THE Department of Water and Environmental Regulation says a works approval is required to construct the proposed Neerabup resource recovery precinct and an operating licence will be needed for its ongoing operation.
“This includes approvals for facilities such as a waste-to-energy plant, material recovery facilities, food organics-garden organics (FOGO) processing and a waste transfer station,’’ a DWER spokeswoman said.
“The City of Wanneroo has also applied for a works approval for stage 1 of the Neerabup resource recovery precinct.
“The application is for category 57 (used tyre storage) and category 62 (solid waste depot), in accordance with schedule 1 of the Environmental Protection Regulation 1987’’
On November 18 DWER said the works approval associated with stage 1 of the proposed Neerabup resource recovery precinct was expected to be finalised by early 2026.
If the works approval application is deemed to be valid, it will be advertised on the department’s website for public comment.
DWER’s industry regulation guide to licensing about activities regulated under the EP Act and the Environmental Protection Regulations 1987 outlines how a works approval is a step towards obtaining a licence, which contains conditions that aim to prevent, control, abate or mitigate pollution or environmental harm as a result of the operation of schedule 1 prescribed premises.
Neerabup resource recovery precinct business case released reported the proposed precinct could cost about $1.27 billion with the estimated $750 million waste-to-energy and $40m material recovery facilities to be paid for by private industry.
Category 60 (incineration premises on which waste, excluding clean paper and cardboard, is incinerated) is another schedule 1 prescribed premises requiring a works approval from DWER while one example of a category 62 (solid waste depot – premises on which waste of 500 tonnes or more per year is stored, or sorted, pending final disposal or re-use) is the Hope Valley IBA Facility.
The Hope Valley IBA Facility had it’s works approval amended on December 13, 2024 to increase the volume of incinerator bottom ash allowed to be “stored on site at any one time in accordance with the premises design” to 110,000 tonnes per annual period.
The public notice about the business case and major trading undertaking for Neerabup resource recovery precinct was advertised on October 2.Incinerator bottom ash (IBA) is the ash that is left over after waste is burnt in an incinerator.
Waste plants that use incineration burn a wide range of municipal wastes and therefore the term ‘ash’ is slightly misleading because it is not all powdery but contains glass, brick, rubble, sand, grit, metal, stone, concrete, ceramics and fused clinker as well as combusted products such as ash and slag, according to the UK’s Environmental Services Association.
On November 18 in response to questions from Yanchep News Online, DWER said the city submitted a works approval application for stage 1 of the Neerabup resource recovery precinct on September 22 this year.
“This application included the previously completed noise and odour studies,’’ a spokeswoman said.
This means the city applied to DWER for the works approval before the notice about the business case and major trading undertaking for Neerabup resource recovery precinct was advertised on October 2 in the state newspaper and a community newspaper (it was also put on the city’s online public notices about the same time).
This week DWER said clearing native vegetation within the proposed precinct also required a clearing permit, which the city could obtain for the entire site if authorised by landholders.
“The city has applied for a clearing permit for works at Lot 600 and 570 Wattle Avenue and this application is currently under assessment by DWER.’’
The city has previously said with Wanneroo’s population projected to increase to more than 430,000 people by 2046 and Tamala Park landfill expected to reach the end of its operational life in late 2028, the new facility was an essential step towards managing waste sustainably for the growing community.
