Landslip remediation works at Humphery Binjour Road, Gayndah, Queensland

Transcription

1 Landslip remediation works at Humphery Binjour Road, Gayndah, Queensland EPBC 2013/6893 Decision of Approval, Australian Government, Department of Environment WICL Clearing permit, Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Prepared for: Australian Government, Department of Environment Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection May P age

2 Background The Humphery-Binjour Road landslip remediation project is being managed by the North Burnett Regional Council (NBRC) and resulted in unavoidable impacts to flora species of conservation significance listed in the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NC Act) and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The landslip remediation works were required to remediate a failed section of slope adjacent to Humphery-Binjour Road. The landslip has resulted in unacceptable risks to road users and is being funded by the National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements. The civil works required to repair the landslip will result in the removal of: Four (4) Pomaderris clivicola plants, listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act and NC Act; and Eighty-two Bertya pedicellata plants, listed as near-threatened under the NC Act. A Clearing Permit (Permit number WICL ) was issued by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (DEHP) on 27th June 2013 for impacts to Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata. On 9 th October 2014 the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPC) published a Decision of Approval for the approval of the controlled action for impacts to Pomaderris clivicola (EPBC 2013/6893). An Offset Management Plan (OMP) has been developed to meet the permit conditions of both the Clearing Permit issued under the NC Act and a controlled action approval permit under the EPBC Act. The approvals require new populations of Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata to be established in an area of suitable physical and biological habitat and with a land tenure that can provide long term protection of the new populations. The establishment of these new populations, as well as their long term viability, is the primary objective of this OMP. The OMP will include a description of the proposed offset site, outline tenure mechanisms to ensure the long-term protection of the offset site, define the management intent and outline management area actions to establish and protect the new plant populations. Measurable performance and completion criteria will also be defined, as well as monitoring and reporting requirements during the offset establishment and maintenance period. The OMP is also prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Queensland Biodiversity Offsets Policy and the EPBC Act Environmental Offsets Policy. 2 P age

3 Timetable of Actions Action Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection Clearing Permit 1 received (WICL ) Cuttings collected for Pomaderris clivicola from the impact site with permission from Department of Environment in lieu of pending permit approval. Date 27 July September 2013 Department of Environment Decision on Approval received (EPBC 2013/6893) 9 October 2013 Cuttings collected for Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata from the impact site. 29 October 2013 Published Humphery Binjour page on the North Burnett Regional Council website. 21 November 2013 Cuttings collected for Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata from the impact 3 December 2013 site. Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection Clearing Permit 26 February 2014 two (2) received (WICL ) Cuttings collected for Pomaderris clivicola from the impact site. 4 March 2014 Translocation of impacted Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata from the impact site. Four (4) Pomaderris clivicola and fifty five (55) Bertya pedicellata were extracted from the impact site and stored in a nursery facility on Boomerang Road March 2014 Clearing commenced at remediation site on Humphery Binjour. 24 March 2014 Clearing completed. Four (4) Pomaderris clivicola and fifty five (55) Bertya pedicellata were translocated. Forty two (42) Bertya pedicellata were destroyed. Return of Operations completed and returned to Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection. 20 April April P age

4 Report received from University of Sunshine Coast for propagation. June 2014 Permit to conduct Offset Land Management Activities on Gurgeena State Forest for the purpose of Humphery Binjour Road Landslip Remediation Offset. 26 June Pomaderris clivicola planted at Offset Site 24 and 25 September Bertya pedicellata planted at Offset Site 24 and 25 September 2014 Cuttings collected for Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata from the impact site. Contract for the management of the Offset Site awarded to Ahern Contracting for five (5) years. all is looking well for 2015 Plants are doing great since recent rain. Measured 25mm rain. Spot sprayed regrowth on track and Lantana. Roads and Fences are in excellent condition. Monitoring and site preparation Arranged delivery of 25 Pommaderris from USC Prepared new transfer site ready for planting. Inspected Roads and Fences all in excellent condition. Planting Planted 25 Pommaderris and watered, mulched and fertilised. Installed new fence. Numbered new transfer plants 1 25 Photographed individual plants with number reference. 8 th October 2014 October th January th January th January P age

