Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd Benbullen Quarry Environmental Effects Report February 2017 Table of contents 1. Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3 2. Proponent Information....................................................................................................................4 3. Project Description .........................................................................................................................4 3.1 Description of Project...........................................................................................................4 3.2 Project Area, Map and Site Plan..........................................................................................5 3.3 Rationale and Alternatives.................................................................................................10 4. Potential Environmental Effects ...................................................................................................10 4.1 Flora and Fauna.................................................................................................................10 4.2 Rivers, Creek, Wetlands and Estuaries .............................................................................15 4.3 Significant Areas ................................................................................................................17 4.4 Air Emissions .....................................................................................................................17 4.5 Liquid Effluent ....................................................................................................................17 4.6 Solid Wastes ......................................................................................................................18 4.7 Noise Emissions ................................................................................................................18 4.8 Transport Impacts..............................................................................................................20 4.9 Other Off-site Impacts........................................................................................................20 4.10 Hazardous Substances and Chemicals.............................................................................20 4.11 Site Contamination.............................................................................................................21 4.12 Sustainability and Climate Change....................................................................................21 4.13 Cultural Heritage ................................................................................................................21 4.14 Sites of High Public Interest...............................................................................................22 4.15 Rehabilitation .....................................................................................................................22 5. Management Commitments.........................................................................................................24 6. Stakeholder Consultation.............................................................................................................26 7. Conclusion....................................................................................................................................27 8. Limitations ....................................................................................................................................28 9. References...................................................................................................................................29 Table index Table 5-1 Management Commitments...............................................................................................24 Figure index Figure 3-1 Project location map ............................................................................................................7 GHD | Report for Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd - Benbullen Quarry, 3218294 | i Figure 3-2 Project site plan ...................................................................................................................8 Figure 3-3 Indicative cross sections of North Pit (top) and South Pit (bottom) (see Figure 3- 2 for cross-section locations) (source TasIrrigation)............................................................9 Figure 4-1 Vegetation Mapping of the Project Site (Northern Area) (source, ECOTas 2016)............13 Figure 4-2 Vegetation Mapping of the Project Site (Southern Area) (source, ECOTas 2016) ...........14 Figure 4-3 Vegetation Mapping Legend..............................................................................................15 Appendices Appendix A – SIS – Camden Dam and Quarries Environmental Protection Requirements for Construction Appendix B – Ecological Assessment Appendix C – Aboriginal Heritage Assessment (Confidential document) Appendix D – Historic Heritage Assessment GHD | Report for Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd - Benbullen Quarry, 3218294 | ii 1. Introduction Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd (TI) are seeking statutory approval for the proposed Benbullen Quarry located at 70 Calverts Road, Tayene; 20 km south of Scottsdale in North-east Tasmania (the Project). The Project is planned to supply construction materials for the proposed Camden Rivulet Dam (the Dam) in the event that insufficient quality material can be won from the Dam footprint. The Dam is a key component of TI’s Scottsdale Irrigation Scheme (SIS). TI intends to favour use of rock and clay materials won within the Dam inundation area wherever possible, with the proposed Benbullen Quarry available as a backup resource if required. The 9300 ML earth and rock fill embankment Dam will require in the order of 100,000 m3 of rock and clay material; which is to be sourced from both within the footprint of the Dam, and if required, from the proposed Benbullen Quarry. The appointed contractor will determine the requirement for material from the Project. It is TI’s preference to have the quarry approved and available to the contractor prior to construction commencing to prevent any construction delays in the event material is needed beyond that available within the Dam footprint. This application, therefore, seeks approval to extract up to 100,000 m3 of rock and clay/silt material from the proposed Benbullen Quarry for the exclusive use of construction of the Dam. A Notice of Intent (NoI) for the Project was submitted to the Tasmanian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in April 2016, with the EPA subsequently assigning the Project as a class 2A assessment under the Environment Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPCA). This level of assessment requires the proponent to provide an Environmental Effects Report (EER) (this document) for assessment by the EPA board. The EPA has provided TI with project specific EER guidelines, which have been followed in the development of this document. TI have developed an environmental management document for the broader Camden Dam project, Scottsdale Irrigation Scheme – Camden Dam and Quarries Environmental Protection Requirements for Construction (see Appendix A). The document outlines the management and mitigation required to be incorporated into contractor construction environmental management plans (CEMPs) for the Project (and the Dam). The document contains a series of Environmental Protection Guidelines (EPGs) that form the basis for the proposed management and mitigation in this document. Additional to this approval, a mining lease has been sought from Mineral Resources Tasmania (MRT) for the Project site. Separate approvals are being sought for the Dam (a Dam Works Permit was secured 18 November 2016) and all other associated works. This application relates only to the proposed Benbullen Quarry. The Project is not proposed to be assessed under the Bilateral Agreement made under Section 45 of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). As the proposed quarry forms part of a broader project (the SIS), consideration of EPBC Act matters is being dealt with as part of the greater SIS project. It is noted however, there are no known EPBC Act matters of National Environmental Significance within the proposed quarry site and no apparent implications from the EPBC Act for the Project. GHD | Report for Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd - Benbullen Quarry, 3218294 | 3 2. Proponent Information Name: Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd Address: PO Box 84, Evandale, 7212 Contact: (03) 6398 8433 or [email protected] ACN: 133 148 384 ABN: 9572 2799 075 3. Project Description 3.1 Description of Project The Project will consist of two separate quarry areas within a single defined area (the Project Site) near to the Dam construction area: The Benbullen North Pit (North Pit) with a 5.6 ha footprint (approx. 350m long, 170m wide and 7 m deep); and The Benbullen South Pit (South Pit) with a 6.4 ha footprint (approx. 480m long, 120m wide and 3 m deep). The target resource of the North Pit is basalt rock. This resource is located on a basalt capped hill south-west of the proposed Dam site. Drilling results from a geotechnical investigation undertaken for the Dam (TI, 2015) suggest there will be an initial clay layer approximately 1 m deep before the target basalt is reached, which continues for a depth range of 7-11 m. A conservative volume estimate of