Springvale Mine Extension Project Flora and Fauna Assessment Report Prepared by: Prepared for: RPS AUSTRALIA EAST PTY LTD SPRINGVALE COAL PTY LIMITED Springvale Colliery 241 Denison Street Castlereagh Highway Broadmeadow NSW 2292 PO Box 198 Wallerawang NSW 2845 T: +61 2 4940 4200 T: +61 2 6354 8738 F: +61 2 4961 6794 F: +61 2 6355 1493 E: [email protected] E: [email protected] W: www.centennialcoal.com.au Client Manager: Paul Hillier Report Number: PR 110326 Version / Date: Final/March 2014 rpsgroup.com.au Springvale Mine Extension Project Flora and Fauna Assessment Report Document Status Version Purpose of Document Orig Review Review Date V1 Client Review LV BS, RS PH 31/07/2013 V2 Draft Following Client Comments PH, AS PH 09/09/2013 V3 Client Review PH PH 24/10/2013 V4 Final for adequacy review PH PH 08/11/2013 V5 Client Review JS PH 24/02/2014 V6 Final for Submission JS PH 23/03/2014 Approval for Issue Name Signature Date Paul Hillier 23/03/2014 110326; Final/March 2014 Page ii Springvale Mine Extension Project Flora and Fauna Assessment Report Executive Summary Introduction RPS has been engaged by Springvale Coal Pty Limited (the Applicant) to undertake a Flora and Fauna Assessment as part of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Springvale Mine Extension Project (the Project). The Applicant is proposing to continue mining operations at Springvale Mine (Springvale) to extend the life of the mine by approximately 13 years. This assessment examines if the Project will have a significant effect on any threatened species, populations or ecological communities listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). This report recognises the relevant requirements of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) as amended by the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment Act 1997. The Project is also being assessed as an 'Accredited Assessment’ under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). A Referral was submitted under the EPBC Act (Ref: 2013/6881) with the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC) and the Proposed Action was determined as a Controlled Action under the EPBC Act. The components of Springvale’s existing operations are an underground longwall mine, accessed via the Springvale pit top, and supporting surface infrastructure within the pit top area and on Newnes Plateau within the Newnes State Forest. The Project will not significantly alter the nature of the existing operations at Springvale. The Applicant proposes to extend its mining operations, using longwall mining techniques, to the east and the south-west of its existing workings. The Project Application Area is located in the Lithgow Local Government Area (LGA), 15 km north of the City of Lithgow. The majority portion of the Project Application Area is located within the Newnes State Forest — with the exception of a small area in the west, which encompasses the land surrounding the current Springvale pit top area. Areas surveyed for the Project included those within the Project Application Area and areas that extended outside the Project Application Area, with all areas referred to as the 'Study Area'. Methods Flora, fauna and habitat surveys have been undertaken over the Study Area from November 2010 to August 2013. A variety of field survey techniques were employed over the course of fieldwork for this assessment to record a representative sample of flora species and fauna guilds across the Study Area. The surveys included site inspections to identify initial constraints to inform survey design, vegetation community surveys and various fauna survey methods including Elliott trapping, harp traps, hair tubes, bat echolocation, spotlighting, call playback, diurnal bird and herpetological surveys, opportunistic surveys and habitat assessments. Targeted searches for threatened flora and fauna species were also undertaken. Much of the survey efforts were deliberately focused around the predicted subsidence extents and 'Environmental Study Areas' (ESA). ESAs represent the boundaries within which surface facilities will be located and were subject to specific intensive targeted flora and habitat surveys. Only a proportion of an ESA would require clearing to accommodate required surface facilities, which allows flexibility in terms of mine design and avoidance of important ecological attributes, such as threatened species. The clearing required for surface facilities and access is referred to as the 'surface infrastructure footprint' within this report. In addition to the ecological surveys undertaken by RPS, a review of surveys undertaken for other projects within the Study Area’s locality was undertaken. These surveys include the flora monitoring and fauna monitoring undertaken within the Springvale, Clarence and Angus Place mining lease areas. Monitoring has been ongoing since 2009 for flora and since 2004 for fauna. 