5 Planting and monitoring Reviewed quote with BAAM regarding to change in numbers transferred and arranged for assessment to commence and awaiting to confirm dates. Monitoring Inspected OMS Measured 80mm rain since last monitoring date Plants are all looking great Newly transferred Pommaderris are doing well and seem to be healthy. Roads and Fences are great had to repair a couple of wires where a branch fell down. Measured 15mm rain since last monitoring date Plants are doing well. Checked fences and road all great. Organised BAAM to start assessment in early May. Measured 125mm rain since last monitoring date Plants are doing great. Inspected fence and roads are all in good condition. Monitoring Checked plants and moisture meter read wet. Whipper snipped plots. Checked fence and roads are all in great condition. Took photos of the plants. Plants are doing great since recent rain. Spot sprayed Dutchmans Pipe and some Lantana. Roads and Fences are in excellent condition. 23th January th January th February rd March th March th October P age

6 . Inspected Roads and Fences all in excellent condition.. 24 th March 2015 Inspected Roads and Fences Measured 45mm Rain There was some damage to fences and a lot of timber down around plant plots but no damage to any plants Have organized to have a grader in early January to run fence line and roads also too shift timber and clear access to plots. All is looking well Plant are doing great since last rain Roads and Fences are in excellent condition. Had phone call from Tom Hayes RE his new position managing the OMS matters whilst Lee is away. Made a date to meet on site and discuss the issues around the up coming planting of the remaining plants from USC Picked Tom Hayes up from the Mundubbera Officer and made a trip out to the OMS and discussed some the issues regarding the up coming planting and the change in numbers and contract. Inspected roads and fences all in excellent condition Have organized to collect plants and made a date for planting early April. There was some damage to fences and a lot of timber down around the plant plots, 21 st December th January th February th March th March P age

7 but no damage to any plants. Planting Inspected OMS Rang Tom Hayes and made contact that we are planting today the 5th and if he would like to come on site and discuss options of planting. We agreed to deep rip the site to a depth of 600mm to loosen soil and remove other root competition. We discussed the option and decided not to fence the plot off as we have not seen any evidence of animal damage and if there was future damage we then could fence off. Discussed with Tom the issue of the small plants that are quite young and asked if we could leave them potted until they are stronger. The decision was made to plant them. Organized dozer to be floated to site and ready for planting. Cleared the front fence line and cleared more room for new plants. Deep ripped site to a depth of 600mm with dozer and then commenced planting. Organized a water truck, mulch fertilizer pegs tags etc to be on site. Planting Inspected OMS Finalized planting, watering, tagging and mulching. Took some photos. Tagging involved recording the number of the parent plant with an id number and name Watering Have organized to water plants. Note we have had to start watering the existing plants as there are signs of stress in some on the POMS and the moisture meter is showing low due to lack on seasonal rain but that is current throughout the area. Monitoring / Watering Check plants for moisture all look bright and healthy. Measured high on moisture meter. A couple of the little plants don't seem to well and look like they might drop there leaves. 5 th April th April th April th April P age

8 Monitoring Moisture meter read high. No work has been carried out on the roads or fences. Watering / Monitoring Have organized to water plants. Checked the moisture meter and all are still wet so gave a quick watering. The plants are all looking great except for 3 larger plants and nearly all the small plants are deceased 16 in total. Monitoring WBBE did a site inspection and report. 15 th April th April th April 2016 Watering / Monitoring Organized to water plants. Checked moisture meter and it read Mid range so we watered. Plants are looking great all seem to have some new growth and are of a deep green colour. Monitoring WBBE submitted their report. 3 rd May th May 2016 Watering / Monitoring Organized to water plants and check moisture meter it read high so continued to water. Monitoring Plants are looking great very healthy with no more losses to record. Measured 26mm Rain Fence and roads are in good condition with no work needed. 25 th May th June P age

