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• State of the Environment Report 2010/2011 homepage
• Introduction
• Summary of Muswellbrook Shire
• Council's role
• Towards sustainability
• Human settlements
• Water resources
• Land
• Atmosphere
• Biodiversity

Discussion

Population and Settlement Patterns

Muswellbrook Shire Council does not keep track of population in the Shire between National Censuses. Therefore Council relies on the data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  The National Census population count was conducted on August 6, 2011.  Results are not yet available for the 2011 census. The data provided by the ABS for the 2006 Census is included in the tables and graphs below. The current estimated population of the Shire is 16,676.  Population growth for the reporting period was 1.8%.  This was one of the highest Local Government Area growth rates in the Hunter and is assumed to be related to the large scale development in open cut coal mining and the associated residential development.

Population of Muswellbrook Shire 2006 by geographical distribution:

Population of Muswellbrook by age group:

It should be also noted that the population of Muswellbrook has continued to be impacted in the last reporting period by extensive mine development and expansion. Both Mt Arthur Coal and Xstrata Mangoola Coal have been undertaking significant construction projects employing several hundred contractors. These workers typically reside in the towns during the week while working and go home to families on the weekend. Therefore they place demands on infrastructure, waste and water without necessarily adding to our official population figures. This makes it difficult to assess and justify the need or use of infrastructure and services.

Economic Development in Muswellbrook

During the 2010-2011 reporting period Muswellbrook has mainly undergone statewide development that required NSW Department of Planning approval as opposed to council approval. There were a small number of large scale developments that Council did approve including:

• Hungry Jacks
• Sub Zero
• Renovations at a number of retail and hospitality businesses.
• 119 new development lots were released in subdivision certificates.

Council developments that occurred in the 2010-2011 reporting period include:

• New library facilities
• Completion of the Muswellbrook Skate Park
• Stage two of the Muswellbrook CBD revitalisation.

Complying Development Certificates

The number of Complying Development Certificates issued by Council and accredited certifiers in the 2010-2010 reporting period has increased slightly when compared to the previous year. The use of Private Certifiers has influenced this trend.

Development Applications

The number of development applications determined by Council in the 2010-2011 reporting period has increased when compared to the previous reporting period. There has been a substantial increase in residential applications and a small decrease in commercial applications while industrial applications have remained stable.  The continued increase in residential applications is reflected by the release of several subdivisions in Muswellbrook and Denman.

Complying development certificates issued:

Development applications issued:

Major Projects

The NSW Department of Planning assesses major projects in the Muswellbrook Shire. In 2010/11 reporting period the following project was approved by the department.

Table 5: Major projects approved by Department of Planning in Muswellbrook LGA 2010/11

Project	Approved
Mt Arthur Mining Complex – Open Cut Expansion Project	24/09/2010

Applications for a further 6 projects applications were received by the department in the reporting period.

• Mangoola Mine Modification 4 - Modify Approved Mine Plan  Assessment
• Bayswater to Mt Piper transmission line relocation
• Bengalla Mine Modification 4  Assessment
• Drayton South Coal Project  Application
• Coolah to Newcastle Gas Pipeline Project Application
• Mount Pleasant Coal Mine - Modification 1 

Details of major projects in the shire can be found at the Department of Planning website.

Other development is carried out in the Shire under the provisions of the Infrastructure State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP). These include work on a range of infrastructure facilities including roads, water and sewer, energy transmission line, railways track work and school redevelopments. Each authority must comply with strict guidelines; however Council is not involved in the approval process for these developments and is not always informed about such projects.

Council is aware that significant infrastructure work is being carried out in the Shire and in the most part this is related to the development of coal mining.

Waste

Muswellbrook Shire Council provides a waste disposal service and facilities to the community.  The sustainable reuse and/or disposal of waste products have therefore become a major focus of resources for all local governments.  Reducing waste to landfill extends the life of Council’s voids.  This in turn reduces the need to find and develop new waste disposal areas.

To help improve the life of the current land fill void, Council has implemented several initiatives to increase compaction and reduce the need for daily cover material. By using steel plates to keep waste from being blown around instead of soil, Council reduces the amount of unnecessary filling of the void. During the 2009/10 reporting period the void had a 15 - 20 year lifespan. With improved management, compaction and capping the estimated lifespan of the void has increased to a 26 year lifespan at current disposal rates. 

