Penrith City Mayor, Todd Carney, says the Council welcomes the release today of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport by the Federal Government.
The Mayor said the Statement will help Council to understand the Government’s plan to mitigate the impacts on residents and the environment with the opening of the new airport facility.
“This release of the draft EIS is a significant step towards realising the great opportunities the airport will bring for our City through increased jobs, infrastructure and investment,” he said.
Mayor Carney said Penrith City Council had received the EIS at the same time as the wider community.
“I want to reinforce that Council needs time to understand the comprehensive document, including the impacts on our residents and the environment, and the measures proposed for mitigating how it will affect residents and the environment.”
“The release of the EIS gives us the opportunity to go through what the impacts are on our community, but also to see how those noise mitigation measures in particular will actually work within our community.”
“We have the opportunity to have our say and also to make sure that if there are some extra measures we can put in place, we do that through our submission to the EIS.”
He described the airport development and associated infrastructure as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity”.
“However, that must be balanced with the liveability of our area as one of the fastest growing in the state.”
“I encourage the community to seek out their own information on the EIS too and to attend one of the community information events, and make a submission on what they would like to see from the EIS.”
The EIS includes assessments of the noise, social and environmental impacts of the WSI preliminary flight paths and the Australian Government’s proposed actions to address any areas of concern.
This includes the proposed policy for noise treatments to existing properties most impacted by aircraft noise and considerations for any potential acquisition of property.
“Feedback has, and continues to be, a critical element to ensuring we deliver an airport which realises these lasting benefits, while balancing the needs of the community, environment, industry and users of the broader Greater Sydney airspace in the design of the new flight paths for WSI,” said Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King.
“That’s why we have gone above and beyond in community consultation, including the launch of an interactive Aircraft Overflight Noise Tool alongside the preliminary flight paths in June, and a range of community information and feedback sessions over the last few months. This means that local communities and the broader public have had more time to understand the flight paths and the modelled aircraft noise before the draft EIS release.
“This has ensured communities are well placed to understand how they may be affected, and engage and provide feedback on the draft EIS now.
“My department will hold more community information and feedback sessions across Sydney and the Blue Mountains over the coming months,” said Minister King.
The EIS looks at how the preliminary flight paths will affect First Nations and historic heritage, the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, aircraft noise in the region, biodiversity, health, greenhouse gases, other environmental factors and aircraft hazards.
It also outlines the changes to other aerodromes’ flight paths, including Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport and Bankstown Airport, which are required to safely integrate the WSI control area and flight paths.
The EIS is open for feedback from now until 31 January, 2024.