9 Monitoring / Watering Plants were checked for moisture and moisture meter read in mid range so we watered Have another 10 plants looking sick at the moment but haven't lost there leaves yet. Roads and fences are in good order nothing to report. 27 th June 2016 Table 1: Conditions of Queensland Clearing Permit, WICL (second clearing permit for this activity). Issued 26th February 2014, expired 25th August Condition PG1 Condition PG2 Condition PG3 Condition PG4 Condition PG5 Condition Activities relevant to the clearing, including impact avoidance, under this permit must be in accordance with the procedures and actions outlined in the following documents, except where conditions on the permit indicate otherwise. A Return of Operations form must be sent to the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection within 28 days after, after the clearing is completed, or the permit ceases to have affect, whichever is the sooner, and you must keep a copy for your records. The North Burnett Regional Council must gain approval from the Director General NPRSR to use the relevant portion of State Forest 172 as the offset site. This permit does not exempt the permit holder from obtaining other approvals relevant to the clearing of vegetation at this site. Subject to the relevant sections of State Forest 172 being approved as the offset site, the NBRC must within 3 months after receiving approval investigate the options available to legally secure the offset site. Notes Please refer to Attachments F which includes the report from Probuild Civil s Environmental Consultant, AK Earth Environmental Consultants. Please also refer to Probuild s Environmental Management Plan. Clearing commenced 24 th March sent to Queensland Department of Environment & Heritage Protection about commencement on 4 th March Completed 30 th March Return of Operations submitted on 30 th April Permit to conduct Offset Land Management Activities on Gurgeena State Forest for the purpose of Humphery Binjour Road Landslip Remediation Offset received on 26 th June Federal permit approved received on 9 th October 2014 Permit to conduct Offset Land Management Activities on Gurgeena State Forest for the purpose of Humphery Binjour Road Landslip Remediation Offset received on 26 th June P age

10 Condition PG6 Condition PG7 Condition PB1 Condition PB2 Condition PB3 Condition PB4 Subject to approval of and the method of legally securing the offset site, the NBRC must legally secure the offset site within 12 months after the relevant approval has been received. The offset will only be deemed as being completed when it is achieved to the satisfaction of EHP. Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata must be propagated predominantly from vegetative stock. The NBRC must apply a reasonable effort to propagate one seedling from each of the 34 Pomaderris clivicola plants that occur at the clearing site. Because of the difficulty of propagating Pomaderris clivicola, it will be acceptable if fewer plants propagated, given that a reasonable effort was applied to achieve propagation. To ensure genetic integrity, all plants must be propagated from stock of local provenance. This permit authorises vegetative material to be collected in accordance with the Code of Practice for the take and use of protected plants", to the extent that the offset relating to this permit can be met. Prior to commencing vegetation clearing the entire development site must be inspected by a suitably qualified professional for the presence of animal breeding places. Any handling of wildlife must be undertaken by a licensed spotter catcher and the latter should be on site during the clearing operation. Clearing must only commence after necessary legal requirements for the implementation of Species Management Programme (SMP) or SMPs have been met by the applicant. Permit to conduct Offset Land Management Activities on Gurgeena State Forest for the purpose of Humphery Binjour Road Landslip Remediation Offset received on 26 th June See attachments including photos on progress so far. Please refer to Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment and Approval (DEHP reference WICL and NBRC references , & ) Attachments G and H Please refer to Attachments A which includes the reports from Sunshine Coast University. Please refer to Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment and Approval (DEHP reference WICL and NBRC references , & ) Attachments G and H Please refer to Attachments A which includes the reports from Sunshine Coast University. Please refer to Attachments F which includes the report from Probuild Civil s Environmental Consultant, AK Earth Environmental Consultants. Please refer to Attachments F which includes the report from Probuild Civil s Environmental Consultant, AK Earth Environmental Consultants. 10 P age

11 Condition PB5 Condition PB6 Condition PB7 Clearing authorised under this permit shall be conducted in a sequential manner to allow fauna to disperse into adjacent areas and to minimise damage to surrounding vegetation. Plants of Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata that are adjacent to the development footprint must be clearly demarcated and all contractors must be informed of this demarcation to protect these plants from accidental clearing. Activities related to vegetation rehabilitation and the establishment of Pomaderris clivicola and Bertya pedicellata must be conducted by suitably qualified persons. Please refer to Attachments F which includes the report from Probuild Civil s Environmental Consultant, AK Earth Environmental Consultants. Please refer to Attachments F which includes the report from Probuild Civil s Environmental Consultant, AK Earth Environmental Consultants. The planting of the two species and management of the Offset site for five years was tendered out with the tender being awarded in October The successful tenderer is a local based company, Ahern Contracting, with a formal partnership with Biodiversity Assessment and Management Pty Ltd (BAAM). 11 P age

