The Southern Regional Planning Panel handed down its final verdict on the North Ridge Materials Facility on Friday, refusing the proposal due to fears it could contaminate nearby groundwater and send airborne waste particles across the area.

First proposed back in 2017, the $1.5 million project sought to turn historic waste evaporation ponds at a former wool combing facility in Bomen into landfill for non-odorous waste.

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Eunony Valley residents rallied passionately against the development due to environmental concerns and have celebrated the planning panel's decision.

"We're obviously very pleased and everyone is feeling very good," local crop farmer John Gray said.

"As a group we were reasonably confident that we'd put up a good case but we were still concerned as you are in these cases."

Fellow local resident Bill Schulz said the community was glad to put the issue behind them.

"Relieved is the word I'd use," he said. "We work very hard in our community to have a positive impact on the environment ... and this would have flown in the face of that."

Chris Egan, the owner of Riverina Warehousing Solutions, was the proponent behind the proposal and said he was shocked and saddened by the rejection.

He believed the project would have been the perfect way to remediate the unpopular evaporation ponds, removing their odour before eventually covering the site and returning it to grazing country.

"Those ponds are not going to be remediated now, which is a shame because it would have been beneficial for the local residents," Mr Egan said.

He will now look into either preparing the land for industrial buildings or an expansion of the nearby Bomen Solar Farm.

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