While disappointed at the Land and Environment Court decision, Bundanoon residents say their long campaign against Norlex has avoided a worse outcome.

Senior Commissioner Tim Moore has approved a development application by Norlex Holdings to extract groundwater from Governors Street, Bundanoon and ship out a maximum of two tanker loads a day on weekdays.

"When the Don't Bore Bundanoon committee was formed in 2006 we were told that Norlex had approval for five truckloads a day and there was nothing we could do about it," the president of the Bundanoon Community Association, Ralph Clark, said.

"Now, after four development applications and five court cases, Norlex has been expressly limited to two truckloads a day*, with smaller trucks, and the court has imposed a number of conditions to preserve the landscape, protect trees and reduce the impact on neighbouring properties."

It was a Pyrrhic victory for Norlex in some ways, Mr Clark said. "The people of Bundanoon have drawn attention around the world to the toxic nature of the bottled water industry through the Bundy on Tap initiative. Other towns, and indeed governments, are already following our lead.
"Given the public interest that has been generated by Don't Bore Bundanoon and Bundy on Tap any so-called ‘spring water' marketed by Norlex will be commercial poison."

Commissioner Moore has imposed conditions on the development in an effort to retain the natural landscape of Governors Street. Previous applications would have meant "the removal of the entirety of the vegetation" along Governors Street which is a popular bushwalking track.

The intersection with Church Street has been re-designed and moved to save trees and special measures have been ordered to protect the root systems of large trees when upgrading the road. The impact of vibration from trucks on heritage-listed Jackmans Cottage will be monitored.
Structures on the Norlex site will be much smaller than those originally proposed and the court has ordered they be screened by extensive landscaping.

Commissioner Moore agreed with objectors that the development would pose a risk to pupils of Bundanoon Public School and adversely impact on the amenity of residents of Governors Street and bushwalkers but found that these issues were not sufficient to warrant refusing the application.

The matter is listed for mention in court again on September 7 to finalise the wording of conditions to be imposed on the development. The Don't Bore Bundanoon committee and other residents will be closely monitoring work to ensure that all conditions of approval are strictly observed.

*Commissioner Moore says in his judgement: "I make it expressly clear that my conclusion...is confined to two tanker movements per weekday (excluding public holidays) to and from the site. Should, at some later time, an increase in the number of tanker movements to and from the site be sought, a fresh assessment would be necessary."

25 August 2009
Contact: Ralph Clark 4883 6174 0418 265 529