Anglo Coal (Drayton Management) Pty Ltd Policies and Procedures Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan Drayton Management System Standard
Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan
Author: Name David Robertson
Title Director – Cumberland Ecology
Signature Date
Reviewer: Name Pam Simpson
Title Environmental Coordinator
Signature Date
Authoriser: Name Mark Heaton
Title General Manager
Signature Date
This document is controlled whilst it remains in the Drayton intranet. Printed copies created from this document are deemed to be uncontrolled
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Revisions
Issue Issue Date Originator Reviewed Approved
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Distribution List
Distributed to:
General Manager’s Office (current originals)
All Drayton Employees via Email or Toolbox Talks
Administration Central File (originals of previous versions)
Department of Planning NSW
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Table of Contents
1 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES ...... 6
1.1 Objectives ...... 6
2 BACKGROUND ...... 6
3 SCOPE ...... 7
4 CONDITIONS OF CONSENT ...... 8
5 OFFSET OVERVIEW...... 9
5.1 Description of Offsets ...... 9 5.1.1 Southern Offset Area ...... 9 5.1.2 Northern Offset Area ...... 9
6 REHABILITATION STRATEGY – OFFSET AREAS ...... 15
6.1 Revegetation Strategy...... 15 6.2 Description of Communities to be Created and Regenerated ...... 15 6.3 Site Preparation ...... 19 6.3.1 Weed Control ...... 19 6.3.2 Protection of Existing Vegetation ...... 20 6.4 Topsoil Translocation ...... 20 6.4.1 Preparation of Recipient Site ...... 21 6.4.2 Transfer of Topsoil ...... 21 6.5 Planting ...... 21 6.5.1 Seed Collection ...... 22 6.5.2 Propagation ...... 22 6.5.3 Plant Species Selection ...... 22 6.5.4 Direct Seeding ...... 23 6.5.5 Tube Stock Planting ...... 23 6.5.6 Planting Schedule ...... 24 6.6 Transfer of Structural Components ...... 25 6.7 Maintenance ...... 25 6.7.1 Controlling Access ...... 25 6.7.2 Weed Control ...... 25 6.7.3 Replanting ...... 25 6.7.4 Bushfire Management ...... 26
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6.7.5 Feral Animal Control ...... 26
7 ADDITIONAL OFFSET MEASURES ...... 26
7.1 Management of Existing Vegetation on Drayton ...... 26 7.2 Bushfire Management ...... 27 7.3 Fauna Management ...... 27 7.4 Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens ...... 27 7.5 Landscaping the Site to Reduce Visual Impacts ...... 28 7.6 Integration of Offset Areas with Local Rehabilitation Strategies ...... 28 7.6.1 Local Strategies ...... 28 7.6.2 Regional Strategies ...... 29 7.7 Managing Conflict between Rehabilitation of the Mine and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage ...... 29
8 SCHEDULE OF WORKS AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ...... 31
8.1 Schedule of Works ...... 31 8.2 Key Performance Indicators ...... 31
9 MONITORING ...... 32
9.1 Objectives ...... 32 9.2 Monitoring Design ...... 33 9.2.1 Reference Site: Drayton Wildlife Refuge ...... 33 9.2.2 Number of Fixed Monitoring Points ...... 33 9.2.3 Frequency of Monitoring ...... 33 9.3 Monitoring Methodology ...... 33 9.4 Fauna Surveys ...... 34
10 REPORTING AND REVIEW ...... 35
10.1 Reporting and Review ...... 35 10.2 Potential Risks ...... 35 10.2.1 Contingency Measures ...... 35 10.3 Roles and Responsibilities ...... 36
11 TENURE AND FINANCIAL PROVISION ...... 37
11.1 Tenure of the Offset Area ...... 37 11.2 Financial Provision ...... 37
12 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 39
13 APPENDICES ...... 40
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Document Information
1 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this document is to present a Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan in compliance with Condition 39 of the Project Approval 06_0202 and Condition 35A of Project Approval 06_0202 MOD1. The appointment of Cumberland Ecology to prepare this Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan has been approved by Department of Planning (DoP) prior to commencement (Appendix 1).
This is a comprehensive plan that sets out provisions for the rehabilitation and conservation management of all offset and rehabilitation works for Drayton Mine for the short, medium and long term.
The plan meets all of the conditions of Approval, and includes:
• Detailed description of the land and vegetation to go into offset and rehabilitation areas; • Maps of current and proposed offsets, and of proposed linkages; • Prescriptions for rehabilitation and conservation management; • A proposed schedule for the works; • Milestones and key performance criteria; and • Monitoring and maintenance prescriptions.
1.1 Objectives The specific objectives of the Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan are to: • Establish fully viable and self sustaining ecological communities where vegetation will be created in cleared offset areas; • Implement assisted natural regeneration methods to increase the ecological integrity of offset areas and to enhance the native vegetation it contains; • Secure land within a wildlife corridor; • Reduce weed species and feral animal distribution and abundance; and • Create a substantial area of high quality habitat for native fauna that will be protected for conservation in the long-term.
2 BACKGROUND
Anglo Coal (Drayton Management) Pty Limited (Drayton) was granted Project Approval (PA) 06_0202 by the Minister for Planning on 1 February 2008 for the Drayton Mine Extension (hereafter referred to as ‘the Project’). Specifically, PA 06_0202 provides for the following:
• An increase in maximum Run-of-Mine (ROM) coal production to 8 Million tonnes per annum (Mtpa); • An extension of mining duration from 2010 to 2017; • An extension of the mining footprint to uncover additional coal reserves within the current Mining Leases; • Upgrade of the existing stockpile reclamation system and existing Coal Handling Plant (CHP); and • Minor modifications to Drayton’s infrastructure and water management system.
The majority of the area to be cleared as part of the Project consists of rehabilitation and currently or previously grazed grasslands 1. The approved Drayton Extension Area is 259 ha and approximately 38 ha or 15% of this is woodland. In addition to this area, Drayton was recently
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granted a modification to Project Approval 06_0202 to extend their operations by approximately 8 ha to the north of the currently approved mining footprint via a Section 75W modification under the NSW Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) to the existing PA 06_0202 (the Modification).
Specifically, the Project will result in the clearance of approximately 1.3 ha of Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest (HLRF) vegetation community, which is listed as an Endangered Ecological Community (EEC) under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). The Modification will require an additional 8 ha disturbance of land including approximately 2 ha of HLRF, 2 ha of Grey Box Forest and approximately 4 ha of derived native grassland, established by Drayton for mine rehabilitation purposes.
