Residents of a rural area near Horsham say they will take their case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) conditionally approved the construction of a food manufacturing waste disposal plant.
The authority granted Water Sustainability Farms Pty Ltd a development licence on March 29 for a site on Lanes Avenue, Quantong.
The company wants to complete solar drying evaporation ponds to deal with saline wastewater from Australian Plant Proteins, which operates a factory synthesising meat substitutes and protein powder in Horsham South.
The decision comes almost a year after the ponds had already been constructed without the required licence approvals from the EPA.
But the company needs a second licence before it can begin using the ponds.
EPA director permissioning and development strategy, Con Lolis, said the licence granted applied strict conditions to the company's proposal.
"EPA officers were concerned the ponds were unlicensed and were not adequately constructed and managed to prevent saline water from leaking into the landscape, so EPA issued the company with an official notice requiring it to cease any use of the ponds," he said.
"The company has gone through a public application process, including informing the community, and must comply with the licence and demonstrate the ponds can work without odour, leaking or other effects on the environment or community.
"The proposed ponds will require a separate EPA operating licence before they can be used."
Residents remain unhappy
Surrounding residents responded angrily online last week when rumours of the ponds' approval first surfaced.
Sharnee Lockhart, a resident who organised community dissent against the plan last year, said residents would appeal the decision and they had "a lot of support" in this regard.
She said opponents did not trust the proponent, given the project began construction before any licences were granted.
"Our main concern is the odour," Ms Lockhart said.
"There's been a lot of talk in Horsham around the foul-smelling odour coming from the plant protein itself, but also from where they have dumped their wastewater which last year was at the wastewater plant in Haven.
Ms Lockhart said residents had not had their questions answered by the EPA, after they asked for reports about the odour and how it was tested.
"We wanted reports on the actual classification of what the sludge was that they're planning on putting out there," she said.
"All the residents are concerned about the value of our properties plummeting."
The EPA's development licence assessment report noted that "the impacts on the environment in terms of climate change, noise and odour were regarded as acceptable".
