Roe Highway Extension – Inquiry Under Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 to Amend Ministerial Statement 1008
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Report and recommendations of the Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – inquiry under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 to amend Ministerial Statement 1008 Main Roads Western Australia Report 1684 June 2020 Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry Inquiry under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 The Minister for Environment has requested that the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) inquire into and report on the matter of changing the implementation conditions in Ministerial Statement 1008 relating to the Roe Highway Extension. Section 46(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 requires the EPA Report to include: (a) a recommendation on whether or not the implementation conditions to which the inquiry relates, or any of them, should be changed (b) any other recommendations that it thinks appropriate. The following is the EPA’s report to the Minister pursuant to s. 46(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986. Dr Tom Hatton Chairman 29 June 2020 ISSN 1836-0483 (Print) ISSN 1836-0491 (Online) Assessment No. 2164 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry Contents 1. The proposal ..................................................................................................... 1 2. Requested changes to conditions ................................................................... 5 3. Inquiry into changing conditions ..................................................................... 6 4. Inquiry findings ................................................................................................. 7 4.1 Inland Waters ............................................................................................. 7 4.2 Flora and Vegetation .................................................................................. 9 4.3 Terrestrial Fauna ...................................................................................... 11 4.4 Social Surroundings ................................................................................. 13 4.5 Offsets ..................................................................................................... 14 4.6 Rehabilitation Zone .................................................................................. 16 4.7 Standard conditions ................................................................................. 17 5. Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................. 18 References .............................................................................................................. 19 Appendix 1: Assessment of recommended changes to implementation conditions of Ministerial Statement 1008 ............................................................. 20 Appendix 2: Identified Decision-Making Authorities and recommended environmental conditions ...................................................................................... 46 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry 1. The proposal Main Roads Western Australia (WA) (the proponent) recently completed construction of the Roe Highway Extension to Murdoch Drive. The original proposal was to extend Roe Highway from Kwinana Freeway to Stock Road. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) assessed the proposal at the level of Public Environmental Review, releasing its Report and Recommendations (Report 1489) to the Minister for the Environment in September 2013. The EPA considered the following key environmental factors required detailed evaluation: • Inland Water Environmental Quality • Hydrological Processes • Flora and Vegetation • Terrestrial Fauna • Amenity (Noise) • Offsets. In applying the Statement of Environmental Principles, Factors and Objectives (EPA 2020b) these factors are now represented by: • Inland Waters • Flora and Vegetation • Terrestrial Fauna • Social Surroundings. The EPA concluded that the proposal would meet the EPA’s objectives provided the EPA’s recommended conditions were implemented by the proponent. The then Minister for Environment approved the proposal for implementation, subject to the implementation conditions of Ministerial Statement 1008 (MS 1008) (2 July 2015). Previously approved changes to the proposal In 2017 the Western Australian Government decided to discontinue the extension of the Roe Highway, west of Bibra Drive. The construction of the Murdoch Drive connection was to continue. This subsequently resulted in two applications from the proponent to change the proposal. These changes are set out below. In January 2018, the proponent requested minor changes to allow for additional clearing and disturbance around the Murdoch Drive connection. The EPA Chairman recommended to the Minister for Environment that the minor changes could be authorised under s. 45C of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (EP Act). The Minister for Environment approved the minor changes on 25 May 2018 (Attachment 1 to MS 1008). 1 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry In May 2018, the proponent requested to split the authorised development envelope into two zones, one east of Bibra Drive for the construction and operation of the Murdoch Drive connection to Roe Highway and one west of Bibra Drive for the rehabilitation of areas previously cleared as part of the proposal. The requested change sought to remove authorisation to construct a road from Bibra Drive west to Stock Road. The EPA Chairman, under delegation, approved the s. 45C application on 12 December 2018 (Attachment 2 to MS 1008). The changed proposal, including the extent of the rehabilitation and construction and operation zones, is shown in Figure 1. 2 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry Figure 1(a): Rehabilitation Zone within the Roe Highway Extension to Murdoch Drive development envelope 3 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry Figure 1(b): Rehabilitation Zone and Construction and Operation Zone within the Roe Highway Extension to Murdoch Drive development envelope 4 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry 2. Requested changes to conditions In May 2018, following the request by the proponent to change the proposal pursuant to s. 45C of the EP Act to amend the construction of the Roe Highway Extension and the extent of areas to be rehabilitated, the Minister for Environment sought advice from the EPA on the implementation conditions of MS 1008 and requested that the EPA inquire into, and report under s. 46(1) of the EP Act on the suitability of the implementation conditions for the Roe Highway Extension proposal and whether any of them should be changed. This report satisfies the requirements of the EPA’s inquiry. In August 2018, the proponent requested the following changes to the implementation conditions of MS 1008: • deletion of conditions referring to obsolete elements of the original proposal • amendment of conditions to reflect the changed proposal • deletion of conditions no longer required • addition of conditions to allow for rehabilitation of cleared areas west of Bibra Drive • minor amendments to reflect changes to agency names, guidance documents and removal of references to obsolete strategies and plans (Main Roads Western Australia 2018). 5 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry 3. Inquiry into changing conditions The EPA has discretion as to how it conducts this inquiry. In determining the extent and nature of this inquiry, the EPA had regard to information such as: • the currency of its original assessment (EPA Report 1489) • requirements of MS 1008 • previous changes to the proposal pursuant to s. 45C of the EP Act • information provided by the proponent • plans approved under MS 1008 • advice from relevant decision-making authorities • compliance reports from the proponent. EPA procedures The EPA followed the procedures in the Environmental Impact Assessment (Part IV Divisions 1 and 2) Administrative Procedures 2016 (State of Western Australia 2016) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (Part IV Divisions 1 and 2) Procedures Manual (EPA 2020a). 6 Environmental Protection Authority Roe Highway Extension – s. 46 inquiry 4. Inquiry findings The EPA considered that the following are the key environmental factors relevant to the change to conditions: • Inland Waters • Flora and Vegetation • Terrestrial Fauna • Social Surroundings. The EPA has also provided advice on changes to offset requirements and standard conditions. Appendix 1 contains a detailed assessment table of the changes to conditions. 4.1 Inland Waters The EPA’s environmental objective for this factor is to maintain the hydrological regimes and quality of groundwater and surface water so that environmental values are protected. Conclusions from EPA Report 1489 In assessing the potential impacts of the Roe Highway Extension proposal on Inland Waters, the EPA considered that the key environmental issues were associated with: • disturbance of acid sulphate soils (ASS) • ongoing impacts from road runoff during the operation of the proposal • alterations to the groundwater regime and wetland water levels resulting from groundwater abstraction or dewatering • potential for the road structure to interrupt groundwater and surface water flows. The EPA considered that there remained the potential for residual indirect impacts to the quality and hydrology of surface and groundwater from the construction and operation of the