In order to compensate for the removal of native vegetation for both the Drayton Extension and proposed Modification, offsets are required, and accordingly, an Offset Strategy has been developed in compliance with Conditions 35 and 36 of the PA 06_0202. Condition 39 of PA 06_0202 requires a Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan to be prepared which describes in more detail how these offsets will be managed in the long term. Condition 39 also requires the Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan to cover the management of existing native vegetation on Drayton and how this will be managed.
3 SCOPE
This procedure includes information relating to:
• Approval Conditions • Offset Description • Rehabilitation Strategy of Offset Areas • Site Preparation • Topsoil Translocation • Planting • Transfer of Structural Components • Maintenance • Additional Offset Measures • Existing vegetation • Bushfire management • Fauna Management • Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens • Landscaping • Integration with Local Strategies • Aboriginal Cultural Heritage • Schedule of Works • Key Performance Indicators • Monitoring • Reporting and Review • Potential Risks • Roles and Responsibilities • Tenure and Financial Provision
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4 CONDITIONS OF CONSENT
Condition Details Reference 393939 The Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan must include: a) The objectives for the rehabilitation of the site and provisions for the offset Section 1.1 b) A detailed description of how the rehabilitation of the site and implementation of the Offset Section 7.6 Strategy would be integrated with the rehabilitation and Offset Strategy for the Mt Arthur North mine and remnant vegetation on Macquarie Generation’s land, to ensure there is a comprehensive integrated strategy for the restoration and enhancement of the local landscape over time c) A description of the short, medium, and long term measures that would be implemented to: Sections6 • Rehabilitate the site; and 7 • Implement the Offset Strategy; • Implement the Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens; and • Manage the remnant vegetation and habitat on the site d) A detailed description of what measures would be implemented over the next 3 years to Sections 6 rehabilitate the site and implement the Offset Strategy and Thomas Mitchell Drive tree screens, and 7 including the procedures to be implemented for: • Progressively rehabilitating areas disturbed by mining; • Implementing revegetation and regeneration within the disturbance areas and offset areas; • Including establishment of canopy, sub-canopy (if relevant), understorey and ground strata; • Managing the remnant vegetation and habitat on site; • Managing impacts on fauna; • Reducing the visual impacts of the project; • Landscaping the site to minimise visual impacts; • Protecting areas outside the disturbance areas conserving and reusing topsoil; • Collecting and propagating seeds for rehabilitation works; • Salvaging and reusing material from the site for habitat enhancement; • Controlling weeds and feral pests; • Controlling access; • Bushfire management; and • Managing any potential conflicts between the rehabilitation of the mine and Aboriginal cultural heritage e) Detailed performance and completion criteria for the rehabilitation of the site and implementation Section 8 of the Offset Strategy and Thomas Mitchell Drive tree screens f) A detailed description of how the performance of the rehabilitation of the site and Section 9 implementation of the Offset Strategy and Thomas Mitchell Drive tree screens would be monitored over time to achieve the relevant objectives and completion criteria g) A description of the potential risks to successful rehabilitation and / or revegetation, and a Section description of the contingency measures that would be implemented to mitigate these risks 10.2 h) Details of who is responsible for monitoring, reviewi ng and implementing the plan Section 10.3 Note: Reference to ‘rehabilitation’ in this approval includes all works associated with the rehabilitation and restoration of the site as described in the EA, and applies to all the areas within the Mining Lease and Offsets Strategy.
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5 OFFSET OVERVIEW
This section describes the offsets that are covered by this Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan.
5.1 Description of Offsets
5.1.1 Southern Offset Area The land proposed for use as an offset for the approved Drayton Mine Extension is located in the Saddlers Creek catchment (Southern Offset Area – Figure 5-1). This is an 88 ha area of land that includes a mine rehabilitation area and the northern portion of Saddlers Creek. The land has been mined and rehabilitated with improved pasture species and includes north and south facing hillsides and a gully that drains towards part of the upper reaches of Saddlers Creek (Photographs 5-1 and 5-2).
Eighty-eight hectares of this land will be replanted to native vegetation communities as part of the Southern offset. This vegetation will create forest and woodland immediately adjacent to Saddlers Creek, which has EEC vegetation, and numerous recorded occurrences of threatened birds and bats. The offset in this area will augment the Saddlers Creek area and Mt Arthur Coal Conservation Area.
The Conditions of Consent specify particular areas of each vegetation community to be planted with the 88 ha; however a higher proportion of EEC vegetation will be planted due to its ecological significance. The Southern Offset Area will contain:
• 26 ha of Narrow-leaved Ironbark woodland; • 19 ha of Spotted Gum-Grey Box open forest woodland; • 15 ha of Forest Red Gum open forest and woodland (Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest EEC); and • 24 ha of Yellow Box and Grey Gum woodland (Box-Gum Woodland EEC).
In order to facilitate natural regeneration of native plants in this area, topsoil containing native plant seeds will be transferred to the Southern Offset Area from the areas to be cleared for mining. Felled trees from land to be cleared, particularly from the revegetated Yellow Box and Grey Gum woodland will be placed in this area to provide habitat for ground dwelling fauna.
The revegetated areas will be carefully monitored and maintained, and the goal for this area is that these plantings will form high quality examples of viable, self sustaining native vegetation communities.
5.1.2 Northern Offset Area Drayton is proposing to offset the impacts of the proposed Modification by the dedication of 12 ha of land to the north-east of the EA Boundary (Northern Offset Area – Figure 5-1). The Northern Offset Area will compliment the Southern Offset Area, established for the approved Drayton Mine Extension and the existing Wildlife Refuge Area, to the north of Thomas Mitchell Drive.
The Northern Offset area contains significant areas of existing native vegetation, 6.3 ha of which conforms to the description of HLRF, which is an EEC listed under the TSC Act. This represents above a 2:1 offset ratio for the HLRF proposed to be cleared by the Modification. The Northern Offset area provides good habitat in some sections for threatened species such as the Squirrel Glider ( Petaurus norfolcensis ), and is likely to provide suitable foraging habitat for a wide range of fauna species. Recent field surveys recorded the threatened bird species, the Speckled Warbler (Pyrrholaemus saggitatus ) from within the Northern Offset Area (Photographs 5-3 and 5-4).
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Due to the existing ecological values of this area, the offset strategy in the Northern Offset Area is not to recreate ecological communities, but rather to enhance and improve the condition of the vegetation that already exists. This will be achieved by utilising assisted natural regeneration. This technique involves the protection of existing native vegetation end encouraging natural regeneration, rather than revegetating large areas. Natural regeneration of seedlings from existing vegetation is encouraged by removing threats to their survival such as weeds and animals, both domestic and feral. This technique is appropriate in this area as the site contains significant native vegetation that can act as a seed source. Accordingly, weed and feral animal control will be undertaken within the offset area, to remove these pressures from regenerating native species. In more degraded areas that are devoid of canopy cover, natural recruitment of canopy species is unlikely to occur, and therefore selective replanting of native species will be conducted in these areas to help the native canopy species establish.
