A massive hazardous waste facility in the Yilgarn has been given the all-clear by the State’s environmental umpire to up capacity on the grounds there are strict provisions to only take waste from Australia.
After three years of scrutiny, WA’s Environmental Protection Authority on Tuesday concluded Tellus Holdings’ Sandy Ridge project could take an additional 180,000 tonnes of waste a year, to a total yearly capacity of 280,000t.
The operation is located in what the EPA describes as a “remote geologically stable area” about 75km north-east of Koolyanobbing. Tellus also operates a kaolin clay mine there.
Tellus claims to be the only company in Australia licensed to dispose of both hazardous chemical and low-level radioactive waste, a process that the EPA said it recognised as there being a need to have more solutions in handing down its verdict.
“The EPA recognises that disposal is the least preferred option for waste management, but we acknowledge there is also an ongoing need for a long-term permanent solution for hazardous and intractable wastes,” EPA deputy chair Lee McIntosh said.
“The conditions the EPA has recommended relate to leachate (contaminated water) monitoring and management, waste diversion, minimisation and stewardship, and a decommissioning plan to manage rehabilitation and remediation to ensure it is physically safe for members of the public and non-human biota in the long term.”
The waste facility accepts chemical, low-level radioactive waste from mining, oil and gas, contaminated site remediation, and utilities sectors. It does not accept nuclear waste.
The environmental watchdog also concluded that the impact to human health from transporting and handling more waste was “low” but would be subject to “strict conditions”.
Sydney-based Tellus had sought the expansion looking for more “flexibility” to take more solid waste at Sandy Ridge when there is less demand for liquid waste disposal.
From here, Tellus’ application will progress to ministerial approval after a three-week public appeal period.