Environmental Assessment, Specialist Report 2, Flora
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Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Flora Assessment Prepared by Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants Specialist Consultant Studies Compendium Part 2 April, 2008 ABN: 29 094 269 780 Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Flora Assessment Prepared for: Eastern Star Gas Limited GPO Box 4526 Suite 1, Level 2, 37 Pitt Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Tel: (02) 9251 5599 Fax: (02) 9251 2299 Email: [email protected] Prepared by: Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants 21 Titan Close BONVILLE NSW 2441 Tel: 02 6653 4190 Fax: 02 6653 4190 Email: [email protected] April, 2008 Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED 2 - 2 SPECIALIST CONSULTANT STUDIES Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Part 2 – Flora Assessment Report No. 585/06 COPYRIGHT © Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants, 2008 and © Eastern Star Gas Limited, 2008 All intellectual property and copyright reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1968, no part of this report may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system or adapted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants. Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants SPECIALIST CONSULTANT STUDIES 2 - 3 EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED Part 2 – Flora Assessment Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Report No. 585/06 CONTENTS Page 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................2-5 1.1 Background ...........................................................................................................................2-5 1.2 Project Site, Study Area and locality .....................................................................................2-5 1.3 Review of Existing Literature.................................................................................................2-5 1.4 Previous Studies....................................................................................................................2-5 1.5 Existing Mapping ...................................................................................................................2-6 1.6 Database Searches for Threatened Species and Community Records ...............................2-6 2 FIELD INVESTIGATIONS ...............................................................................................................2-7 2.1 Methodology ..........................................................................................................................2-7 2.2 Limitations .............................................................................................................................2-8 3 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................................2-12 3.1 Threatened Communities Potentially Occurring in the Study Area.....................................2-12 3.2 Threatened Species Potentially Occurring in the Study Area .............................................2-12 3.3 Vegetation Communities of the Study Area (see Figure 1).................................................2-12 3.3.1 Cleared ...................................................................................................................2-12 3.3.1.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-12 3.3.1.2 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics ........................................................2-12 3.3.1.3 Conservation values .............................................................................2-12 3.3.2 Brigalow Acacia harpophylla Low Open Forest......................................................2-14 3.3.2.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-14 3.3.2.2 Structure ...............................................................................................2-14 3.3.2.3 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics ........................................................2-14 3.3.2.4 Conservation values .............................................................................2-14 3.3.3 Narrowleaved Ironbark Eucalyptus crebra Dry Open Forest..................................2-15 3.3.3.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-15 3.3.3.2 Structure ...............................................................................................2-15 3.3.3.3 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics ........................................................2-15 3.3.3.4 Conservation values .............................................................................2-15 3.3.4 Pilliga Box Eucalyptus pilligaensis Dry Open Forest.............................................2-16 3.3.4.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-16 3.3.4.2 Structure ...............................................................................................2-16 3.3.4.3 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics ........................................................2-16 3.3.4.4 Conservation values .............................................................................2-16 Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED 2 - 4 SPECIALIST CONSULTANT STUDIES Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Part 2 – Flora Assessment Report No. 585/06 CONTENTS Page 3.3.5 Rough-barked Apple Angophora sp Dry Open Forest............................................2-16 3.3.5.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-16 3.3.5.2 Structure................................................................................................2-17 3.3.5.3 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics.........................................................2-17 3.3.5.4 Conservation values .............................................................................2-17 3.3.6 Red Gum Eucalyptus dwyeri Woodland .................................................................2-17 3.3.6.1 Species Composition ............................................................................2-17 3.3.6.2 Structure................................................................................................2-18 3.3.6.3 Ecology Disturbance & Dynamics.........................................................2-18 3.3.6.4 Conservation values .............................................................................2-18 4 ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE..............................................................................................2-18 4.1 Type and Degree of Impacts ...............................................................................................2-18 4.2 TSC Act – Assessment of Significance ...............................................................................2-19 4.3 7-part Tests..........................................................................................................................2-20 5 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................2-24 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................2-25 6.1.1 Extract from EPBC Act Protected Matters Report ..................................................2-44 TABLES Table 1 Endangered communities in locality and assessment of likelihood of occurrence in the Study Area..................................................................................................................... 2-9 Table 2 Threatened species and assessment of likelihood of occurrence in the Study Area ....... 2-10 Table 3 Calculation of area of native vegetation clearance required for Preferred route .............. 2-19 FIGURES Figure 1 Gas Flow Line Corridor Vegetation Communities............................................................. 2-13 APPENDICES Appendix 1 Flora Inventory .................................................................................................................. 2-29 Appendix 2 Plot Data............................................................................................................................ 2-35 Appendix 3 Wildlife Atlas Threatened Plant Species Records Within 10km of the Study Area........... 2-39 Appendix 4 Threatened Species Known or Predicted to Occur in the Pilliga Outwash CMA Sub- region ................................................................................................................................ 2-41 Appendix 5 EPBC Act Predicted Matters Reports ............................................................................... 2-43 Appendix 6 Flora Survey Locations ..................................................................................................... 2-53 Appendix 7 Photographs...................................................................................................................... 2-55 Idyll Spaces Environmental Consultants SPECIALIST CONSULTANT STUDIES 2 - 5 EASTERN STAR GAS LIMITED Part 2 – Flora Assessment Narrabri Coal Seam Gas Utilisation Project Report No. 585/06 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Idyll Spaces has been engaged by Eastern Star Gas Limited to undertake the flora component of an environmental