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Photograph 5-1 Southern Offset Area (Saddlers Creek)
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Photograph 5-2 Southern Offset Area (Open grassland rehabilitation)
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Photograph 5-3 Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest in the Northern Offset Area
Photograph 5-4 Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest in the Northern Offset Area
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Figure 5-1 Offset Areas for Drayton Mine
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6 REHABILITATION STRATEGY – OFFSET AREAS
The following sections outline the rehabilitation strategy for the Offset Areas and prescribes the methods and procedures to be implemented as part of the rehabilitation program.
6.1 Revegetation Strategy The revegetation strategy in the Southern Offset Area will be to initially use a combination of direct topsoiling and direct seeding techniques. Following this, additional tube stock seedlings will be planted to supplement canopy species and other perennial species and to fill in any gaps left by uneven germination from direct seeding. Other planting techniques, such as transplantation from native forest should be trialled. Weed control efforts are essential to the success of the program and will be ongoing in order to promote the establishment of native vegetation communities 2-5.
The rehabilitation strategy to be employed on the Northern Offset Area is known as “Assisted Natural Regeneration”. To assist natural regeneration of the Northern Offset Area, rehabilitation will largely consist of three elements:
• Protection; • Weed control; and • Supplementary planting.
Maintenance works will ensure that the vegetation of the site continues to improve and be self- sustaining. All rehabilitation needs to be followed up by monitoring with reference to analogue sites. Prescriptions for monitoring are described in Section 9.
6.2 Description of Communities to be Created and Regenerated The Southern Offset area will replace 88 ha of native vegetation communities, comprising: 26 ha of Narrow-leaved Ironbark woodland; 19 ha of Spotted Gum – Grey Box open forest woodland; 15 ha of Forest Red Gum open forest and woodland (i.e. Hunter Lowland Redgum Woodland); and 24 ha of Yellow Box and Grey Gum woodland (i.e. Box-Gum Woodland). The Northern Offset Area will enhance and improve the condition of approximately 6.3 ha of existing Forest Red Gum open forest and woodland.
The table below summarises the main species present in each stratum of the above vegetation communities. Photographic examples of each vegetation community are provided in Appendix 2 and comprehensive species lists are provided in Appendix 3.
An indicative planting plan has been prepared for the Southern Offset Area comprising the four communities aforementioned. Figure 6-1 shows the indicative location of each of the communities to be created in the Southern Offset Area.
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Table 6-1 Characteristic Species in Different Vegetation Communities
Fores t Red Gum Open Forest and Woodland Yellow Box and Spotted Gum- (Hunter Grey Gum Narrow-leaved Grey Box Open Lowland Woodland Ironbark Forest and Redgum (Box-Gum Species Woodland Woodland Woodland) Woodland) Overstorey Allocasuarina luehmannii x x Angophora costata x Angophora floribunda x Brachychiton populneus x Eucalyptus albens x Eucalyptus blakelyi x Eucalyptus canaliculata x Eucalyptus crebra x x Eucalyptus maculata x x Eucalyptus melliodora x Eucalyptus moluccana x x x Eucalyptus punctata x x Eucalyptus teretecornis x x Midstorey Acacia decora x Acacia falcata x x Acacia paradoxa x Acacia salicina x Breynia oblongifolia x Daviesia ulicifolia x Hibbertia obtusifolia x Jacksonia scoparia x Leucopogon juniperimus x Maireana microphylla x Melichrus urceolatus x Myoporum montanum x x Notelaea microcarpa x x Ozothamnus diosmifolius x Pultenaea microphylla x Spartothamnella juncea x Understorey Aristida calycina x Aristida ramosa x Aristida spp. x Austrodanthonia spp. x Austrodantonia fulva x Austrostipa verticillata x Calotis lappulacea x Cheilanthes sieberi subsp. sieberi x Cheilanthes spp. x Chloris ventricosa x Convolvulus erubescens x Cymbopogon refractus x x Cynodon dactylon x Desmodium varians x Dianella revoluta x Dichondra repens x
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Fores t Red Gum Open Forest and Woodland Yellow Box and Spotted Gum- (Hunter Grey Gum Narrow-leaved Grey Box Open Lowland Woodland Ironbark Forest and Redgum (Box-Gum Species Woodland Woodland Woodland) Woodland) Digitaria brownii x Echinopogon caespitosus var. caespitosus x Einadia nutans x Glycine canescens x Glycine spp. x Hardenbergia violacea x Lomandra spp. x Microlaena stipoides var. stipoides x Paspalidium spp. x Pratia purpurascens x
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Figure 6-1 Proposed Revegetation Zones in the Southern Offset Area
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6.3 Site Preparation This section outlines the site preparation requirements prior to rehabilitation works taking place.
6.3.1 Weed Control Weed species should be controlled before revegetation occurs 6.
Weed control measures should include a combination of herbicide application and manual weeding and be undertaken according to the procedures implemented under the current Drayton Flora and Fauna Management Plan.
Broad scale herbicide application is not suitable in the Northern Offset Area or any part of the Southern Offset Area containing native vegetation. Where possible, weeding should be carried out in sympathy with seasonal variations in rainfall and weed growth, botanical flowering times and treatment affectivity.
All weeds should ideally be removed prior to flowering, or at flowering prior to seed set. Flowering or fruiting plants are high priority, particularly due to the connected nature of ecosystem components downstream. Preventing greater weed invasion offsite will be mitigated by the strategic efforts employed on site.
Table 6-2 presents a list of weed species that have been recorded from Drayton. Occurrences of these species in the Offset Areas should be controlled. In additional to the weeds recorded here, other species are likely to occur spontaneously from nearby areas and will also need to be controlled.
