Council has responded to AGL’s draft Construction Environmental Management Plans (CEMP) for its gas field development (stage one), central gas processing facility and gas delivery pipeline.

The plans have been on AGL’s website for the past two weeks and a public exhibition period ended yesterday (February 18).

The service provider has hit out at the draft CEMPs which it says are ‘deficient’ and fail to provide specific detail about traffic management in particular.

Council is most concerned about heavy vehicle movements on its roads.

Using the data that has been provided by AGL, council estimates that between 13,030 and 30,280 truck movements will be required during development of the gas field alone.

The majority will be trucks transporting gravel.

“All these truck movements traverse the Bucketts Way before diverting on to the local road network and the individual well access tracks and well sites,” a report to council said.

Cr James Hooke said the draft plans should be of massive concern to ratepayers.

“Just think of the amount of road damage this will cause,” he said.

“We’re talking tankers in the hundreds. For residents in Stratford and Forbesdale this will have a massive impact.”

Council has also submitted that a road deterioration survey suggested by AGL in the draft CEMPs would be insufficient to protect the ratepayers and residents of the shire from the long term damage the development would cause.

“Any road damage would be assessed by AGL,” Cr Hooke said.

“There would be no input from us. There’s no independence. We’d have no say in recouping any of the damage that would occur.”

The company said traffic impacts for the Gloucester Gas Project had been assessed and did not rule out compensation.

“AGL will work with council in regards to any road upgrades and repairs needed,” a spokeswoman said.

“AGL will consider (compensation) after an engineering consultant has completed a detailed assessment. AGL will then consult with the council.”

Council has also expressed concern about plans for temporary construction camps during development of the gas field.

“The scale and dimension of the facilities, location of the workforce camp(s) and utility and service requirements are not known,” the council report stated.

AGL said there would likely be two camps with a joint capacity for 300 to 350 people over three years. 

The company did not reveal where the camps would be but said planning of the camps would be determined in consultation with council.   

Council has written to AGL seeking a four-week extension of the exhibition period for the draft CEMPs.

AGL said the initial exhibition period was not required, the company had chosen to do so, but did not rule out an extension.