Council’s collection service includes kerbside collection of household waste, recyclable material and garden organics to urban and several rural areas of Muswellbrook, Denman and Sandy Hollow. The Muswellbrook Waste Management Facility receives waste from kerbside collection through the three bin system as well as waste brought to the Muswellbrook and Denman Transfer Stations. Several Waste contractors also dispose of waste at the facility.

A total of 26,355 tonnes was collected from the Muswellbrook Shire at the Waste Management Facility in the 10/11 year. A further 3,708 tonnes was collected from Upper Hunter Shire kerbside collections. Of the total from Muswellbrook Shire, 18,525 tonnes was disposed of in the landfill, 4,638 tonnes was recycled through the Materials Recovery Facility and metal recycling and 2, 855 tonnes was green waste.

From the shire alone, waste to landfill has increased this year with an additional 2,568 tonnes or 14% of waste disposed of to landfill in comparison to the 09/10 reporting period.  This increase in waste to landfill is largely from industries, construction and demolition and the commercial.  The amount of recycling has increased by 46% as a percentage of total waste when compared to the 09/10 reporting period. Green waste collected in 10/11 has increased by 335 tonnes or 11% as a percentage when compared to the 09/10 reporting period.    

The percentage of recycling diverted from the Shire waste stream has gone from averaging 11.5% for several years to 18% during this reporting period.

It is pleasing to note the increase in recycling and green waste figures; however contamination of recycling is still a major issue in the Muswellbrook Shire with an estimated contamination rate of 14%.

The total waste added to landfill at the Muswellbrook Waste Management Facility was 21,192 tonnes. This is an increase of 2,735 tonnes or 15%.

During the reporting period Council undertook a Waste Audit of kerb side bins and found that;

• 23% of waste collected from households in the general waste (red lidded) bins was recyclable and included items such as plastic bottles and containers and aluminum cans; indicating that recycling rates could further improve. 
• The rate of contamination in the recycling (yellow lidded) bins was 14% and included items such as plastic bags, construction material and garden waste. 
• Compliance was best with green waste (green lidded) bins with a contamination rate of approximately 1%.

The audit highlights that Council could further improve recycling rates by increasing the amount of recyclables that are removed from the residual waste stream and by reducing the amount of residual waste that ends up in the recycling bins. It also highlighted that food waste made up a large proportion of waste going into landfill. By introducing programs that are designed to divert food from the residual waste stream Council could further reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill.

As part of its continuing efforts to minimise waste, Council commissioned Impact Environmental Consultants (IEC) to perform a waste characterisation audit in order to better understand the volume and composition of its mixed waste stream. This audit was was conducted between 17 and 23 March 2011 in accordance with the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage guidelines. 220 red lidded bins were randomly selected from across the community’s five collection zones. These were individually sorted to ascertain the composition and quantity of the waste. All information gathered was collected in a manner that protected the resident’s privacy.

Food represented the highest proportion of waste at 28%, followed by paper at 21%, plastics at 15%, mixed organics at 10% and glass materials at 8%. The paper stream was made up of 50% non recoverable paper such as disposable nappies and disposable paper and much of the plastics stream was made up of unrecoverable items such as plastic film. .

On average, nearly 18% of the waste discarded is potentially recyclable. Council will look at ways it can help residents recycle more waste.

E-Waste

Electronic Waste or e-waste can come in many forms. There are many types of plastics and metals found in equipment such as

• Computers
• Photocopiers
• Printers
• Faxes
• Monitors
• Batteries

Some of these plastics and metals can be highly toxic and environmentally damaging.
http://www.cleanup.org.au/PDF/au/e_waste-fact-sheet.pdf

In 2008 Council held its first E-Waste Collection Day which proved to be so successful that it became an annual event. Council held an E-Waste Collection Day in December 2010 at the Muswellbrook Indoor Sports Centre. 

There was a total of 9600 kilograms of E-waste collected from 194 people and diverted from landfill. Almost 9100 kilograms of this waste was recycled. The Muswellbrook Waste facility now has an E-Waste container on site and all types of E-Waste can now be dropped off at the Muswellbrook Waste Facility for recycling throughout the year.
E-Waste

Mobile Muster

Mobile Muster is an initiative of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association in partnership with Landcare Australia.  It is a mobile phone recycling program which began in 1999.  Recycling mobile phones reduces the need to use raw materials which; saves natural resources, reduces hazardous waste entering landfill, prevents pollution and protects our environment.  During the reporting period Mobile Muster saw 17,500 kg of batteries diverted from landfill nationally.  Muswellbrook Shire Council has a collection box for mobile phone recycling in the administration area which can be used by both staff and members of the community.  Muswellbrook Shire Council collected 9 kg of mobile phones, batteries and accessories during this period which were sent to Mobile Muster for recycling.
Mobile Muster

Hoarder's Haven

Hoarder’s Haven is a successful and innovative way of reducing the amount of waste that goes to landfill. Items that are in good condition and are reusable are either donated by members of the public using the waste depot or are salvaged from collected waste by waste depot staff. Items available at Hoarder’s Haven include such things as furniture, antiques and sporting equipment.

