Veolia still needs a separate work approval from the EPA before it can begin building the facility.

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The City of Casey has been governed by administrators since 2020, when the previous council was sacked amid one of Victoria’s worst corruption scandals.

Casey residents voted to elect a new council last month. Two municipal monitors will supervise the new council during its first 12 months.

Lynette Pereira, an independent candidate leading the vote count in the River Gum ward, which covers the suburbs near the landfill, said it was unacceptable for administrators to issue a permit now.

“I’m completely shocked that this was passed right before councilors came on board,” Pereira said. “They are not elected officials. They don’t care about the community like we do. They are there to fulfill an administrative function.

Pereira said the waste transfer station, once operational, would affect residents both inside and outside the expanded buffer zone.

“We’re talking about four suburbs, not just people in the buffer zone…And we’re talking about trucks carrying many tons of garbage, putrescible trash and other commercial waste, operating 18 hours a day.”

Residents living near the landfill were notified via email Monday evening of Casey’s decision.

Lynbrook Residents Association secretary Dish Johnson said: “Our community is facing a shocking and deeply unfair decision by Casey Council. »

In a letter sent to Casey City Manager Glenn Patterson and shared with AgeJohnson said it was troubling that the community was informed on the eve of a public holiday and on the cusp of a new council election.

“This rushed approval, hidden from public view and deprived of our right to appeal, raises serious questions about transparency, accountability and whose interests are actually being served here. »

The current landfill has been the subject of more than 1,500 community complaints to the EPA regarding odors in 2022-2023. Veolia is being sued in the Supreme Court by the EPA for allegedly allowing methane emissions to exceed safe levels at the facility 22 times over two years.

Patterson said the new site “will play a crucial role in supporting Victoria’s sustainable development goals”.

“We understand that the local community may be disappointed by this decision,” he said. “The role of the Council is to review applications for planning permission against relevant policies, development plans and legislation, and to ensure that local amenities are protected for the community.”

A Veolia spokesperson said the proposed station “will be a $40 million state-of-the-art facility, designed to meet Victoria’s growing waste management needs.”

“This is an important piece of infrastructure for the future as landfills approach capacity across the state.”

The Hampton Park landfill was previously planned to be rehabilitated as a park once closed. But that plan was scrapped in 2022, after the Andrews government identified the site as an important waste management hub.

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The proposed waste transfer station is also at the heart of plans by at least 11 municipalities to dispose of their non-recyclable waste.

Veolia and Opal Australian Paper, which has a paper mill in Maryvale, Gippsland, entered into a waste supply agreement with 10 municipalities in Melbourne’s east in August.

These councils – Casey, Bayside, Cardinia, Greater Dandenong, Frankston, Kingston, Knox, Maroondah, Whitehorse and Yarra Ranges – have committed to supplying their non-recyclable waste to the plant for 25 years. Latrobe Town Council also agreed to supply waste to the plant.

The waste-to-energy plant will initially have a processing capacity of 325,000 tonnes of waste per year.