12 Table 2: Conditions of Australian Government, Decision of Approval, EPBC 2013/6893. Issued 9 October 2014, expires 30 October Condition 1 (a) Condition 1 (b) Condition 1 (c) Condition 2 Condition 3 Condition (a) To compensate for significant residual impacts to Pomaderris clivicola, the person taking the action must establish 34 Pomaderris clivicola plants at the offset site: a) the new population must be vegetatively propagated from all 34 Pomaderris clivicola plants at the subject site. b) All vegetative material required to be collected in order to adhere to this condition must be collected before commencement of action. c) The establishment and management of the new population must be undertaken in accordance with the Offset Management Plan. Within 10 days after the commencement of the action, the person taking the action must advise the Department in writing of the actual date of commencement. The person taking the action must maintain accurate records substantiating all activities associated with or relevant to the conditions of approval, including measures taken to implement the Offset Management Plan, and make them available upon request to the department. Such records may be subject to audit by the Department or an independent auditor in accordance with section 458 of the EPBC Act, or used to verify compliance with the conditions of approval. Summaries of audits will be posted on the Departments website. The results of audits may also be publicised through the general media. Notes Vegetation samples have been taken from all thirty four (34) individuals. Please refer to the reports in Appendix A Four (4) collections of cuttings occurred prior to the commencement of action. To try to improve successful propagation an additional collection was completed in October Please see Appendix C Report from Ahern Contracting and Appendix E the Offset Management Plan. Please refer to Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment and Approval (DEHP reference WICL and NBRC references , & ) Attachments G and H Clearing commenced on the 24 th March 2014 and the Department was advised in writing on the 4 th April Records are being kept as per condition. 12 P age

13 Condition 4 Condition 5 Condition 6 Within 3 months of every 12 month anniversary of the commencement of the action, for the life of the approval, the person taking the action must publish a report on their website addressing compliance with the conditions of this approval over the previous 12 months, including implementation of the Offset Management Plan. Non compliance with any of the conditions of this approval must be reported to the Department within 2 business days of becoming aware. Upon direction of the Minister, the person taking the action must ensure that an independent audit of compliance with the conditions of approval is conducted and a report submitted to the Minister. The independent auditor must be approved by the Minister prior to the commencement of the audit. Audit criteria must be agreed to by the Minister and the audit report must address report must address the criteria to the satisfaction of the Minister. If the person taking the action wishes to carry out any activity otherwise than in accordance with the Offset Management Plan as specified in the conditions, the person taking the action must submit to the Department for the Minister's written approval a revised version of that management plan. The varied activity shall not commence until the Minister has approved the varied management plan, in writing. The Minister will not approve a varied management plan unless the revised management plan would result in an equivalent or improved environmental outcome over time. If the Minister approves the revised management plan, that management plan must be implemented in place of the management plan specified in the conditions. This report is the second twelve (12) month report. No direction from the Minister given to undertake this action. Please refer to Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment and Approval (DEHP reference WICL and NBRC references , & ) Attachments G and H Prior to this 2 nd annual report the only change was to increase the size of the fenced area to ensure minimal impact to the sites vegetation and the semi evergreen vine thicket. The increase in area allowed some of the existing fence to be used. 13 P age

14 Condition 7 Condition 8 If the Minister believes that it is necessary or convenient for the better protection of Pomaderris clivicola to do so, the Minister may request that the person taking the action make specified revisions to management plan specified in the conditions and submit the revised management plan for the Ministers written approval. The person taking the action must comply with any such request. The revised approved management plan then the person taking the action must continue to implement the management plan specified in the conditions. Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Minister, the person taking the action must publish all management plans referred to in these conditions of approval on their website. Each management plan must be published on the website within 1 month of being approved for the life of the approval. Please refer to Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment and Approval (DEHP reference WICL and NBRC references , & ) Attachments G and H A summary of the project and the Offset Management Plan was published on North Burnett Regional Council website on the 21 November The Offset Management Plan and a description of the work remain on the website. Offset Management Plan published on the North Burnett Regional Council Website on the 21 st November See APPENDIX A: Sunshine Coast University, Propagation Reports APPENDIX B: Vegetation Matters Report APPENDIX C: Ahern Contracting Report/s APPENDIX D: Permit to conduct Offset Land Management Activities on Gurgeena State Forest for the purpose of Humphery Binjour Road Landslip Remediation Offset APPENDIX E: Sequential Clear and Grub Report, Probuild Civil and AK Earth Environmental Consultants APPENDIX F: Environmental Management Plan, Probuild APPENDIX G: Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment Request, North Burnett Regional Council APPENDIX H: Humphrey Binjour Vegetation Offset Management Plan Amendment Approval, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection 14 P age