Minutes/Actions Environment & Waterways Alliance Reference
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Minutes/Actions Environment & Waterways Alliance Reference Group Meeting Wednesday 18 November, 2015 – Duntryleague, Orange Present Murray Wood – Dubbo City Council Joel Little – Bathurst Regional Council David Waddell – Orange City Council Deborah Taylor – Bathurst Regional Council Ken Harrison – Murray Darling Basin Catriona Jennings – Dubbo City Council Authority Cassie Liney – Mid-Western Regional Council Bridget Boreham – Local Land Services Weeds Sean Richardson – Mid-Western Regional Cross Regional Team Council Michael Chambers – Parkes Shire Council Jacob Evans – Cabonne Council Mellissa Schrader – Central West Local Land Warwick Doulman – Cabonne Council Services James Cleasby – Warren Shire Council Cherie Hughes – Central West Local Land Stevie Armstrong – Bathurst Regional Council Services Roy Jennison – Upper Macquarie County Milton Lewis – Central Tablelands Local Land Council Services Craig Flemming – Contamination Central Diana Kureen – Central Tablelands Local Land Leon Ross – Forbes Shire Council Services Robert Jehu – Warrumbungle Shire Council Mick Callan – Environment & Waterways Bill Josh – Orange City Council/Bathurst Alliance Regional Council Eric Alessi – Narromine Shire Council Ryan Thomas – Central West Local Land Services Apologies Heather Nicholls – Cabonne Council Mark Linton-Harland – Gilgandra Shire Wayne Gailey – Orange Shire Council Council Damon Cupitt – Lithgow City Council Grant Baker – Blayney Shire Council Andrew Francis – Parkes Shire Council Ashley Wielinga – Warren Shire Council Janet Bingham – Bathurst Shire Council Alison Thompson – Bathurst Regional Council Nathan Skelly – Blayney Shire Council Brad Cam – Mid Western Regional Council Maryanne Stephenson – Warren Shire Daryl Colwell – Mid-Western Regional Council Council Matthew Cock – Coonamble Shire Council Jane Chrystal – Central West Local Land Kristy Presnell – Coonamble Shire Council Services Andrew Johns – Lachlan Shire Council Kayla Volka – Bogan Shire Council Phil King – Lachlan Shire Council Liz Densley – Mid-Western Regional Council Chris McCulloch – Central Tablelands Local Chris Cannard – Oberon Shire Council Land Services Maryanne Smith – Orange City Council Andrew Cosier – Wellington Shire Council Debbie Archer – Dubbo City Council Gretel Purser – Wellington Shire Council Lindsay Mathieson – Gilgandra Shire Council Roger Smith – Orange City Council Brad Perera – Gilgandra Shire Council 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au Presenters Ken Harrison – Environmental Water Management in the Murray Darling Basin Bridget Boreham – Regional Weed Strategies David Waddell – Orange Biobanking Scheme Milton Lewis – Management of Land Using Fire as a Tool Michael Chambers – Creating a Forest Link Chair Facilitator Murray Wood Diana Kureen Agenda Item 1 Welcome Meeting was opened at 10am Acknowledgement was made of the Traditional Owners of the Land and their Elders past and present Introduction of participants Introduction to the meeting and outline of the content WHS considerations for the meeting Motion: Minutes from the previous meeting be accepted Moved: David Waddell Seconded: Deborah Taylor Agenda Item 2 Alliance Update Mick Callan Update on Alliance activities over the previous months as outlined in Alliance Project Support Officer Reports. These reports – for both Central Tablelands and Central West Local Land Services regions – are available on the Alliance website in the Members Area. Members to download and read. ACTION Following some technical difficulties a brief tour of the new Alliance website was conducted to demonstrate the various information available at on the site at present. All member councils are encouraged to provide information for the website and Alliance Facebook page such as case studies, relevant documents, events etc. ACTION Alliance 5 Year Plan still open for review with members encouraged to provide feedback prior to Friday 20 November, 2015. ACTION It is anticipated that the final plan will be released in December 2015. Central Tablelands Local Land Services Incentive Funding was awarded to five Alliance member councils under the Waterways Values – Local Government stream. A brief summary of each project was presented. Further information, including fact sheets, is available on the Alliance website. Central West Local Land Services Incentive Funding recently closed with a total of 8 applications received. It is anticipated that successful projects will be announced in December 2015. Alliance training was discussed with potential for fully funded or subsidised project management training in 2016 with Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia as a potential training provider. Other