Hoarder’s Haven is open on demand at the waste collection depot.

 Hoarder's Haven

Amenity

Amenity can be defined as what people value about a place and how it affects their quality of life. The qualities of a place vary from person to person and with cultural and socio-economic differences. Things that can affect the amenity of an area include the physical landscape, open spaces, recreational areas, accessibility and level of noise.

Council provides and manages selected recreation services to the community, with active and passive recreation for all age groups the aim. These facilities include

• Playgrounds
• Parks
• A Skate Park
• Swimming Pools
• Sports Fields
• Golf Course
• Pathways and
• Cycle Ways

Community Complaints

Council receives a large number of complaints from the community regarding issues that affect the amenity of the local area. Traditionally environmental complaints mainly relate to noise and dust. Odour and illegal dumping of waste are the other two categories that Council commonly deals with.

Issues such as noise pollution which can be described as any noise that has a negative effect on daily life, odour which is difficult to regulate and very subjective and dust which is a major issue in this area due to the high number of extractive industries and state approved developments which are in close vicinity to housing.

See table 5 and figure 6 for the number and types of environmental complaints received by Council during this reporting period.  There has been a decrease in complaints across all sections since the last reporting period. This may indicate that residents are now reporting complaints directly to the source instead of council.
Overall complaints to council have decreased by 44% when compared to last year’s reporting period.

In attributing any value to complaint numbers, it must be considered that the number of complaints or reported incidents does not necessarily reflect the state of the environment and is a poor indicator. The level of complaints received and recorded is impacted by the perception in the community that Council is able to address the cause of complaints, improved systems for recording and dealing with complaints, and the community’s unwillingness to tolerate less than desirable condition. Of course it may also reflect that these matters are inherently changing in frequency and or magnitude. Table seven details complaint types and numbers received by council.

Several of the odour complaints relate mainly to commercial activities occurring adjacent to residential development.  Council seeks to ensure the best practices to reduce odour are implemented at these commercial enterprises.

Noise complaints during this reporting period have mainly been of a domestic and commercial nature.  It is possible that industrial noise complaints are being made directly to the source of the noise.

Council manages many of these environmental issues through the following measures:

Complaints Protocol – enables Council to adequately deal with and monitor complaints;

Sediment and Erosion Surveys – Council undertakes monthly Sediment and Erosion Surveys of construction sites to ensure these common sources of sediment are maintained at appropriate standards;

Litter and Illegal Dumping Identification Protocol – enables all Council staff to easily report regular littering and illegal dumping site for regulatory follow-up and specific cleanup action for event such as Clean-up Australia Day;

Noise Guide for Local Governments – Council undertakes responses to and management of noise complaints as per the recommendations in this document. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/noise/nglg.htm

NSW Industrial Noise Policy – used in the management of commercial and industrial noise emissions and the determination of noise limits for operations and activities. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/noise/industrial.htm

Noise Monitoring – as per specific approvals all mining operations are required to monitor and manage the level of noise emissions. The relevant approvals for the mining operations also require that the data and interpretations be reported to the community and Council on a regular basis.

Dust Monitoring – Complaints about dust can be addressed by council if the source of the dust is from a source other than a mine and prevention notices can be issued. Dust from mining industry operations should be reported to the relevant mine community information line.
Mining industry operations are required to monitor and manage the levels of dust. The relevant approvals for the mining operations also require that the data and interpretations be reported to the community and Council on a regular basis.  

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/aqms/upperhunterQnA.htm

Complaints about Major Projects

In relation to complaints about Major Projects, including mining and the power stations, Council has adopted a policy outlined in Council’s Guidelines for Community Consultative Committees. The policy requires the complainant to make the complaint to the Operating Company in the first instance. Phone numbers for each operation are regularly published in the local newspapers and are available on Council’s website http://www.muswellbrook.nsw.gov.au/Council-services/Environment/Mines.htm

Where the complainant is not satisfied with response or actions by Operating Company, the Operating Company will refer the complaint to Muswellbrook Council (Environmental Services Department, Environment Manager). The individual may also refer the matter to Council directly.

