$500k for Yeppoon super dump study

THE Rockhampton Regional Council will spend half a million dollars on an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the expansion of the Yeppoon landfill.

According to budget documents released by the council last week, the $500,000 will pay a private consultancy business to produce the EIS for the controversial project.

Tenders would be released in the “near future” for the project, but the council could not confirm how large the expansion would be.

Councillor Tony Williams said in a written statement that the expansion would not be any larger than the current block of land that the landfill sits on.

He said the expansion could receive the region's rubbish for about 25 years.

Cr Williams said: “The council will continue to investigate alternate waste technologies that will minimise the need for a landfill but at this stage they are an expensive process that is beyond the reach of Rockhampton Regional Council on its own.

“The council will be investigating suitable technologies together with operational and financial partners to attempt to expedite the use of alternate waste technologies in our region.”

The EIS could take up to 18 months to complete, and would ensure that the landfill expansion would comply with state regulations, he said.

“This process involves the assessment of community needs and expectations, landfill type and associated activities, adjacent existing and future land uses.”