The Dandy Premix sand quarry, looking towards Western Port.
By Catherine Watson
THIS week many Grantville residents received a letter containing a notice of an application by Dandy Premix to expand their current pit, opposite Deep Creek Road in Grantville, and open another pit in a wooded area on the same site.
According to a report submitted as part of their application, total production from their Grantville site is expected to double to about 750,000 to 800,000 tonnes per annum by 2026.
THIS week many Grantville residents received a letter containing a notice of an application by Dandy Premix to expand their current pit, opposite Deep Creek Road in Grantville, and open another pit in a wooded area on the same site.
According to a report submitted as part of their application, total production from their Grantville site is expected to double to about 750,000 to 800,000 tonnes per annum by 2026.
The site map submitted as part of the application shows a new extraction area taking up most of the woodland on the east of the site, the only significant nature link between The Gurdies Nature Conservation Reserve and Deep Creek down to the Grantville Nature Conservation Reserve and Colbert Creek.
| The company is seeking to amend their planning permit to:
In 2013, when Bass Coast councillors approved the Dandy Premix quarry, against the wishes of many neighbouring residents, they called it one of the toughest decisions they’d ever had to make. Former councillor Neil Rankine said they couldn’t stop the quarry from going ahead so worked hard with Dandy Premix to get the best possible outcomes for nearby residents and the environment. One of the factors that convinced them to grant the original work permit in 2013 was Dandy Premix’s promise of responsible stewardship of the environmental values of the site. The company had to prepare a conservation and revegetation plan identifying areas to be reserved for wildlife corridors, conservation and revegetation. An agreement to protect and maintain the vegetated areas during and after the life of the quarry was registered on the title of the land. There is little evidence of mandated revegetation actually occurring, despite good growing conditions in the past five years. |  Here we go again! With Dandy Premix seeking to expand its operation and another big sand mine mooted for the Stanley Road area, sand mining seems set to take over our area, all the way from Lang Lang-Nyora to Grantville. We have been here before. In the mid-1990s, Grantville seemed marked to be the sand capital of Victoria until locals banded together to ensure it did not happen. Fortunately for Grantville, the Bass Valley & District Branch of the South Gippsland Conservation Society (SGCS) had been created and made countless submissions on a range of local and regional issues. It also helped the Grantville Action Group (GAG), which was created by SGCS member Phil Westwood, to save the Grantville area from being swamped with an uncapped number of sand mines in the mid 1990s. Sadly, the branch later went into recess, which has left a big hole in the protection of this area and the wider area. I’ve been told by someone in the local sandmining industry that the land extending east (inland) of the Bass Highway is sand and the sand companies won't rest until they've taken it all. At a public meeting relating to another sand mine in our area, I asked the engineering expert appearing for another mining company about the risk to the water table in our area. He waggled his finger at me, a lay person sitting in the audience, and said, “You make sure they get it right.” How many times will we have to fight the same battle, with more and more of our remnant native vegetation and biolinks going each time? How can our environment and biodiversity sustain such constant onslaught? - Meryl Brown Tobin |
Dandy Premix is now seeking to undo conditions on their planning permit and the Section 173 Agreement they signed following VCAT mediation with residents in 2013.
During consultations with councillors and residents at that time, Dandy Premix also made a strong commitment to monitor surface and drainage water quality for the life of the project.
Residents were relieved to learn the extraction process would be dry as opposed to wet, the wet method generally referring to extraction of sand below the water table.
Dandy Premix sustainability manager Garry Cranny told the Post in 2013 that he understood residents’ concerns about the water table.
“We appreciate the importance of that water; we know it’s fully allocated and highly valued. None of our geological investigation boring brought us in contact with the water table. Our application has been statutorily endorsed by Southern Rural Water and Melbourne Water. There is no way they would permit us to intercept such an important ground water aquifer.”
In its new application to amend the work permit, Dandy Premix seeks to quarry below the water table.
Neil Rankine says while it would be difficult to stop the company from enlarging its quarry, the council needs to ensure the original safeguards on revegetation, ground water impact, runoff, amenity, etc, are retained.
“This is also another opportunity for anyone who knows something special about the place to speak up. We didn’t realise the quality of the grass tree forest further south until recently and the proponents’ studies around what’s there just keep saying they didn’t observe X, Y & Z during the few days they were looking.”
Residents and other affected by the Dandy Premix application can make submissions until November 10. Full details and submission forms are available.
Beyond Sand
Oct 31, 2020 - With sand mining threatening local forests and waterways, it’s time to consider the alternatives, writes Lauren Burns
During consultations with councillors and residents at that time, Dandy Premix also made a strong commitment to monitor surface and drainage water quality for the life of the project.
Residents were relieved to learn the extraction process would be dry as opposed to wet, the wet method generally referring to extraction of sand below the water table.
Dandy Premix sustainability manager Garry Cranny told the Post in 2013 that he understood residents’ concerns about the water table.
“We appreciate the importance of that water; we know it’s fully allocated and highly valued. None of our geological investigation boring brought us in contact with the water table. Our application has been statutorily endorsed by Southern Rural Water and Melbourne Water. There is no way they would permit us to intercept such an important ground water aquifer.”
In its new application to amend the work permit, Dandy Premix seeks to quarry below the water table.
Neil Rankine says while it would be difficult to stop the company from enlarging its quarry, the council needs to ensure the original safeguards on revegetation, ground water impact, runoff, amenity, etc, are retained.
“This is also another opportunity for anyone who knows something special about the place to speak up. We didn’t realise the quality of the grass tree forest further south until recently and the proponents’ studies around what’s there just keep saying they didn’t observe X, Y & Z during the few days they were looking.”
Residents and other affected by the Dandy Premix application can make submissions until November 10. Full details and submission forms are available.
Beyond Sand
Oct 31, 2020 - With sand mining threatening local forests and waterways, it’s time to consider the alternatives, writes Lauren Burns
The red circled area to the left is the current pit, which will more than double in size and also increase in depth; on the right is the new extraction area.