion would be “disastrous” to the region.
Ms Angus is a Colac Quarry Consultative Committee representative, and one of 24 residents listed within a 2km radius of the project.
They shared community concerns about operating hours, house damage, a lack of consultation, increased traffic risk, noise pollution, revegetation and a potential loss of their water source.
“This groundwater is the lifeblood of the local farmers,” Ms Angus said.
“All the stock troughs are supplied by groundwater, we irrigate using bore water, we wash the dairy using bore water.”
She said the application showed the quarry depth would move from 13-15m to 17.4m below surface.
“It would be below the water table, which is the biggest risk for us. If they take away the water, we’re finished. We would then need to run our business with town water,” she said.
“We’re one of the lowest farms for fertiliser use [in southwest Victoria], and one of the lowest for purchased feed costs because we grow our own.”
Beef cattle farmer Chris Fenton said she bought her property seven years ago with her husband, and believed the quarry would finish.
Her home was built three years ago, and she believed the controlled blasting, with drilling and explosives, had damaged her home. The application proposed blasting every three weeks, with an average of 35 blasts a year.
“My kitchen had come away from the roof,” she said. “It was my dream home, now we’ll have this view of a hole.”
“We’ve had our back deck really drop. Our sliding doors, every time there’s a blast they’re not flush so we need to redo them.”
Colac Otway Shire councillors unanimously voted at a December meeting to give a submission to the state government with a list of encouraged permit conditions and identified issues.
The council noted there was no stormwater management plan or safety assessment of the road intersection, no “actual traffic survey”, and included recommendations for fencing to prevent livestock movement.
Holcim said it was unable to comment on The Weekly Times’ inquiries while the application was under review.
A spokesperson said the company was committed to continued engagement with the community regarding its operating footprint.
Ms Angus said they feared their submissions would fall on “deaf ears”.
“We need quarries for produce, but we need farms for food. We’re both delivering something back to Victoria, why is their business more important than ours?” she said.
“Today it is us, but this change in planning will have impacts on other rural regions in Victoria.”
A Victorian Government spokesperson said any proposals would be considered on merits, and every submission considered.
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