Heritage

As part of Council’s commitment to heritage management, an agreement is maintained between NSW Heritage Office and Council to support the current heritage advisory service. This agreement ensures that Council’s Heritage Advisor attends Council and is accessible to the community on at least one day per month.
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/

During this reporting period no new heritage sites have been added to the Heritage Register. Council will continue to maintain and monitor heritage issues across the Shire

Provisions for heritage assessment have been included in the Local Environment Plan (LEP) and Development Control Plans 2009.  The purpose of the LEP is to define what a parcel of land may be used for.

• To conserve the environmental heritage of Muswellbrook, and
• To conserve the heritage significance of heritage items and heritage conservation areas including associated fabric, settings and views, and
• To conserve archaeological sites, and
• To conserve place of Aboriginal heritage significance.

Local Environment Plan

The Heritage Strategy outlines actions to be followed by Council to promote heritage conservation throughout the Muswellbrook Shire Council area.                                                           

The Muswellbrook Local Environmental Plan 2009 was gazetted in April 2009, and lists 134 items of environmental heritage and identifies three (3) heritage conservation areas within the Muswellbrook Shire Council area.

Aboriginal Heritage

Council formed the Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee in 1997 to ensure that council maintains effective communication systems with the local Aboriginal people.  The committee consists of representatives from council, the Aboriginal community, government and non government Aboriginal service providers, NSW Police and the Local Ministers Association.

The heritage of Aboriginal people is an important aspect of development assessment which is considered by Muswellbrook Shire Council. Developments undertaken must consider and preserve where possible the sites and artifacts considered to be of cultural significance to the local Aboriginal tribes. Council provides listings of proposed developments to the Wanaruah Land Council to facilitate consultation regarding the potential for Aboriginal Heritage impacts arising from development, if any impacts are found the Wanaruah Land Council can then advise on the development.

Aboriginal Heritage

European Heritage

Muswellbrook Local Government Area has an extensive and well documented European heritage. This has resulted in a large number of sites and structures which have heritage value. The management and preservation of these sites and structures is important to Council and is managed through the maintenance of a Heritage Inventory.

The most significant impact on heritage items is caused by inadequate management of the items which allows the destruction or damage to the buildings or sites. The most common threat to heritage buildings is through lack of maintenance allowing them to become derelict and possibly unsafe requiring extensive restoration works or even demolition.

A number of heritage homesteads in the area are located in close proximity to open cut coal mining which are often subject to blasting vibrations.  This could result in further damage to these buildings and sites if not managed correctly.
European Heritage Information

Transport

A large road network consisting of State, Regional and Local roads exists within the Shire. The network includes approximately 69 km of state highways, 39km of regional road, and 583 km of local roads. Council undertakes road maintenance and improvement activities on the network using a combination of its own workforce and specialist contractors.

The road network carries traffic generation by extractive industries, industrial estates, commercial and agricultural activities and residential suburbs. The main towns served are Muswellbrook and Denman.

In addition to State and National highways, the Shire is also served by a rail network, providing freight and passenger services to industrial and residential sectors.  Council lobbies State and Federal governments to ensure the provision of adequate road and rail infrastructure. Council is continuing to advocate for an alternative route for heavy vehicles to bypass Muswellbrook.

Roads and Footpaths

Public transport in the form of buses in the urban area of Muswellbrook is a viable and operational form of public transport. However across the broader local government area the distance between populated areas of Muswellbrook, Denman and Sandy Hollow along with the cluster settlements makes public transport a non viable option. This spread of settlements requires a reliance on private transport to link residents to essential infrastructure and services. 

There are a wide range of transport options available in Muswellbrook to link residents to major cities, regional centres and other states.  This includes passenger rail services which are provided by the state government and bus services which are privately owned and operated.  This also includes services which link with Newcastle airport.

Public transport

Paved Road Surfaces

During this reporting period Council accepted a total of 2,415 lineal metres of constructed road length, all sealed equating to 20,527 m² of paved road space. Council does not maintain, except under contract to the RTA or keep inventory, relating to state roads.

The Bicycle Plan

The construction of cycle ways and walkways within newly developed areas within the local government area was introduced by Council to promote the use of sustainable transport methods within the local community. Council will continue to expand the linkages of cycle ways to encourage the use of bicycles to provide low cost, sustainable transport.

Council currently manages 12.2 km of shared pathways, an increase of 2.1 km since the last reporting period.

There are no dedicated Bicycle Paths within the Shire and they are all shared paths. There are plans to add further shared paths in the future.

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