A PETITION against a waste processing facility at Spring Terrace is approaching 200 signatures, with residents registering their support for the area’s drinking water.
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Polpure lodged a development application (DA) with Orange City Council earlier this year to expand from treating grease trap waste and storing oil-water separator waste at its Forest Road facility to also include septic tank waste, drill mud from mining exploration and agricultural liquid waste.
The company estimated it would process a maximum of 1000 tonnes a year and compost a maximum 5000 tonnes.
Since the DA was placed on public exhibition, residents have voiced their concerns about waste contaminating ground water bores and even washing into Spring Creek Reservoir if a leak coincided with heavy rainfall.
Spring Hill action group spokesman Robert Sanders distributed petitions to Spring Hill Post Office, Millthorpe Public School and Granite Transformations in Orange.
Mr Sanders said the petition had passed 100 signatures.
“It’s heading towards 200 and that’ll end up going to the [Environmental Protection Authority] and the council,” he said.
About 50 of the signatures have come from Spring Hill Post Office customers.
Postmistress Jan Davies was firmly against the proposal and said her clientele had been the same.
“[That number] doesn’t sound like a great deal, but we’re a very small community - there’s only 300 people in Spring Hill,” she said.
“Not one person agrees with it - everybody in Spring Hill is on bore water.”
Granite Transformations’ Linda Rovacsek said about 20 people had signed the petition at the Sale Street premises.
“But there’s been quite a few people who’ve walked in and said, ‘where’s the petition?’,” she said.
Mr Sanders said the petition would continue for the next few months and a public meeting would be held in the next two weeks.
The council will consider the proposal in July.
danielle.cetinski@
fairfaxmedia.com.au