Table 6-2 Weed Species Recorded from Drayton
Species Common Name Bidens pilosa Farmers Friends Bidens. subalternans Callistemon viminalis cv. a Bottlebrush Carthamnus lanatus Saffron Thistle Chloris gayana Rhodes Grass Cirsium vulgare Scotch Thistle Conyza bonariensis a Fleabane
Cynodon dactylon Couch Grass Foeniculum vulgare Fennel Galenia pubescens Galenia Gomphocarpus fruticosus Milkweed Juncus acutus Lycium ferosissimum African Boxthorn Melinus repens Red Natal Grass Modiola caroliniana Red-flowered Mallow Opuntia stricta Prickly Pear Paspalum dilatatum Paspalum Pennisetum clandestinum Kikuyu Phalaris sp Phalaris Plantago lanceolata Lambs Tongue Prunus sp. Cherry Romulea rosea Senecio madagascariensis Fireweed Setaria verticillata Slender Pigeon Grass Sida rhombifolia Paddys Lucerne Solanum nigrum Blackberry Nightshade
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Species Common Name Spergularia sp. Trifolium sp. Verbena officinalis a Purpletop Verbena stricta a Purpletop
6.3.2 Protection of Existing Vegetation Existing native vegetation in the Offset Areas should be protected from machinery and weeding through one or a combination of the following measures:
• Demarcation as required; • Avoiding broadscale herbicide spraying in the vicinity of native vegetation; • Restricting herbicide spraying to calm days; • Being aware of location of native vegetation when weeding; and • Avoiding machinery use on wet days when the risk of soil damage is greatest.
6.4 Topsoil Translocation This section only applies to the Southern Offset Area. Topsoil will be removed from mining areas containing the native vegetation types to be created and applied to the Southern Offset Area. The indicative planting configuration that is shown in Figure 6-1 places the four vegetation communities in the following approximate locations:
• Narrow-leaved Ironbark Woodland on the upper slopes and on the top of the rise; • Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest in the low-lying areas around the gully and Saddlers Creek; • Yellow Box and Grey Gum Woodland within the gully and along the northern stretches of Saddlers Creek; and • Spotted Gum-Grey Box Open Forest on the intermediate slopes.
Suggested source areas for topsoil translocation are (refer to Figure 5-1 for the location of the following areas):
• Yellow Box Revegetation area; • Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest areas of the Modification area; • Spotted Gum-Grey Box Open Forest areas adjacent to the Northern Offset Area; and • Narrow-leaved Ironbark Woodland in the south-eastern corner of the EA Boundary.
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6.4.1 Preparation of Recipient Site The recipient site must be prepared prior to the translocation of topsoil. Site preparation will involve the following procedures:
• 10 – 20 cm of soil should be scraped off; • The removed topsoil should be spread appropriately outside the Southern Offset Area; and • The Southern Offset area should be clearly marked out on the ground into these separate zones, where each different vegetation community is being established.
Contractors and machinery operators must be adequately briefed so they know where each type of topsoil should go.
6.4.2 Transfer of Topsoil The procedures for topsoil transfer are as follows:
• Suitable donor sites should be identified and clearly demarcated prior to topsoil removal. Suitable donor sites should contain a diversity of native species and be relatively weed free; • Excavation of the donor site must only commence once the recipient site has been fully prepared; • Topsoil should not be stockpiled and must be transferred immediately; • Material collected from the donor site will include leaf litter, ground plants, and topsoil to a depth of between 10 and 20 cm; • Topsoil will be scraped from the surface using machinery such as a grader blade or scraper and immediately loaded onto a truck, transported to the recipient site, dumped and spread; • The translocated topsoil will then be spread on the recipient site using similar machinery in a layer approximately 10 – 20 cm thick that will bring the surface of the site up to level; and • Following translocation, machinery must be kept from entering the recipient site due to the risk of further compaction.
At all times care must be taken to avoid damage to the soil seed bank. Topsoil must be handled appropriately and all staff need to be aware of the requirements. All persons involved with the translocation works will be briefed as required.
6.5 Planting This section details the main stages in the planting phase of the rehabilitation program, from seed collection to application. Although planting is not the main technique being used to rehabilitate the Northern Offset Area, tube stock planting of native seedlings will be used to: supplement assisted natural regeneration of this area; to achieve the desired density of plants; to maximise diversity in this area; and to replace species characteristic of the vegetation community in this area.
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For each species used to revegetate the Northern and Southern Offset Areas, the following information should be documented, were possible, throughout the program:
• Seed source and/or location (e.g. Forestry department); • Time of harvest/collection and method; • Method of storage; • Any pre-treatment or scarification methods used; • Species germinated and germination numbers; • Numbers and species propagated and by whom; and • Application method (e.g. tubestock, direct seeding, hay strewing and other techniques).
6.5.1 Seed Collection All revegetation and supplementary planting will use seed that has been locally sourced, where possible 7-9. Examples of suitable on site seed sources include:
• Northern Offset Area; • Drayton Wildlife Refuge; and • Vegetation that is being removed for the approved extension. It is recommended that seed be collected from these trees either before or immediately after they are felled.
Seed should be collected from all strata including grasses and groundcovers. Suitable seed collection techniques include:
• Brush harvesting, to obtain seeds from a diversity of understorey species; • Suction or vacuum harvesting of grass species with less persistent seed units (e.g. Microlaena stipoides ); • Hay strewing, which may be appropriate for areas to be removed for the approved extension 10.
6.5.2 Propagation Plant propagation will be undertaken by a professional horticulturalist, following recognised horticultural practices. All plants will be suitably disease and pest-free, hardened off and well- watered at the time of planting. All newly planted tube stock will be accompanied with tree guards to protect the fresh foliage from predation, and from possible spray drift resulting from maintenance weeding operations.
6.5.3 Plant Species Selection Plant species will be selected that are representative and characteristic of plant communities or plant communities that are being recreated. Plant species will also be selected to provide appropriate foraging and shelter/nesting habitat for the fauna species present and expected to occur on the site.
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Floristic and structural diversity will be maximised by:
• Incorporating a range of plant species from all strata of each community that is being recreated; • Including species characteristic of each community that have high food value to animals; • Including a range of nectar producing plants to ensure a year round supply of nectar for native fauna; and • Ensure a diversity of ground cover vegetation and habitat components such as leaf litter and logs to provide habitat for animals including invertebrates which are then food for other animals
Planting lists of recommended species are provided in Appendix 3.
6.5.4 Direct Seeding The initial planting in the Southern Offset Area will be undertaken using direct seeding techniques. Direct seeding should take place between September and May.
The most common method for direct seeding is to use a machine which has been designed specifically for broadscale revegetation. These machines are either towed or tractor mounted via a three-point linkage, and prepare a seed bed and sow in one operation.
A range of other techniques can be utilised such as scarifying the ground using a plough or ripper, and then broadcasting the seeds by hand or with fertilizer spreaders.
No specific densities are specified for the direct seeding method. It is expected that natural ecological processes such as competition between germinated plants will determine which plants survive in any given area. However, if large, single species clusters of plants germinate from the direct seeding, then some hand thinning may be required to achieve a species mix more consistent with the community being replaced.
