Is the quarry still going ahead I thought it had disappeared? Why is the quarry an issue now?

Bega Valley Council will be making a decision at next council meeting on 22nd April 2026, where 9 elected councillors will decide on whether it will be approved or not. Although the DA has been with the council for several years, there has been no public consultation.

We need your voice to let the elected councillors know that there is still strong community opposition and the community does not want this quarry.

Please come along on 22nd April at 12 noon to the public forum (where 3 speakers in objection to the DA will be allowed to speak) and show your support to stop Bournda Quarry. This is our last chance to convince council before they make their decision at 2pm. Tell your friends, family and colleagues.

What are the Public Health Concerns of having a Rhyolite open Pit quarry in my community?

The Bournda Downs quarry Development Application (DA) proposes to operate an open pit quarry with periodic blasting, crushing and truck transport down Sapphire Coast Drive – entering in the section of road near the Hobart Beach turn-off. When Bournda Downs quarry operated before closing in 2010 it did not undertake crushing or screening onsite and there was less public health concern about silicosis.

Public Health Concerns – Respirable Crystalline Silica

One of the most important issues with approving the Bournda Quarry is public health. The proposed quarry would be crushing and screening Rhyolite rock (which is 68-80% silica) onsite 6 days a week.

Crushing rhyolite rock produces respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust.

RCS is:
• invisible
• a known human carcinogen and the cause of silicosis, an irreversible lung disease

Australia recently halved the workplace exposure standard because earlier limits were not sufficiently protective.

There is NO safe level of exposure.

Residents could potentially be exposed 24 hours a day for decades, unlike workers who are exposed only during working hours.

Have there been rigorous assessments and reports done on the impact of the quarry to the residents and area?

At present there are major gaps in the assessment of this risk.

• The silica content of the rhyolite has not been publicly measured

• The respirable crystalline silica fraction has not been tested

• Dust dispersion modelling appears based on idealised assumptions rather than realistic valley conditions

• There is no silica-specific monitoring proposed

Where public health is concerned, this lack of evidence is unacceptable. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Proper dust and silica assessment must occur before any assumption of “no health risk” is made.

GLOSSY BLACK COCKATOOS

Glossy Black Cockatoos were listed as vulnerable on the endangered species list in 2022.

The main reason they face increasing threats to their survival is habitat loss.

There are several documented feeding trees -mature Allocasaurina (She-oak) – around the quarry site that would be forever lost if the quarry is approved.

This would cause irreparable damage to the Glossy Black Cockatoo population.

The removal of Allocasaurina trees and the noise of blasting and crushing of rocks on site would negatively impact the Glossy Black Cockatoos established breeding and nesting patterns.

In the last 12 months, there have been 9 Glossy Blacks regularly observed flying by, including a fledgling. They are feeding in the casuarina forest as well as drinking from water ponds in the area. This behaviour, witnessed at dusk each day suggests that the nesting and roost site is nearby. At least 25 Gang Gangs were observed flying within 500 metres of the site and roosting overnight.

There are currently only 8,000 Glossy Black Cockatoos in the whole of Australia.

Effect of Blasting on glossy black  breeding cycle.

‘Breeding occurs every two years with a single egg being laid in late January to early June with a longer nestling period than any other cockatoos (up to 90 days). The young  are dependent on the parents for at least 12 months.’     From Glossyblack.org

‘The breeding success of the glossy black-cockatoo is considered to be linked to the proximity of  food trees and nest trees. Fragmentation of habitat has a detrimental effect on the successful breeding of the bird. Its specific diet can make it vulnerable to changes in the environment. For example, in the Western Australian wheatbelt area, the white-tailed black-cockatoo is now extinct due in part to the increased patchiness of food trees (Garnett 1993).’
From NSW environment website.

The impact of noise, machinery and dust from the activities of industry will act as a major deterrent for these species to feed or breed in the area, creating a large area that will need to be avoided , which may result in isolation from habitat and bring them closer to extinction.

THREAT TO VULNERABLE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES

The Fauna Survey for the DA noted the presence of the birds as well as the listed Endangered Yellow Bellied Gliders in the area, immediately surrounding the quarry site, despite only having 6 hours of on ground time in the area.

Other wildlife recorded here includes : Powerful Owl ; Gang-Gang Cockatoo ; Swift Parrot ; Broad-toothed
Rat; Grey Headed Flying Fox ; Green and Gold Bell Frog.

This area is a dark skies area with no light pollution. Many nocturnal animals would be negatively affected by the industrial lights used in the quarry when it gets dark.

BVSC’s Local Environmental Plan says NO industry is allowed in C3 Zoning. Yet, despite this, the DA has been lodged.