110326; Final/March 2014 Page iii Springvale Mine Extension Project Flora and Fauna Assessment Report Results Twenty-six native and exotic vegetation communities have been mapped within the Study Area. Of these, four represent Endangered Ecological Communities (EEC), namely Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamp (NPSS), listed under the TSC Act; Montane Peatlands and Swamps, listed under the TSC Act; Tablelands Snow Gum, Black Sallee, Candlebark and Ribbon Gum Grassy Woodland, listed under the TSC Act; and Temperate Highland Peat Swamp on Sandstone (THPSS), listed under the EPBC Act. In addition to being listed under the TSC Act, the NPSS also forms a part of the THPSS. Each of these EECs occurs within the predicted subsidence extents, with the exception of the Tablelands Snow Gum, Black Sallee, Candlebark and Ribbon Gum Grassy Woodland. This EEC was recorded over the low-lying areas within the west of the Study Area. This community has been mapped along the water courses, which may be influenced by mine water discharge. Consideration has been afforded to the potential for vegetation within the Study Area to constitute Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs). The vegetation within the Study Area that is dependent on sub-surface flows (i.e. have rooting zones which overlap the sub-surface water interface such as floodplain vegetation) or are located such that surface flows originate from sub-surface flows are all classified as GDEs. The vegetation types within the Study Area that clearly fall into this category are: MU 50 – Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamp; MU 51 – Newnes Plateau Hanging Swamp; and MU 52 – Newnes Plateau Rush – Sedge Snow Gum Hollow Wooded Heath. Three threatened flora species were observed within the Study Area during flora surveys, namely Boronia deanei (listed as Vulnerable under both the TSC Act and EPBC Act), Persoonia hindii (listed as Endangered under the TSC Act) and Veronica blakelyi (listed as Vulnerable under the TSC Act). Through desktop analysis and habitat assessments, an additional ten threatened flora species have been considered as potentially occurring within the Study Area, namely Caesia parviflora var. minor, Lastreopsis hispida (Bristly Shield Fern), Acacia bynoeana (Bynoe’s Wattle), Eucalyptus pulverulenta (Silver-leaved Gum), Genoplesium superbum, Prasophyllum fuscum (Tawny Leek Orchid), Persoonia acerosa (Needle Geebung), Prostanthera cryptandroides subsp. cryptandroides (Wollemi Mintbush), Eucalyptus aggregata (Black Gum) and Thesium australe (Austral Toadflax). Each of the above flora species have potential habitat within the predicted subsidence extents or ESAs, with the exception of E. aggregata (Black Gum) and T. australe. These species are regarded as having potential habitat along the water courses, which may be influenced by mine water discharge. Habitats within the Study Area include dense low swamp shrubby vegetation along the drainage lines, eucalypt forest vegetation on the slopes and ridges and dry rocky heath along cliffs and ridgetops. These habitats support a variety of fauna species, including threatened fauna. In total, 117 fauna species were identified across the Study Area, including 22 threatened species listed under the TSC and/or EPBC Act. The enhanced protection from predators offered by the dense vegetation of shrub swamps and to a lesser extent, the hanging swamps, provides habitat for small mammals and birds, including more reserved species to forage in the dense shrubs and undergrowth. Shrub swamps provide habitat for specialist threatened fauna species, including the Giant Dragonfly (Petalura gigantea) and Blue Mountains Water Skink (Eulamprus leuraensis). The Blue Mountains Water Skink was recorded within a shrub swamp of the Study Area during annual monitoring (BMS, 2011d). The wetter swamps and various creek lines also provide habitat for the Giant Burrowing Frog (Heleioporus australiacus) and Stuttering Frog (Mixophyes balbus), 110326; Final/March 2014 Page iv Springvale Mine Extension Project Flora and Fauna Assessment Report which have been recorded within water courses in habitats adjacent to the Study Area (BMS, 2011b and MKES, 2004b). The drier woodland and rocky habitats have been identified as potential habitat for Rosenberg's Goanna (Varanus rosenbergi) and Broad-headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides). Although not recorded, Atlas of NSW Wildlife records and habitat assessment suggest that these species may occur. Four threatened woodland birds were recorded during surveys, namely