Supplementary tube stock planting will be undertaken after direct seeding has taken place to fill any gaps in germination and to determine the final species composition if required.
6.5.5 Tube Stock Planting Tube stock planting of seedlings will be used to fill any gaps left by direct seeding.
Method Tube stock procedures should follow those prescribed in the current Drayton Land Rehabilitation Procedure. A tree planter will be used to remove a plug of soil the same size as the tube containing the native seedling. The root ball will be removed from the tube, placed into the hole and firmed in. An amount of soil from the bottom of the plug can be used to seal the plant in the ground and prevent it drying out. A tree guard should be placed around the seedling to prevent damage from rabbits, hares or kangaroos.
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Planting Densities The recommended planting specifications for canopy trees, sub-canopy trees and large shrubs, and shrubs and groundcovers should be informed by monitoring data collected from the reference sites located within the Drayton Wildlife Refuge (see Section 9). Target densities should be chosen so that the attainment of these targets allows rehabilitation to approach reference sites.
Plant losses are to be replaced rather than being planted at higher densities to ensure an open canopy is retained in the long term. Planting and replacement planting should occur during the optimal seasonal conditions to ensure maximum plant retention. This is likely to be autumn and winter, as temperatures are cooler and rainfall is higher.
No large scale planting activities will occur in the Northern Offset Area; however tube stock planting of seedlings will be used to supplement assisted natural regeneration methods and to achieve the desired density of plants. In this situation where canopy species tend to regenerate readily from remnant trees, tube stock plantings will be used largely to help establish a diverse understorey, and in some cases introduce some species that have become locally extinct.
6.5.6 Planting Schedule It is anticipated that several planting stages will be required to establish diverse representatives of the target communities. Initially, direct seeding will be utilised to sow a broad suite of species at the outset to prepare the landscape structure for consecutive planting stages and provide habitat to invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians as soon as possible. To achieve this, fast growing pioneer species will be incorporated in the initial mix. Subsequent planting stages will utilise tube stock and will aim to fill the gaps left by the direct seeding and to introduce species that did not establish via direct seeding.
The following will also apply:
• Tube stock planting should take place the following autumn at one year after direct seeding has taken place. This will give the seeds adequate time to germinate and will make gaps in germination obvious. Tube stock planting in April-July will also place less stress on the tube stock plant compared to planting in warmer seasons6. The exception to this is tube stock planting of Acacias. • To reach the goal of high species diversity and resilience, several iterations of the planting process will occur, each focussing on different species that need to be incorporated into the community. • If large areas of direct seeding are unsuccessful, then it may be more feasible to repeat the direct seeding process rather than plant extensive areas using tube stock alone.
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6.6 Transfer of Structural Components Fauna habitat values should be preserved in the local environment by transferring key habitat components from clearance areas to the Offset Areas.
Measures that are recommended to enhance fauna habitat values include:
• Transferring habitat or fallen logs; • Transferring woody debris or any significant habitat rocks; • Transferring tree stags, particularly those with hollows; and • Installing nest boxes as artificial hollows.
Transplanting understorey plants to be cleared ahead of mining to the Southern Offset Area can promote faunal colonisation and should be considered.
Records of site preparation, topsoil handling and establishment works should be checked off and signed by the Drayton Environmental Coordinator (see Section 10.3). An example of a checklist proforma is provided in Appendix 4.
6.7 Maintenance This section outlines the long term maintenance measures that will be implemented in the Offset Areas. Maintenance will focus on weed control measures, replacement of dead or damaged native vegetation (seedlings), and management of erosion issues that may interfere with plant health and habitat values.
Section 8 contains a detailed schedule of works for the ongoing maintenance of this area.
6.7.1 Controlling Access Upon completion of the initial stages of rehabilitation, the Southern Offset Area will be delineated, in order to prevent unauthorised access of either people or stock on to this land. Access will be granted by Drayton only to authorised personnel for environmental and water management works. This will enable regeneration of this area and will avoid degradation of the area associated with uncontrolled access.
6.7.2 Weed Control Weed control is the single most important factor in the success or failure of revegetation plantings, and is the greatest component of long-term management in both the Southern and Northern Offset Areas.
Weed outbreaks in the Offset Areas are to be monitored and control measures are to be undertaken and reported as per the policies and procedures prescribed in the current Drayton Flora and Fauna Management Plan.
Noxious weeds are to be identified and controlled as per the policies and procedures prescribed in the current Drayton Land Management Plan.
6.7.3 Replanting Supplementary planting will be required where plant losses are experienced or plants are struggling to establish. For each seedling that does not survive the planting out of tube stock, another tube stock will be replanted in its place. The staggering of plantings will take this into account and since a number of tube stock are known to not be likely to survive, larger numbers will be planted than are expected to live.
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The replacement planting should ensure connectivity of canopy where midstorey or canopy species are lost, and that ground covers effectively cover the surface to maintain soil stability. Replacement planting should aim to create the densities of plants as per targets to be determined by reference sites within Drayton Wildlife Refuge.
Replanting will occur as required for the life of this Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan and beyond the life of this plan until the target densities are achieved. Replanting measures taken, such as number of plants and types of species planted, fertilisers used and watering regime, should be documented throughout the program.
6.7.4 Bushfire Management Please refer to Section 7.2.
6.7.5 Feral Animal Control Feral animals will be controlled in the Offset Areas according to the procedures and policies as per the current Drayton Flora and Fauna Management Plan and the current Drayton Land Management Plan.
It is recommended that 1080 laced grain be used to target rabbits and hares on the site, and 1080 baits be buried for targeting foxes, with a 500 m buffer between these baits and surrounding residences. Stock and macropod grazing should be mitigated by fencing the site and through provision of appropriate signage.
It is expected that feral animal control will be ongoing and will occur for the life of this Management Plan and beyond.
7 ADDITIONAL OFFSET MEASURES
7.1 Management of Existing Vegetation on Drayton Significant areas of native vegetation exist on Drayton outside of the Offset Areas that will be managed in the long term for conservation purposes. They are:
• Drayton Wildlife Refuge; and • Other woodland vegetation consisting of Spotted Gum-Grey Box Open Forest & Hunter Lowlands Redgum Forest (HLRF) occurring on Drayton between the Drayton Rail Loop and coal stockpiles.
Management measures for these areas will be:
• Weed control as per the current Drayton Flora and Fauna Management Plan. Broad scale weed spraying is inappropriate for this area and therefore selective targeting and spot spraying of weeds are the preferred techniques; • Supplementary planting as per the procedures outlined in Section 6.5; • Feral animal control as outlined in Section 6.7.5; and • Exclusion of stock. The refuge should continue to be entirely delineated from the surrounding land. Any damage to the fence should be reported and rectified promptly to avoid damage from stock intrusion.
