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The Moorabool News – 14 June, 2022 Page 3
Community unbottles their concerns
The planning permit is on public exhibition for comment; the amended use was referred to Central Highlands Water (CHW) and other agencies. CHW has responded with no objection, with conditions that the site be connected to reticulated sewerage. Once the advertising period has completed and all referrals have been received, Council officers will complete its formal assessment and prepare a report for decision-making at a full Council meeting. -Moorabool Shire Council spokesperson
Ross Williams (Cottonwood Springs Production Manager) in the Dunnstown factory with boxes of their spring water and plant based milk products. Photo – Helen Tatchell By Lachlan Ellis A planning permit application is being opposed by local residents, and is set to come before Council, despite a commitment from the applicant to put sewer pipes through the town for the first time. Residents of Dunnstown are understood to have sent dozens of individual objections to Moorabool Shire Council, opposing plans submitted by local spring water bottlers Cottonwood Springs. Managing Director at Cottonwood Springs, George Tan, said the application was almost identical to one lodged in 2013, with an amendment to allow the plant to produce plantbased milk. The application includes plans to construct a second building intended for warehousing and storage, while a sewer extension is also in the works to deal with wastewater. It is virtually identical to an application lodged in 2013, but includes an amendment to allow the plant to produce plantbased milk such as oat and almond milk. Claims by Cottonwood Springs about ongoing sewer extensions allowing the community to connect, and open engagement by Cottonwood are contested by some Dunnstown residents, who have formed the Dunnstown Community Sub-Committee Cottonwood. A representative from the Sub-Committee said the sewer pipeline wouldn’t be accessible to Dunnstown residents, and attempts to get in touch with Cottonwood Springs had failed. “The town feels it’s impacting us in terms of trucks, noise, all sorts of things. There was also a recent article in the Ballarat Courier where it said Cottonwood’s plans would provide sewerage to Dunnstown…well, the pipe is of a size that will only provide waste disposal for Cottonwood, it’s not of a size that’s going to allow for anything else,” the Sub-Committee representative said.
“Slades [Cottonwood Springs’ parent company] have got their industrial factory in Thomastown, which is perfectly located for this, rather than bringing it onto agricultural land in Dunnstown, where the townspeople are not able to build housing, on a prime water catchment. “We’ve sent emails to Cottonwood from the Sub-Committee which were not responded to…I don’t want to get into a slanging match with them, but I don’t think they’ve shown themselves to be wanting to communicate with the community. There hasn’t been a great spirit of cooperation,” she said. An email from Central Highlands Water to the committee, was forwarded to the Moorabool News, which stated “the design criteria for the sewer extension is for the capacity of the Cottonwood facility only, and that there are no plans to provide further sewer extensions to the Dunnstown township”. Last year, Cottonwood Springs was fined $8,261 after “organic sludge” leaked from a malfunctioning wastewater treatment unit onto open land. The plant was inspected by the EPA three times in the space of a month to ensure compliance, with the third inspection finding that Cottonwood Springs had “removed the sludge material but had not complied with the instruction to cease discharging wastewater, having instead made on-site modifications to the water flows”, EPA South West Regional Manager Carolyn Francis told the Moorabool News in September 2021. Cottonwood Springs is located on Old Melbourne Road Dunnstown, a busy thoroughfare for B-Double quarry trucks to the Western Freeway. **CHW were contacted for comment however, our questions had been sent to DELWP and then the Minister, with a reply not forthcoming before the print deadline.
Cottonwood has their say Managing Director at Cottonwood Springs, George Tan, was asked his thoughts on what the Sub-Committee representative had said. He argued that it was the Sub-Committee who had not come to the table to discuss Cottonwood’s plans, and Cottonwood was working hard to help the community. “We have not received any emails or communication to get in touch. We have had Mr Murphy calling me from the Sub-Committee asking if it’s okay to expand/enlarge the sewer pipe for the Dunnstown area, and my answer is yes, and we are happy to work on that. The current sewer pipeline has capacity for residents, they need to reach out to CHW for their needs. We simply can’t provide an estimate for each individual needs,” Mr Tan told the Moorabool News. “We have been with the Dunnstown community for 20 years and have been cooperating in every way to Council and the community. We have proven again and again that we are listening and commit to be a good abiding business. “We have been donating drinks and beverages to the local clubs/events and been sponsors of many community groups in Ballarat (outside of Dunnstown). We continue to support Foodbank in so many ways in providing oat milk, water, and other beverages all the time,” he said. Mr Tan also addressed last year’s wastewater leakage at Cottonwood Springs, stating that the issue had been resolved. “The wastewater discharged has stopped completely after the second notice, and all discharge is taken offsite for treatment. There is no longer any wastewater discharge since the notice. All compliance from EPA has been met, and we have no
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