CITY of Wanneroo residents have until Friday, August 21 to comment on stage 1 of the Neerabup resource recovery precinct, which has been referred to the National Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s (DCCEEW) Public comments and decisions on actions referred under the EPBC Act page while the minister may consider comments submitted after the comment period closes they don’t have to do so.
The minister then makes their referral decision within 20 business days of DCCEEW publishing the referral.
DCCEEW said the minister could only use comments that related directly to protected matters so advised people to make their comments specific to the project they were commenting on.
Their advice was to make your comment as helpful as possible, state why you believed the proposed action was or wasn’t a controlled action, whether the proposed action had an impact on protected matters, how the proposed action would have that impact, which parts of the proposed action would have an impact on a particular protected matter and the source of key information to support your views, if possible.
“If you think the referral information is misleading or incorrect, tell us why and give us the right information if you can,’’ the DCCEEW page said.
The City of Wanneroo is proposing the construction of the Neerabup resource recovery precinct (NRRP) stage 1 to provide essential recycling and waste services to its rate payers and the wider northern suburb communities with an estimated start date of January next year, according to the referral documents.
While the city’s application also refers to its controversial stage 2 waste to energy (WtE) facility it is not being assessed as part of this referral.
The city’s stage 1 application includes a community recycling centre (CRC), a waste transfer station (WTS) and a materials recovery facility (MRF).
The CRC is designed to provide residents with a safe and accessible location to drop off household items for recycling or appropriate treatment.
The WTS will consolidate residual waste from the city’s kerbside collection services and potentially other local governments, for bulk transport to recovery facilities in the southern Perth metropolitan area.
The MRF will accept and process co-mingled recyclables from the kerbside collections for downstream reprocessing.
This proposal will also include all associated supporting infrastructure including a shared weighbridge, access roads and service areas, surface water and leachate management systems (SWLMS), admin centre and workshop and security.
In order to facilitate the development of the proposed NRRP stage 1 infrastructure, clearing of a 10.4 ha development area is required.
The City of Wanneroo’s application also refers to its controversial stage 2 waste to energy (WtE) facility but it is not being assessed as part of this referral. Artist impression: Talis ConsultantsDevelopment of the project will initially involve removal of vegetation and construction of appropriate areas for the CRC, WTS and MRF as well as supporting site infrastructure such as surface water management controls.
This will involve movement of soils and material to construct laydown areas, roads, and drainage.
The city’s application said stage 2 infrastructure had not been included in the referral, as there was currently little need or demand for the future stage 2 developments.
“Stage 2 consists of a waste to energy (WtE) facility to the west of the proposed stage 1 infrastructure and other small to medium scale recovery facilities within the northern portion of the site,” the referral said.
“Current modelling suggests there is insufficient capacity for an additional WtE in Perth to cater for municipal solid waste for about the next two decades and as such the development of the stage 2 infrastructure is uncertain.”
The commonwealth legislation involved in this referral is the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
The proposal has been referred based on potential impacts to threatened species, in particular two species of black cockatoos.
The state legislation is the WA Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act) with a referral under part IV of the EP Act submitted to the EPA in June.
The disturbance for the MRF area is covered by a clearing permit issued under Part V of the EP Act (CPS 6359/3), which is valid until August 15, 2045.
“An additional clearing permit (CPS 11059/1) was issued in January 2026 that covers the additional clearing required for the stage 1 infrastructure.
“This is currently under appeal with the Appeals Convenor.
A works approval application was submitted to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) in February 2025 under Part V of the EP Act.
“This application covers the construction, commissioning and time limited operations of the proposed infrastructure and is currently under assessment.
“An operating licence will be sought prior to expiry of the works approval.
The other state legislation involved is the Planning and Development Act 2005 (PD Act).
According to the referral the city was planning to submit a development approval application back in June for the MRF facility as this would be delivered by a private service provider under a lease agreement with the city.
“All remaining infrastructure of NRRP stage 1 will be delivered under a public works exemption.”
Comment needs to be provided via the EPBC Act public portal
The EPBC public portal is best viewed through a desktop, laptop or tablet.
If you wish to make a comment using a mobile device go to Open for Comments
