Page 432 - Week 01 - Thursday, 17 February 2011
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(2) What are the intended uses for the site referred to in part (1) in the (a) near future and (b) longer-term.
(3) How far developed are plans for a solar farm for the West Belconnen landfill site and what are the next steps in developing these plans.
Mr Stanhope: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
1) The Master Plan for the West Belconnen Resource Management Centre is currently with the Environment Protection Agency for comment. A copy can be provided to you on request once it is finalised.
2) The West Belconnen Resource Management Centre hosts the following activities:
- Drop-off facilities for domestic and commercial waste and recycling.
- Acceptance of asbestos-contaminated material.
- Methane capture facilities at the non-operational former landfill.
- Resource recovery activities.
- Soil remediation. Current projects involve combining soil from old petrol station sites with green waste in open windrows and rotating this material until it meets Environment Protection Authority (EPA) requirements for reuse.
- Emergency landfill when and if this is needed, such as was used following the 2002 bushfires.
The Master Plan considers the following activities which could potentially occur in the Resource Management Centre in the long-term;
- Publicly-accessible open space. If land is designated for this purpose, it would no longer contribute to waste minimisation and resource recovery goals.
- Closed space. If land is designated for this purpose, it would neither be open to the public nor able to contribute to waste minimisation and resource recovery.
- Further resource recovery activities.
- Future landfilling.
- Educational purposes, with a focus on field-based land management for waste and resource recovery.
- Renewable energy generation, such as solar power.
Decisions about which of these activities will occur, if any, have yet to be made.
Monitoring, maintenance and site remediation activities will also continue as long as needed to ensure that the site is maintained in a manner that protects public health and the environment.
3) The Master Plan identifies several sites that may be suitable for renewable energy generation, in particular solar power generation. Market research about the feasibility of such facilities, including the benefits under the ACT Feed-In Tariff Scheme, is underway. No decision has yet been made about whether land will be allocated for these purposes.
Planning—change of use calculations
(Question No 1391)
Ms Le Couteur asked the Minister for Land and Property Services, upon notice, on 9 December 2010:
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