The following actions are currently undertaken in the Drayton Wildlife Refuge and should be continued:
• Maintenance of native vegetation in the north and north-east to provide corridors for fauna movement and improve the effectiveness of the refuge as a conservation area; • Encouraging the re-establishment of natural vegetation succession; and
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• Making selected areas of the refuge available, by arrangement with Drayton, for use by groups for ecological research.
Areas of pasture land on Drayton are also managed to ensure that existing stands of woodland vegetation are retained and re-growth vegetation is encouraged as a localised refuge for native fauna. These management practices enhance the ecological value of these areas.
Monitoring should be undertaken for the Drayton Wildlife Refuge according to the methods outlined in Section 9. This should be undertaken annually for the life of this plan and beyond the life of this plan as required until the key performance indicators for rehabilitation are met.
7.2 Bushfire Management No fires are permitted at Drayton within their Mining Leases. All vegetation will be maintained and managed to ensure a minimum fuel load and no risk of fires within the Mining Lease (in accordance with the Mining Act 1992).
7.3 Fauna Management The aim of this protocol is to provide for the protection and humane removal of any native fauna disturbed by the clearance operation.
Provisions will be made to protect such immobile native fauna by the following means:
• All persons working on the site will be briefed about the possible fauna present at the time of construction, and what procedures should been undertaken in the event of an animal being injured or disturbed; • A qualified animal rescue person will be on call at all times during clearing; • Immediately prior to clearing a brief pre-clearance survey will be made for immobile animals that could be killed or injured by the felling of trees. ; • If any such animals are detected within trees, the trees will not be cleared until the animals have moved from the trees of their own volition; • Animals disturbed or dislodged during the clearance but not injured will be assisted to move to nearby vegetation; and • If animals are inadvertently injured during vegetation clearance the wildlife carer will be responsible for taking appropriate steps to humanely treat the animal.
7.4 Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens A tree screen has been established along Thomas Mitchell Drive. Its primary role is to mitigate visual impacts from the road. It will secondarily provide some habitat to native species as the vegetation develops. It is located immediately to the west of the existing Drayton Rail Loop and extends to the existing Dragline Erection Pad. The following procedures apply to the Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens:
• This area will be managed in order to maximise its value for wildlife; • Any tree that dies in the plantings will be replaced with a new specimen from tube stock, and the old tree will be left in situ to provide habitat for native species; • If mowing is required to be undertaken, it should occur early in the spring when most exotic grasses are seeding, but will not damage the later maturing native species; and • This area will be monitored at the same time as monitoring is conducted on the Northern and Southern Offset Areas (see Section 9).
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7.5 Landscaping the Site to Reduce Visual Impacts Landscaping will be used throughout the site to reduce the visual impacts of the Drayton Extension. This will primarily be aimed at reducing the impact to motorists travelling along nearby roads.
• All visual and lighting impacts will continue to be managed in accordance with Drayton’s Environmental Management System. • The normal sequence of overburden emplacement, shaping, rehabilitation and planting of tree species will be continued. • After mining is complete in an area, rehabilitation will be expedited with priority given to south-easterly and southerly views, where practical. • The establishment of informal tree stands across the overburden emplacements areas, that reflect the scale and pattern of adjoining tree/grass areas will also be undertaken. These will consider the skyline location of the overburden emplacement area and upon completion will reduce the visual impacts of the mine to very low.
Dense tree planting along Thomas Mitchell Drive has been undertaken (see previous section), and as these trees mature they will assist in reducing visual impacts from this road to very low (see Section 7.4).
7.6 Integration of Offset Areas with Local Rehabilitation Strategies The rehabilitation of the Offset Areas will be integrated with other rehabilitation strategies such as the Rehabilitation and Offset Strategy for Mt Arthur Coal and remnant native vegetation on Macquarie Generation’s land.
7.6.1 Local Strategies Northern Offset Area Macquarie Generation owns and operates Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations, located to the east of Drayton. As a result, they own a substantial amount of buffer land around their operations which extends immediately adjacent to the east of Drayton. No residences are located on their buffer land and a substantial amount of remnant vegetation is present on this land. Therefore, to the immediate east of Drayton there is a substantial area of native habitat, which will be linked to vegetation on Drayton to provide valuable fauna / habitat corridors. Macquarie Generation’s land links to the Northern Offset Area and is in close proximity to the existing Drayton Wildlife Reserve. Taken together, this is a large area of treed vegetation in close proximity that forms important corridors and habitat for native species.
Mt Arthur Coal is also preparing to extend its open cut mining operations and will need to develop an appropriate offset strategy in this regard. Preliminary discussions indicate an additional offset area for Mt Arthur Coal may be established north of Thomas Mitchell Drive (near the Muswellbrook Industrial Estate), to the west of the existing Drayton Wildlife Refuge. Opportunity exists to link Mt Arthur Coal’s proposed offset area to the north of Thomas Mitchell Drive and the existing Drayton Wildlife Refuge. This would result in a very good environmental outcome as the land to the west of the Drayton Wildlife Refuge contains good cover of native vegetation, intersected by Ramrod creek and it tributaries. This would form a wide corridor of native vegetation across the north of Drayton consisting of the Northern Offset Area, the Drayton Wildlife Refuge and the potential Mt Arthur Coal offset area, and extending southwards via vegetation on Macquarie Generation’s land. It is recommended that the rehabilitation and management actions outlined in this report for the Drayton Wildlife Refuge should be implemented for the Mt Arthur Coal offset area also, namely weed control, feral animal control and assisted natural regeneration of native vegetation. These actions would stop this land degrading and would enhance its environmental value significantly.
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Southern Offset Area Mt Arthur Coal currently has two proposed conservation areas – one at Saddlers Creek and the other at Mount Arthur. The Saddlers Creek conservation area joins the Southern Offset Area in the south west. When the Southern Offset Area matures, it will provide additional benefits to native flora and fauna recorded from the Mt Arthur Coal Saddlers Creek Conservation Area, including additional foraging and nesting habitat for native fauna species and additional connectivity to areas of native vegetation to the north.
