Veolia Woodlawn ARC

Veolia Environmental Services proposes to develop and operate the Woodlawn Advanced Energy Recovery Centre (ARC), an energy recovery facility that would produce up to 30 megawatts of electrical energy from approximately 380,000 tonnes of residual waste feedstock each year.

The facility would be integrated with the existing waste management operations owned and operated by Veolia at the Woodlawn Eco Precinct, located approximately 40 km south of Goulburn in New South Wales.

The proposed facility is designed to recover energy from residual waste that will otherwise be disposed to landfill. The proposed development would be one of the first of its kind in the state.

The facility has an estimated development cost of approximately $600 million and is being assessed as state significant development.

Proposal status

When exhibited in late 2022, the department received 617 public objections and an objection from Goulburn Mulwaree Council. Key concerns related to human health and agricultural risks from air pollutants and PFAS, contamination of groundwater and drinking water, Veolia’s compliance record, receiving Sydney’s waste and odour.

Four independent experts engaged by the Department requested further information regarding consistency with the EfW Policy, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and the assessments of human health, agricultural risk and odour.

The Department requested Veolia respond to issues raised by the community, government authorities and the independent experts in a submissions report.

In mid-2024, Veolia advised that the ash residue encapsulation cell would be removed from the proposal to address groundwater contamination concerns. An alternate method of treating ash residues is proposed to enable disposal in the existing Woodlawn landfill.

An amendment report and submissions report are expected by September 2026 and will be made publicly available.

The community can keep up to date on the progress of the application by subscribing to the project on the NSW Planning Portal.

Consultation

The Department requires an applicant to carry out community consultation activities before an environmental impact statement is lodged.

As part of the environmental impact statement, Veolia prepared a detailed community and stakeholder participation strategy, which identified who in the community has been consulted and a justification for their selection, other stakeholders consulted and the form(s) of the consultation, including justification for the approach.

During the Department’s public exhibition, we invited the community, government agencies, councils, and other stakeholders to provide feedback. Your feedback helps us better understand your concerns.

Veolia is required to respond to issues raised in submissions received by the Department during the public exhibition in a Submissions Report. Veolia must continue its engagement with the community during the assessment of the proposal.

Key issues considered during the assessment process

The Department is undertaking a thorough, merit-based assessment of the proposal in consultation with the community and key stakeholders, including Goulburn Mulwaree Council and state government agencies such as the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), NSW Health and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. This will ensure potential impacts to the environment and risks to human health and agriculture are appropriately considered.

To assist with its assessment, the Department has engaged 4 independent experts in the fields of energy-from-waste technology and waste management, human health and agricultural risk, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and odour.

The Department’s assessment will consider the objects of the  Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) and the matters to be considered by a consent authority listed in section 4.15 of the EP&A Act.

The assessment will consider:

• the proposal's consistency with the EPA’s Energy from Waste Policy Statement and the NSW Government’s Energy from Waste regulatory and strategic framework
• the likely impacts of the proposal, including environmental impacts on the natural and built environment and the social and economic impacts in the locality
• the suitability of the site for the development
• need and justification for the proposal
• submissions from the public, special interest groups and government authorities
• advice from independent experts
• the relevant state policies, strategies and plans
• the current need for waste management infrastructure in NSW
• whether the proposal is in the public interest.