Richmond Valley Council
Locked Bag 10
Casino
NSW
2470

Dear Richmond Valley Council,

RE: DA2021/0033 146-152 Johnston Street Casino NSW 2470

The proposed DA application is not suitable for the site and is likely to have unacceptable health risks, safety risks as well as risks to the wellbeing of children, staff, visitors and the community. We oppose the DA application.

SOIL ASSESSMENT:
Regulation 25 of the national Education and Care 2011 states:
Sub clause(d) of regulation 25 requires an assessment of soil at a proposed site, and in some cases, sites already in use for such purposes as part of an application for service approval.
With every service application one of the following is required:
A soil assessment for the site of the proposed education and care services premises. The design guidance states:
To ensure consistency between development consent and the service approval application, a soil assessment should be undertaken as part of the development application. Where children will have access to soil the regulatory authority requires a preliminary investigation of the soil. This includes with or without building.
An assessment of soil requires three levels of investigation specific to human health risk assessment
No soil assessment has been completed. No Human Health Risk assessment has been completed.

FIRE REQUIREMENTS:
An Emergency Management Plan and Fire Safety Schedule was needed as DA Stage. Council advised that emergency evacuation was to be considered at DA Stage and an assembly area needed to be identified. Council advised that driveway guidelines are to be met for fire truck access. Council advised that fire hydrant coverage was to be addressed and required assessment form NSW Fire and Rescue.
NO EMERGENCY ASSESSESMBLY POINTS IDENTIFIED.NO REPORT FROM NSW FIRE AND RESCUE.NO DRIVEWAY GUIDELINES FOR FIRE TRUCKS.NO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN AND NO FIRE SAFETY SCHEDULE.

Specifically, a Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI), conducted in accordance with the provisions of the NEPM, is required.  Compliance notes made by the Planner in Attachment 4 conclude that “A soil assessment has not been completed concurrently”. 
It is unclear from this statement whether a PSI has been conducted.
 

EFFECTS ENVIRONMENTAL:
Your reference Zone Planning Group page 2
To ensure that sites for child care facilities do not incur risks from environmental, health and safety hazards.
C4 A Childcare facility should be located to avoid risks to children, staff or visitors and adverse environmental conditions arising from proximity to heavy and hazardous industry, waste transfer, waste transfer depots and landfill sites. Proximity to LPG Tanks and service station. Proximity to water cooling and water warming systems. Proximity to odour (and air pollutant) generating uses and sources or sites which, due to prevailing land use zoning may in future accommodate noise or odour generating uses.

Section 6.1 of the Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) contains the following statement: “An initial desktop assessment of the site and available information indicates that the site has not been used for contaminating activities and is not anticipated to contain any contamination.  Therefore, no further assessment is required in relation to the proposed development”.  
No Preliminary Site Investigation (PSI) report or other similar documentation containing supporting information for such a statement is provided as an Attachment to the SEE.  It is unclear whether a PSI has been conducted in accordance with the provisions of the National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure 1999 (as amended 2013) (the ‘NEPM’).  Such as report would be required to provide an appropriate level of supporting evidence for the statement described above.

AIR QUALITY:
Consideration to air quality due to underground fuel (hazardous facility) being the Service Station situated beside the proposed child care centre would need to be addressed in the Statement of Environmental Effects and possibly the distance to the Industrial Estate
The application provides minutes for a pre-lodgement meeting between Council representatives and selected Project Team members for the proposed development, held in January 2020.  One of the items listed in the minutes is entitled “Air Quality/Contamination”. 
Consideration C27: Contains a requirement to locate childcare facilities on sites which avoid or minimize the potential impact of external sources of air pollution such as major roads and industrial development.  Compliance notes made by the Planner conclude that “an air quality assessment has been prepared and makes recommendations for the development to reduce and mitigate potential odour risk”.  
No such air quality assessment or associated recommendations are provided in the SEE.

This item requires that the SEE includes an assessment of air quality because of the adjacent service station facility.

Consideration C28: Contains a requirement for an air quality assessment report to be provided by a suitably qualified professional.  It also contains a requirement to consider locating outdoor play areas as far away as possible from odour sources.  Compliance notes made by the Planner in conclude that “an air quality assessment has been prepared and makes recommendations for the development to reduce and mitigate potential odour risk”.  
No such air quality assessment or associated recommendations are provided in the SEE.

 
The report contains calculations estimating fuel sales at the adjacent United Service Station only.  The report does not describe any air quality measurements or laboratory testing conducted to measure air quality or odour. The report states that the fuel sales data will be used for air quality modellingbut does not state by whom the modelling will be conducted.  
No air quality modelling results or reports are provided as Attachments to the SEE.  It is unclear whether any quantitative air quality testing or modelling has been conducted.
 

ODOUR ASSESSMENT :
Compliance with the Childcare Planning Guideline (NSW Planning and Environment, August 2017).
Matters for Consideration
Consideration C2, bullet point 3: contains a requirement for ensuring there are no potential environmental contaminants on the land, in the building or the general proximity, and whether hazardous materials remediation is required”.  
 
Consideration C4: Contains a requirement that a childcare facility should be located to avoid risks to children, staff or visitors and adverse environmental conditions arising from proximity to the following (amongst others): LPG tanks or service stations.  Compliance notes made by the Planner conclude that “an odour assessment has been completed and provides recommendations and modelling to protect the children and users of the centre”.  
No such recommendations or modelling are provided in the SEE.  It is unclear whether this modelling has been conducted.
 
 
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION:
Community Participation Plan 2019. In accordance with the Community Engagement and Participation Plan 2019. the proposed Childcare Centre as identified by the development, must be advertised, whereby submissions may be received for a period of 28 days. Part J of DCP Compliance requires the proposal to be publicly advertised.
NO PUBLIC ADVERTISING ON SITE OR NEWSPAPERS

CHILD CARE PLANNING GUIDELINES:
There appears to be some shortcomings of the SEE provided for the proposed development.  Specifically, it does not include: a copy of a PSI report prepared in accordance with the provisions o the NEPM, to assess the potential for historic potentially contaminating activities to have occurred on the land.  Subsequently, no soil sampling or laboratory analysis has been conducted.  ENV considers that such a report would be required to fulfil the proponent’s obligations under Part 4 of the Childcare Planning Guideline (2017).