How did the rate come about?
To force the State Government to see how desperate the situation was Hornsby Shire Council placed a moratorium on the processing of any development application located within the West Hornsby Sewage Treatment Plant’s catchment area until action was taken.
The strategy worked and in April 1994 a Statement of Joint Intent (SoJI) was signed between Hornsby Shire Council, NSW Government, Environment Protection Authority, (Sydney) Water Board and the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment Management Trust. The principal intent behind this “community contract” was the ecologically sustainable development of Berowra Creek catchment and recovery of the environmental health of the Creek.
The SoJI not only acknowledged the significant impacts of polluted urban stormwater run-off but instigated the upgrading of the West Hornsby and Hornsby Heights Sewage Treatment Plants (reducing nutrients through increased levels of wastewater treatment) and the creation of the CRR.