The proposed Oven Mountain Pumped Hydro Storage project between Kempsey and Armidale has raised many concerns in the Macleay Valley, but there is one thing stakeholders are agreeing on - the necessity of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
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The off-river Oven Mountain Project is being developed by OMPS Pty Ltd in partnership with Alinta Energy to "provide clean energy generation and storage capabilities".
The project will include the construction of a new electricity transmission network from the generation site to the Lower Creek area and upgrades to existing local and regional roads.
In preparation of the EIS, which is set to be submitted in January, the company has been running community information sessions to allow stakeholders to have their say.
OMPS Pty Ltd stakeholder engagement manager Patricio Munoz, said the information sessions have been important in keeping the community up to date with the project.
"It's really important to emphasise that the project still has a long way to go in the planning process," he said.
"There are legitimate opportunities for the community to have their say and for that say to be incorporated into future design and construction work."
The community consultation sessions have so far been held in Armidale, Willawarrin and Frederickton, with the last one set to be held at the South West Rocks School of Arts Hall on Thursday (December 8), from 9.30am until 12.30pm.
During the information sessions run by the company, and in another session run by the Save Our Macleay River (SOMR) group in November, the community has expressed various concerns about the project.
Save Our Macleay River executive Arthur Bain, who is also a Kempsey Shire councillor, said he is looking forward to the EIS exhibition.
"I am looking forward to the EIS coming out and having a good look at what those long term impacts may be, and I am looking forward to balancing the opportunities of the project with the potential damage to the environment," he said.
"There were concerns expressed by the Indigenous community about the lack of transparent consultation, and there were concerns expressed by an ecologist about the impact on biodiversity in the area."
Mr Bain also expressed his concerns about the impact the project may have on the Macleay River, with the risk of additional sediment inputs into the river during construction.
"We have long-term data on the health of the river, so we will be able to monitor any changes to that," he said. "There is also going to be heavy traction on our roads during construction and a lot of heavy traffic on our roads.
"At the [Willarrin information session], Oven Mountain said they will be widening the road and identified six spots where they will need to redesign roads in order to get their heavy equipment in, but I am concerned about those other sections of the roads that are going to be impacted by the increased traffic."
Mr Munoz said community feedback is "really critical" for the project as he addressed the issues raised by the community.
"We have done a broad range of engagement with Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders, and the primary aim is to provide genuine and meaningful engagement with everyone," he said.
"We also have an advertisement for a First Nations engagement advisor, that role has been advertised since November, and we are looking forward to having a new team member assist us with Indigenous engagement."
Mr Munoz said the community's concerns about the Macleay River, biodiversity and the roads will be addressed in the EIS.
"The community has raised a broad range of issues in these sessions, and this highlights the importance of getting out and about and letting people know about the Environmental Impact Statement," he said.
"The EIS is a fairly rigorous document that covers a whole bunch of different disciplines, including biodiversity, water management, cultural heritage and consultation.
"We're looking forward to that document being exhibited around March or April, in which people will be able to read the reports, provide formal feedback, and we will then be required to respond to that feedback."
Mr Bain said the EIS will give the community the chance to look at all the available information at hand and respond to the project in full.
"The information sessions have been good in raising awareness of the facts behind the project," he said.
"It's also highlighted the fact that we need to be alert when the EIS comes out so that people are prepared to write well-informed submissions and not be victims of misinformation."
OMPS now has a Oven Mountain Community Information Hub, which is located at 2/28 Clyde Street, Kempsey. It is open Tuesday to Thursday, from 10:30am to 3:30pm. People can also call the company on 1800 518 194.
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