Category Archives: SOMR Activities

Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Information Forum

Some facts about the project:

The Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro project (OMPS)
 
 * Will not dam the Macleay River
The two reservoirs to be built for the pumped hydro power generation will not be in the
riverbed. There will be a lower reservoir near the river and an upper reservoir about 600m above.
The project will purchase power from the grid to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper in times of low demand/cost power; and release water, driving the turbines, generating electricity in high demand/cost periods. Profit will be made from the price differences.
Only the lower reservoir will initially be filled and topped up as required. The proponents say they will fill and top up the lower reservoir from the Macleay River only during times of high-water flows.

*  Will not give water security to the residents of the Kempsey Shire during
times of drought.
Oven Mountain reservoirs will not contribute to the Kempsey Shire water security.
Water released during a drought would soon be absorbed into the riverbed. It would not reach Bellbrook and therefore be of no use. It is not part of the project plan.
 
* Will provide employment
The proponents have estimated that there will be 600 jobs created during the construction phase and have hinted at 1,000 not 3,000 jobs as stated by our local State MP.
 
* Will store electricity
The current proposal for the Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro project aims to provide up to 900MW, not 600MW as originally proposed. Proponents had to resubmit their proposal to the Dept of Planning Industry & Environment (DPIE). There is no net gain in electricity generated from the project.
 
* Will impact on our roads
Road access for the project may be from Kempsey via Armidale Road. It appears that upgrades will initially be paid for by the NSW government.
 
* Will cost ratepayers & taxpayers
So far, the project has been allocated funding of approx. $12 million from the NSW and Commonwealth governments.
 
* Will submit EIS for community consultation before the decision of the
Minister for Planning, Environment and Industry
The proponents have engaged consultants to develop the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The document is expected to consist of several hundred pages. The Development
Application (DA) and EIS is proposed to be lodged by the end of 2022. Following the DA’s and EIS’s placement on Public Exhibition (by DPIE) the public will have 28 working days to lodge submissions.
 
* Will be operated by Alinta Energy
The land is owned by local family company Hoshac Pty Ltd.
The proponents are OMPS Pty Ltd who will hand the project to Alinta Energy when operational.

Picnic for Nature

On Sunday 16 October, a beautiful sunny day, SOMR organised a Picnic for Nature at the Gladstone Market. It was part of a statewide initiative by the Nature Conservation Council with a focus on networking and education.

The SOMR stall was decorated with numerous posters and banners pertaining to the protection of the environment. Maps and graphs on the table showed details of the proposed Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro project. Many passers engaged in conversations about their concerns in regards to the project’s impact on the Macleay River.

Several people spread their picnic blankets on the riverbank behind the stall. They took the opportunity to network while the children went back and forth between the picnic treats and the playground.

EXISTING GRAVEL EXTRACTION QUARRIES AT 116 (LOT 35) AND 142 (LOT 36) MAINEYS ROAD, TURNERS FLAT.

The two quarries are located in an existing gravel flood-channel of the Macleay River, which fills with water with a river rise of about 2.5 meters. This then forms a large island of about 20 hectares between the flooded channel and the lower river channel. The velocity of the water flowing though the quarries, increases with the rise in water level until it matches the main river flow. (Refer Images 1 & 3 below.) When the river height reaches about 10 meters the whole island (right hand side of Image 2 below) is covered by water.

The Development Approvals for the quarriers were issued by Council in 1997, with only six Conditions relating to extraction of the gravel and compliance with Department of Water Conditions. This; in-spite of the long existent NSW State government Policy, ‘The NSW Sand and Gravel Extraction Policy for Non- Tidal Rivers’ (1992).

The ‘Approvals’ were issued under “Existing Use Rights” as the quarries had been operating for several years and excavation was limited to the existing approved area. The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act defines Existing Use Rights as: “One which began legally but would now be prohibited”.

The quarries have been operating under the 1997 Approvals for about 25 years and, to the best of our knowledge, there has never been an Environmental Impact Study carried out to assess the environmental impact the quarries on the Macleay River including: river morphology, antimony and arsenic mobility, as well as the fish and wildlife that are part of the local ecosystem. Or addressing any of the 6 mechanisms identified in The NSW Sand and Gravel Extraction Policy for Non-Tidal Rivers’ (1992).

SOMR’s concerns are that the continued operation of the extraction is creating a deep channel in the gravel bed, approximately 2 meters deep at the upstream end. As water flows over this excavated edge, it erodes the gravel bed further upstream and changing the water flow within the existing gravel bed. (Refer Image 1 below.) The extended reduction in the height of the existing gravel bed then has the potential to continue to extend upstream from the excavated area, potentially meeting up with the main river flow channel and changing the river course.

As there is no set length of time within the DAs for the quarries to cease operation, the question is, how long can the quarries continue to operate without complying with current environmental requirements? There have been numerous breaches of the DA and Licence Conditions over the years which have been ‘overlooked’ by council and the annual inspection by the understaffed Department of Water (now National Resource Access Regulator).

We believe that now is the time to urgently review this situation of operating under historic and out-dated “Existing Use Rights” Approvals and 1997 Conditions, given; the increased number of flood events impacting the Macleay River, due to climate change and the increased potential for major impacts on the stability and health of the river and those people and industries impacted.

1. A knick-point developed as a consequence of steep-batter quarrying eroding upstream from the quarry face following flooding, impacting on the natural rates and magnitude of change in the gravels of the flood channel; 6th Aug 2021.

2. Site of gravel quarries lower centre- left of image.

3. Flooded quarries showing extraction is affecting the active upper river channel of the river.

4. Gravel movement from upstream erosion after flooding; 20th Dec. 2021.

Footnotes:

  1. The above is a summary only, as to include all the information on file (copy of DAs, correspondence with Council and Department of Water. Images of Quarries etc) would create a very extensive article) Some images have been included to show the location of the quarries, the extent of the excavation and the altered water flow being created by the operations.
  2. An assessment of the ‘Turners Flat Geomorphological Context’ is linked to this article:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19uCbmtKkVPpGGxdvGRO4l0kKuP1dEB5j/view?usp=sharing

3. A relevant extract of the “Sand and Gravel Extraction Policy for Non-Tidal Rivers” (1992) is also linked to this article for further background information:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N0gsL54rHvMjtVoRRU6cyxHXQiyhehuN/view?usp=sharing

Notes 2 & 3 have been prepared by Michael Pemberton, a SOMR Committee Member, with many years of experience in fluvial-morphology.