A message from Ipswich City Council
Thank you for taking the time to be informed about the proposed Remondis Waste to Energy Facility. Council has received a number of inquiries about the proposal and has prepared the below FAQs for your reference.
Council wants you to be informed and up to date on this project. It's important that the community has access to the right information.
In a statement released by Remondis on 28 February 2022, the company has advised the Queensland Coordinator General that the application for the waste-to-energy proposal as a Coordinated Project has been withdrawn.
We also note that council’s Temporary Local Planning Instrument adopted in 2021 demonstrated that waste-to-energy proposals are not supported in the Ipswich region, especially so close to the residential areas around Swanbank.
The community will be updated if further applications are made within the Ipswich local government area.
FAQ's
Information about the proposal is available from the Queensland Government’s Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning’s website, which can be found here.
The initial advice statement prepared by Remondis and submitted to the Queensland Government can be accessed on the website.
Information is also provided on the Remondis website, here.
This is the same information that council currently has access to.
Please regularly check the Remondis website to keep up to date on the progress of any new applications that may impact Ipswich.
For further information please contact Remondis on
P: 07 3167 1200
E: remondis@threeplus.com.au
The applicant for a coordinated project must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Impact Assessment Report (IAR). The EIS is prepared in accordance with the terms of reference for the EIS. The process is outlined on the department’s website, here.
The State Government, together with the applicant controls all elements of public consultation for coordinated projects. The public would be invited to have input into any future Waste to Energy applications that are submitted.
For applications, public can provide input into:
- The terms of reference for the Environmental Impact Statement
- The draft Environmental Impact Statement
- The revised Environmental Impact Statement (subject to the Coordinator-General)
Community can have their say by contacting Remondis and your State Members of Parliament. Details are below:
Jennifer Howard MP, Member for Ipswich
Jim Madden MP, Member for Ipswich West
Charis Mullen MP, Member for Jordan and Assistant Minister for Treasury
Jon Krause MP, Member for Scenic Rim
As the proposal is declared as a State Government Coordinated Project, Remondis, as the applicant will be required to get the tick of approval from the State Government through the EIS process.
The State Government’s interest in the project will relate to, among other things, those matters that the state has direct responsibility for should the project proceed, such as ensuring the project complies with state regulations when it comes to environmental impacts, noise, odour, water quality and emissions.
Only once the State Government has approved the project, will it come to council for assessment as a development application (against land use planning).
In December 2021, the Queensland State Government advised Remondis that the Coordinated Project pathway would not be suitable for the Swanbank Waste to Energy project. Remondis then withdrew their application in February 2022. You can view the news article from Remondis here.
Like all development applications big or small, complex or simple; council cannot lawfully predetermine the decision until such time as it is presented to council. This could take up to two years depending on the State Government; and will only occur if the State Government approves the project first. Remondis withdrew their application in February 2022.
Council is focussed on getting information about the process and any proposal to our community, and ensuring that our community has the best chance to have their say on any proposal.
Council will have the same opportunities as the public to provide input to any application, including:
- The terms of reference for the Environmental Impact Statement
- The draft Environmental Impact Statement
- The revised Environmental Impact Statement (subject to the Coordinator-General)
At every stage, council will be advocating for the highest standards and rigour be applied to the assessment framework.
There have been policy changes announced that will have an impact on any Waste to Energy proposal, including the Remondis Proposal. These changes can be summarised as follows:
1. Temporary Local Planning Instrument 1/2021:
The Resource Recovery and Waste Activity Regulation now includes provisions addressing energy from waste. The new provisions include requirements for assessing planning applications. This includes energy from waste proposals. The requirements include a buffer zone of 5 km from a sensitive receiving use. A sensitive receiving use includes ‘existing, approved or land zoned for residential and other sensitive receiving uses (and major events and motorsports uses)’.
2. Energy from waste policy, policy guideline and discussion paper:
Updated policy and guidance material is now available on energy from waste. This information can be found here(Link here with the hyperlink Energy from Waste Policy | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au). The focus of these changes reinforce the need for a precautionary approach to planning and locating these types of facilities. As well as the importance of achieving the waste hierarchy, the benefits of a circular economy, and the principals of minimising waste to landfill.
You can view the relevant documents below:
