Toxic Dust

In reply to the Hon. F. PANGALLO ().19 March 2025).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State): The Minister for Housing Infrastructure and Minister for Planning has advised:

1. The Department for Housing and Urban Development has engaged an independent consultant to conduct an air quality assessment, to analyse potential impacts in the area considered for the Sellicks Beach Code Amendment.

2. The Department for Housing and Urban Development's role is to ensure the proposed urban growth area is suitable for residential development. In addition to the air quality assessment, regular planning processes will be followed in considering the rezoning of the site. Community consultation will be part of this process.

The Minister for Climate, Environment and Water has advised:

3. The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) co-regulate the Sellicks Hill quarry. Both agencies are responding to and investigating community concerns relating to dust from the facility.

The EPA undertakes regular site inspections of the Sellicks Hill quarry to ensure Adbri complies with its licence. The EPA also conducts regular visual observations within the local area to assess any visible emissions of dust.

The EPA and DEM also attend all Adbri Sellicks Hill Community Consultation Group meetings to ensure government fully understands the community's concerns.

The EPA licence is publicly available on the EPA's website. A dust management plan was approved by the EPA in January 2025. The plan requires Adbri to investigate options to improve dust management at the site and Adbri must submit a revised dust management plan to the EPA for approval by April 2025.

The revised dust management plan will be required to have:

updated and tightened trigger action response plan dust levels;

improved dust mitigations at the crusher and associated processing plant

additional screening mound construction works; and

revised dust controls around drilling and blasting activities.

The EPA has previously undertaken monitoring in relation to the facility. Findings from a study undertaken between January 2016 and February 2017 have been published on the EPA's website.