• July 7, 2024
• By JEP Team
• Articles, News

Lawsan Property Holdings Pty Ltd is proposing to establish a drill mud and oily water recycling facility within the Somersby Industrial Park. The development involves the installation of industry best practice recycling equipment within an existing industrial property to recycle up to 100,000 tonnes of drill mud and 50,000 tonnes of oily water per year. 

The Proposal will accept drill mud (being a soil and water slurry) from hydro-excavation and non-destructive digging activities on civil and construction projects. The Proposal will only accept material from sites with no known contamination and will not accept any material from oil exploration activities. The recycling process will separate the water and soil components to produce soils and aggregates of differing sizes suitable for use as soil replacements or fill materials in civil, construction, and landscaping projects. The water can be reused in other industrial applications or discharged to the sewer system.

Oily water consists of wastewater contaminated by oils or grease. Oily water is typically generated in stormwater runoff from service station forecourts, automotive workshops, and vehicle wash bays. Oily water recycling produces waste oil that can be refined into new, commercial-grade oils, and clean water that is discharged to the sewer system after testing confirms it is of suitable quality.

The proposal involves the installation of specialist liquid waste recycling equipment on a sealed and bunded concrete floor within an existing industrial building. Large-volume underground liquid storage tanks will be installed to hold incoming oily water and recovered oil. Aboveground water storage tanks will also be installed to temporarily hold the recovered clean water prior to off-site transport or discharge to sewer. 

The development is to be located within an existing industrial site in the Somersby Industrial Park. To ensure the facility does not negatively impact the surrounding environment, the following design elements and operational practices will be implemented:

• All waste handling, processing, and storage will occur within an enclosed, bunded industrial building to prevent the release of spills into the surrounding environment, except for one large clean water holding tank to be installed at the rear of the building. This tank will be internally bunded to provide leak protection;
• Underground tanks used to hold incoming oily water and recovered oil will comply with the Australian Standard for the underground storage of petroleum to protect the underlying soils and groundwater;
• An awning will be constructed over the roller doors of the existing building to protect all loading and unloading activities from rain;
• Recovered soils/aggregates will be discharged directly into hook lift bins and covered prior to collection and transport to prevent the release of soils and sediments;
• A rainwater harvesting system will provide water for landscaping irrigation, toilet flushing, and other on-site processes;
• High density acoustic insulation will be installed inside the building to reduce noise emissions; and
• All stormwater runoff from the outdoor hardstand and carpark will be directed through sediment traps, a bioretention basin and a gross pollutant trap to reduce sediment and pollution in runoff. In the event of a spill on the site, the stormwater system can be isolated, allowing contaminated water to be pumped out and disposed of at an appropriate treatment facility. 

The project will provide a service not currently available within the Central Coast region. Due to the volume of liquid waste to be processed, the development is declared to be State Significant Development. 

Environmental assessments to support the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement have been commissioned and consultation has been undertaken with Central Coast Council and NSW government departments. 

As part of the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement, neighbour and community feedback is being sought on the proposal. More information can be found in:

• Fact Sheet
• Scoping Report
• Community information webinar recording

You can provide your feedback on the proposed development by contacting JEP Environment & Planning via email or phone:

• E: admin@jacksonenvironment.com.au
• T: 02 8056 1849

We greatly appreciate your feedback on this project which will benefit both the environment and the local economy.