7.6.2 Regional Strategies A regional corridor plan has been developed by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment entitled: Synoptic Plan: Integrated Landscapes for Coal Mine Rehabilitation in the Hunter Valley of NSW 11 . The Synoptic Plan aims to link existing woodland with rehabilitation to provide corridors for the movement of flora and fauna. The plan indicates several proposed corridors in the Hunter Valley, one of which runs through Drayton (see Figure 7-1.) and links vegetation associated with the Drayton Wildlife Refuge in the north-east to remnant vegetation along Saddlers Creek to the south-west. This Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan is consistent with the objectives of the Synoptic Plan and the Southern Offset Area will form an important linkage between the Mt Arthur Coal Saddlers Creek conservation area, the Synoptic Plan corridors and the Northern Offset Area.
7.7 Managing Conflict between Rehabilitation of the Mine and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage It is not expected that any conflict will occur between Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and with mine rehabilitation, as all Aboriginal sites of high significance are cleared prior to any disturbance.
Drayton is entering into discussions with the local Aboriginal community to develop a specific ‘Keeping Place’, located in the Southern Offset Area on non-disturbed land near Saddlers Creek. The Keeping Place will be used to collate all artefacts collected through the Drayton Aboriginal Cultural Heritage salvage programs. It is envisaged that the Keeping Place will be established to balance ecological and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage aspects related to Drayton.
In the Northern Offset Area there may be the potential for Aboriginal artefacts to occur. Limited works will take place in this area and it is therefore unlikely that any objects will be disturbed. If rehabilitation activities are to take place in an area with potential to contain Aboriginal artefacts, then an appropriately qualified Heritage consultant will be employed to survey the area and clearly mark these items to ensure they are not damaged.
All workers will be briefed about the presence of sites of cultural significance prior to any works commencing to encourage due respect and awareness for the preservation and integrity of these areas.
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Figure 7-1 Conceptual Final Landform
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8 SCHEDULE OF WORKS AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
8.1 Schedule of Works This rehabilitation plan covers work to be carried out over the next 3 years. The Plan will need to be reviewed after this time period and updated as appropriate. The Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens have already been planted, and the main tasks remaining are ongoing maintenance and management.
The schedule of works for the Offset Areas and the Thomas Mitchell Drive Tree Screens are as follows:
Table 8-1 Schedule of Works
Southern Offset Area Northern Offset Area Tree Screens Site preparation; Site Assessment; Weed contr ol;
Initial weed control; Weed control; Replacement of dead plants as required with tube stock seedlings;
Topsoil transfer from mining Planting tube stock seedlings; Feral animal control; and disturbance areas;
Direct seeding native species; Feral animal control; Monitoring, management and reporting. Planting tube stock seedlings; Ongoing plant replacement and supplementation as required;
Transfer of structural On -going weed control; and components from the Modification area (logs etc.);
Fer al animal control;
Ongoing plant replacement and Monitoring, management and supplementation as required; reporting
Ongoing weed control; and
Monitoring, management and reporting
8.2 Key Performance Indicators The following key performance indicators (KPI) have been developed to gauge whether management of the site is achieving the expected outcomes. Monitoring procedures for measuring the KPI are outlined below in Section 9.
The following KPIs should be measured on the completion of this three year plan.
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Table 8-2 Key Performance Indicators
Southern Offset Area Northern Offset Area Tree Screens The Southern Offset Area should The Northern Offset Area should Weeds should not spread to be delineated be fully delineated previously un-infested areas and should be reduced in overall area
Successful establishment of Weeds should not spread to 80% of the planted trees should canopy, shrub and ground layer previously un-infested areas and have established and increased vegetation should be reduced in overall area in size and provide a significant visual screen
80% of target species planted Native plant species cover Feral species should not should be well established should increase in areas that increase in abundance and their were previously bare or covered numbers should be reduced by exotic groundcover/weed overall species
The densities of understorey and 80% of target species planted shrub plants at three years from should be well established establishment should approximate reference sites
The densities of canopy and sub - The densities of plants at three canopy plants at three years from years from establishment should establishment should approach approximate densities observed densities observed at reference at reference sites sites Percentage of plant losses should Percentage of plant losses in not exceed 10% of total plantings should not exceed 10% of total in any one planting area plantings in any one planting area
Wee ds should not have spread to Feral fauna species should not previously un-infested areas and increase in abundance and their should be reduced in overall area numbers should be reduced overall
Feral fauna species should not increase in abundance and their numbers should be reduced overall
9 MONITORING
The overall design of the monitoring program is to firstly establish baseline monitoring in reference sites within the Drayton Wildlife Refuge. Initial establishment monitoring should then be conducted within the Southern and Northern Offset Areas. This should be followed by long term monitoring to assess progress towards targets and objectives.
9.1 Objectives The objectives of monitoring of rehabilitation in the Southern Offset Area, Northern Offset Area and Drayton Wildlife Refuge are to:
• Identify specific problems to enable research on causes and appropriate solutions (e.g. failed plantings, loss of seedlings, low emergent numbers, loss of particular species);
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• Enable the assessment of and management of impacts on biodiversity and rare species (e.g. weed invasion, grazing); • Ascertain when the key performance indicators are being met in the rehabilitation areas; and • Provide feedback for continuous improvement of the rehabilitation program.
9.2 Monitoring Design
9.2.1 Reference Site: Drayton Wildlife Refuge
The rehabilitation program should be carried out against replicate reference sites in the Drayton Wildlife Refuge.
The establishment of the reference sites for the communities to be created in the Northern Offset Area should be chosen prior to the commencement of revegetation works 5.
In particular, the key indicators of self-sustainability, such as emergent rates, levels of recruitment and amount of seed set, can be compared against reference data, providing opportunity to improve rehabilitation techniques to achieve rehabilitation targets.
9.2.2 Number of Fixed Monitoring Points
A minimum of three replicate reference sites for each community to be created or rehabilitated should be chosen from representative areas in the Drayton Wildlife Refuge to account for the variability of natural ecosystems.
It is recommended that a minimum of two monitoring points be established in each of the vegetation communities being created in the Southern Offset Area and two in the Northern Offset Area.
9.2.3 Frequency of Monitoring
• Pre-establishment surveys should be conducted within reference sites in the Drayton Wildlife Refuge prior to the commencement of planting; • Baseline data collected from reference sites will inform the planting density targets within rehabilitation sites and completion criteria for key indicator species in each vegetation community to be recreated / rehabilitated; • Within the Northern Offset Area, initial monitoring should be conducted at fixed monitoring points prior to weed control and planting activities in order to provide a reference point to which future monitoring can be compared; • Establishment within both offset areas should be checked regularly following initial works. The need for additional plantings should be identified and carried out; • Rehabilitation in the Offset Areas and the Drayton Wildlife Refuge should be regularly checked for weed invasion and feral fauna invasion, and appropriate measures taken as per the procedures outlined in the current Drayton Flora and Fauna Management Plan; and • Quantitative data should be collected from all fixed monitoring points as per Section 9.3 once a year.