suggestions for training are encouraged. ACTION 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au The Alliance plans to host a workshop in 2016 for member councils to develop Catchment Action Plans as required under the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Brief background presentation regarding the request from NSW Health representatives to assist with this workshop and template development. The Alliance is now a member of the 202020 Vision with all member councils encouraged to have a look at their website and identify projects that have the potential to be used as case studies. ACTION Diana Kureen thanked Catriona Jennings and Deborah Taylor for their considerable input into the development of the Regional State of the Environment Reports which were distributed at the meeting. Contamination Central Craig Flemming Update Update on the Contamination Central project with Craig informing the group that a policy is now under development. 19 Councils have signed on to the project with Warren and Bogan being the two Alliance members who have yet to join the Contamination Central project. Once the policy is developed it will go on public exhibition with a policy template to be developed for each Council. Fit for the Future and potential amalgamations may have an impact on policy adoption but regional adoption will benefit all Councils as developers will understand that there is consistency across the region. Resources are currently available on the Environment & Waterways Alliance website and will be added to as further resources are developed. ACTION A conference is being planned for next year in partnership with ALGA. All Alliance Councils are now able to join ALGA at no cost. ACTION Agenda Item 3 Environmental Water Ken Harrison Management in the Murray Darling Basin Ken was until recently employed by the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office. The Water Division are a separate agency to the Murray Darling Basin Authority who manage the buying and selling of water. The Basin Wide Environmental Watering Strategy contains four key areas being connectivity, fish, vegetation and waterbirds. Since 2009 4,200 GL has been delivered for the environment. Northern Basin review of the Plan currently underway as well as 6 environmental science investigations and will incorporate a social and economic review and overhaul of hydrological modelling. 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au Agenda Item 4 Orange Biobanking David Waddell Scheme Office of Environment & Heritage requirement for Orange City Council to provide offsets for the vegetation removed along 37km Macquarie River pipeline. 250Ha farm purchased by Council for offset with requirement to maintain and enhance habitat on the farm. Partnership developed with Orange LALC to maintain the property. Property is bordered by Girralang Nature Reserve which is managed by National Parks & Wildlife Service which was an opportunistic purchase as it provided the required vegetation communities. The project will create more offset credits than required from the pipeline project. A total of $790,000 was paid to OEH which is then fed back to Council annually to undertake agreed works as set out in a developed Management Action Plan with regular reporting requirements. The initial clean-up was a huge undertaking with large volumes of rubbish removed. Traditional burning is being used at the site as part of an integrated weed management approach. Agenda Item 5 Management of Land Milton Lewis Using Fire as a Tool Cultural burning is being conducted as part of the Central Tablelands Local Land Services Cultural Programmes. Fire is important as it has cultural and ecological significance. Burning has many cultural purposes and meanings. Canopy is a sacred place so fire does not burn hot enough to reach the forest canopy. There is no evidence of cultural fire in the carbon layer prior to European settlement as the cultural burns are not hot fires. Aboriginal burns conducted as maintenance of grassland in Mallee regions. Burning can reinstate absent native grasses, control weeds and benefit perennial grass species. At the Girralang biobanking site, burning has resulted in control of Serrated Tussock. Burning planned in Bathurst Copper Butterfly sites to promote regeneration of Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla which is habitat for this endangered species. 66 Corporation Ave | Bathurst NSW 2795 T: 02 6333 2323 | www.cwcewa.com.au Agenda Item 6 Central West Local Land Ryan Thomas Services Update Melissa Schrader Cherie Hughes Ryan Thomas provided an update on the Central West Local Land Services Local Strategic Plan. Cherie Hughes provided an update on the Central West Local Land Services incentive funding for Local Government and the Local Government