Lismore City Council is going back to the NSW Land and Environment Court for another Santin Quarry decision, this time because of the Monaltrie Area Community Association Incorporated (MACAI).

In a statement released on Friday, the MACAI groups said it has commenced David & Goliath action against Lismore City Council (LCC) regarding the Santin Quarry approval on Tuesday 9 January.

They are alleging the Council did not have the power to approve a modification application (MA) to extend the life of the Santin Quarry, River Bank Road, Monaltrie, 5km south of Lismore CBD.

This was done during the October 2023 council meeting when councillors approved a 12-year extension for the Santin Quarry with 44 conditions that must be complied with.

The vote was 6/4 with Councillors (Crs) Krieg, Gordon, Hall, Bing, Jensen and Rob voting for and Crs Guise, Ekins, Bird and Colby with Cr Cook away.

Lismore City Council released this statement on Friday:

Council has received notice of a Class 4 Summons filed with the Land and Environment Court with regards to the Council consent for DA92/523-5.

Council is listed as Second Respondent.

The matter is listed for Class 4 Directions Hearing on 23 February 2024.

Council will be proceeding with the legal matter accordingly.

The Appeal is a judicial review, as provided for by the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act and is part of the function of the Land and Environment Court to review.

The history of the Santin Quarry extension dates back to 2020 when under a 9-councillor chamber (Crs Greg Bennett and Gianpiero Battista had resigned when COVID extended a councillor's term by 15 months) it was voted down by Crs Guise, Ekins, Lloyd, Casson and Bird with Crs Marks, Moorhouse and Cook voting for the extension. Mayor Isaac Smith was on leave at the time.

The main points in question were:

• The current DA had expired and council was not in a position to modify the consent to continue operations.
• The quarry was not essentially the same development anymore.
• The Environmental Impact Study was completed in 1992 and circumstances have changed.

Cr Cook, at the time, argued the Santin Quarry was essentially the same development and had the recommendation of council staff three times while Cr Guise said "I disagree with our own legal advice," when he spoke against the motion to extend the Santin Quarry's life.

Fast forward to October 2023, LCC staff now recommended against the extension with Cr Guise saying, "Councillors, if you're contemplating ignoring a staff recommendation to refuse this, you are throwing out any adherence to the law."

A rescission motion was also defeated a week later at an Extraordinary Council Meeting.

Different times, different council staff and different councillors have all played a part in the ongoing Santin Quarry saga with councillors using whatever means to get their point across.

The Lismore App understands that two objectors in the MACAI don't live on their land as there was no house present when it was purchased so they are not personally directly affected by the day-to-day operations of the Santin Quarry.

Once again, the decision will lay with the NSW Land and Environment Court with a hearing on February 23 2024.

Mick Santin himself took Lismore City Council to the Land and Environment Court after the 2020 vote against his quarry extension. He later withdrew his actions against LCC on the 4th of October 2021.

The quarry history and assessment can be seen from P36 of the October 2023 Council meeting: https://infocouncil.lismore.nsw.gov.au/Open/2023/10/OC_10102023_AGN_AT.PDF and on Page 24 of the original October 2020 council meeting https://infocouncil.lismore.nsw.gov.au/Open/2020/10/OC_13102020_AGN_AT.PDF.