Response to Appendix 1 - Draft Submission for WSI - Airspace and Flight Path Design Draft Environmental Impact Statement - from the 24th January 2024 Business Papers
As the representative of the Wallacia community in my role as President of the Wallacia Progress Association, I have spent countless hours keeping the community informed as to the future impact of the airport. Many residents appear to not appreciate the consequences or feel that there is nothing that can be done to make any changes. However, many of us have already made robust, extremely well researched and often heartbreaking submissions.
Your draft submission is extremely disappointing with its lack of concern about the huge impacts that the proposed flightpaths are going to impose on Penrith LGA residents as well as the whole of Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Your support of the 24 hour airport is based on ‘the opportunities that it presents’ - the promise of extra employment and services for Penrith cannot outweigh the health and safety of your residents. It is a council endorsement that western Sydney residents are second class citizens compared to those around KSA and eastern Sydney.
With your submission, there is no mention of Wallacia or Mulgoa, both within the Penrith LGA. With the preferred Runway 23 scenario (with RRO operations at night) our village of Wallacia is included in 'the lowest number of people impacted by various noise thresholds' The impact of the proposed RRO flight path is going to create an unacceptable “significant and unavoidable level of noise exposure” in our homes (Part C of the EIS Summary). Most of Wallacia is directly under the flight path. An average of 7 to 10 departures could overfly us when this runway operating mode is in use. The altitude above runway level is only 2500 -5000 feet. Properties close to the flightpath will still experience noise. The stated average of 65 to 75 dBA does not account for the louder peaks and the anxiety of worrying when the next plane will wake us up. At present Wallacia is regarded as the quietest at night time (Table 11.8) and will be one of the noisiest when the flights begin.
With your submission, the suggestion that the night time period should be extended to 7am will create a greater load on Wallacia, the most heavily impacted community from the night time noise. Kingsford Smith Airport has a curfew. Any nighttime RRO flights there can use the ocean, which is not an option for us. However, your request for a wholistic broader Sydney Basin airspace flightpath is welcome as it would allow more options for avoiding our community.
Our whole village community is going to be impacted. We have a small population of nearly 1700 and people here have chosen Wallacia and surrounds for its quiet semi rural lifestyle. We are used to hearing birds with the occasional roar of the big cats at Zambi wildlife centre. Being under or close to the flight path creates major problems of noise, air disturbance, air pollution, tank drinking water pollution, social disturbance, and a proven disadvantage to the wellbeing of our children.
From Section 20.5.2 Health Related Noise Impacts - Part C pg 415 These health effects can include:
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Implementation of such a high concentration of flights over any communities and the lack of a curfew, will have incredibly detrimental effects on our mental health and will impose the risk of increased instances of stress, anxiety and depression. Tiredness and irritability in family members can lead to domestic problems affecting the mental health of both adults and children.
We will NOT get used to the noise. If we learn to accept it does not mean it has any less impact. As the noise increases in future “These changes, however, may remain of significance to some members of the community. “- From page 47 the EIS. The solution is not to move the fights to another community. No one should be subjected to such incredible disruption to their lives.
You have highlighted the likelihood of increased non compliance of Minor building alterations in relation to noise mitigation resulting in additional work for them. There is no mention of the increase in noise related physical and mental health problems which will impact our local hospitals. The health system is already operating under increasing stress levels. There should be modelling that shows the cost to the economy due to accidents and lost productivity as a result of sleep deprivation. A recent analysis of the economic cost of inadequate sleep in Australia (commissioned by the Sleep Health Foundation and completed by Deloitte Access Economics) reports that in 2016-17 financial year poor sleep caused $26.2 billion in financial costs and a further $40.1 billion in non-financial (loss of well-being) costs. The financial costs are predominantly due to lost productivity and to accidents.
In a media release on the 22nd December 2023, the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance published the findings of a study into the cost to the health system as a result of aircraft noise from Brisbane airport. The report estimates that aircraft noise related health issues will drain $18.9 billion dollars from the Queensland Health System by 2032. https://bfpca.org.au/health-study/
What will be the cost with constant aircraft noise, no curfew and frequently interrupted sleep for Penrith LGA?
There is no information on the possible impacts of Climate Change. The Draft EIS is a prediction and is only based on the last 10 years of weather data. The Draft EIS mentions ‘High temperatures can affect airport operations and temperature has an indirect relationship with air density. As temperature climbs the air becomes less dense and affects the climb performance of aircraft’. 3.3.1.4 Air pressure and temperature – Part A. Planes will need more distance to climb so will be at a lower height over our village. Given the increasing number of extreme weather patterns we are experiencing, due to climate change, why have there not been N60, N70, and LAmax contours created when the temperature reaches higher temperatures. As you know, the temperature in Penrith peaked at 49.7°C February 2020.
As a final point of concern, there were no Community Information Sessions for Wallacia. We eventually got 2 staff members to attend a public meeting in our village hall, but only after complaints and follow ups from us. As one of the suburbs most severely affected, we should have been given more respect for our community. The same applies for your submission. Wallacia needs to be highlighted as a community that needs protection, not complacence.
Regards
Margaret Stepniewski, President, Wallacia Progress Association,