Improvements in rehabilitation actions should be identified and incorporated into the Plan for implementation.
9.3 Monitoring Methodology The procedures for collecting data at fixed monitoring points are outlined below:
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• Establish a series of fixed monitoring points. Each monitoring point should be permanently marked with a star picket and its location recorded using a handheld geographic positioning system unit; • Take photographs from each monitoring point. Compare photographs to previous years; • Use the photograph monitoring point to form a corner of a 20 m x 20 m quadrat at each monitoring point. In each 20 m x 20 m quadrat: • Record all weed species occurring in the quadrat and state relative abundance of weed species (using Braun-Blanquet scale); • Record all native species occurring in the quadrat and state relative abundance of native species (using Braun-Blanquet scale); • Note the species that are observed to be reproductive and record the reproductive phase; • Record the total projective foliage cover of native species in each strata; • Record the height of each stratum; • Note the extent of erosion (where applicable) and compare to previous photos; • Conduct a faecal pellet identification and count in each of the 20 m x 20 m quadrats; and • Within each 20 m x 20 m quadrat, sub-sampling should be completed using 25 smaller quadrats (1 m x 1 m) applied randomly throughout the larger quadrat. Each subsample should measure: • Numbers of failed plantings in each quadrat; • Species that failed to establish; • Number of emergent seedlings; and • Note any other weed outbreaks.
9.4 Fauna Surveys In addition to the quadrat monitoring, fauna surveys should be undertaken at two yearly intervals in order to determine faunal usage of the Northern and Southern Offset Areas and the Drayton Wildlife Refuge, and to determine how they change over time. For the 3 year life of this management plan, this should only be conducted in the Northern Offset area and the Drayton Wildlife Refuge, as few fauna species are likely to utilise the Southern Offset Area while the vegetation is still immature. However, fauna monitoring of the Southern Offset Area should commence after three years.
The fauna surveys should include:
• Spotlighting survey for nocturnal fauna; • Diurnal survey for birds and reptiles; • Anabat survey for microchiropteran bats; • Targeted fauna trapping survey for threatened species; and • Call playback for owls and gliders.
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The quadrat monitoring, fauna survey and the faecal pellet counts are not necessary in the Thomas Mitchell Drive tree screen as the goal in this area is to provide a visual barrier between traffic on the road and the mine.
10 REPORTING AND REVIEW
10.1 Reporting and Review The monitoring results should be reviewed each year to assess the progress of the rehabilitation program. The monitoring results will be presented in the Annual Environmental Management Plan (AEMR).
At the end of each year, the survivorship of seedlings in the direct seeded areas will be assessed, and the requirements for tube stock planting determined. If required, a botanist should be used to help determine which species are present, and which need to be planted. The annual reviews and the monitoring data should also be used to identify weed infestations and to target areas that need more input to achieve satisfactory results.
A brief and concise report should be completed at the end of the three year life of this plan and included in the AEMR.
It is recommended that this Plan be reviewed and adjusted after three years according to the response of the sites to revegetation and rehabilitation activities.
An appraisal of progress against the KPIs listed in Table 8-2ill be prepared after three years that will be submitted to the NSW Department of Industry and Investment for review. This report will provide an assessment of the specific performance of the Rehabilitation and Offset Management Plan.
10.2 Potential Risks The potential risks to successful rehabilitation and revegetation are mainly associated with plants not surviving in the revegetation areas. The success of the Southern Offset Area in particular is highly dependent on large scale survivorship of plants and seedlings. Failure of re-vegetation could occur through the following factors:
• Drought – long periods without rainfall can dramatically reduce germination rates and survivorship of seedlings; • Bushfire – a bushfire passing through the rehabilitation area would destroy new seedlings. Although Australian vegetation is adapted to periodic bushfires, plants are susceptible to fire when they are juvenile; • Weed invasion – if new plants are not kept weed free, weeds can smother and kill them; • Feral animals – rabbits, hares and kangaroos have the potential to cause serious damage to young seedlings; • Stock access – inadvertent stock access can result in revegetation being trampled and eaten; and • Unviable seed – The quality of seed collected in the wild may be poor.
10.2.1 Contingency Measures The main contingency measure for the risks outlined above is to continue to plant seedlings in the revegetation areas until the desired density is reached.
If any of these events occurred, it would be addressed on a case by case basis. In general however, the procedure would be to address the situation if possible and prevent it occurring again (e.g. by fencing the site to prevent stock access). The second action would be to rectify the situation by replacing lost plants. The procedures outlined in this plan such as seed
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collection, propagation and planting are intended to be ongoing, so that if an area of revegetation is lost, there are resources available to procure additional plant material to replace the lost stock.
Some contingencies are difficult to prevent or to manage. The Southern Offset Area is too large for watering of seedlings to be a practical measure, and therefore the plants in this area are vulnerable to periods of drought. In the event of long periods of dry weather occurring, revegetation efforts would be suspended until climatic conditions became more suitable.
10.3 Roles and Responsibilities Drayton will be responsible for conducting the actions required as specified by this Rehabilitation and Offset Management plan.
The Drayton Environmental Coordinator will be responsible for:
• Monitoring and implementing the Plan and will prepare the annual monitoring report for inclusion in the AEMR; • Co-ordinating, supervising and managing all works and correspondence with respect to this rehabilitation plan; • Allocation of maintenance tasks to personnel in response to establishment issues and other factors as monitoring results are reported (e.g.: plant losses/re-planting, weed control). Regular monitoring and feedback from personnel will assist in the allocation of labour; and • Facilitating the review of the plan, to the approval of the Drayton Safety, Health, Environment and Community Manager and the General Manager.
Experienced and qualified specialists, bush regeneration contractors, Drayton staff or Drayton trained and supervised volunteers should be used to implement the primary, follow-up and maintenance bushland regeneration weeding and reconstruction planting works. The removal of woody weeds and similarly sized small trees and smaller woody weeds will be undertaken as designated by the Environmental Coordinator..
Other specialist contractors or Drayton staff may undertake related activities such as: fencing; seed collection; and plant propagation.
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The following tasks will be also monitored by appropriate personnel:
• Monitor the progress and effectiveness of all proposed works; • Organise assistance from volunteers, if appropriate (including, special interest groups, labour market programmes); and • Organize and manage all contracted works.
11 TENURE AND FINANCIAL PROVISION
11.1 Tenure of the Offset Area The Northern and Southern Offset Areas will be included as part of the Drayton Wildlife Refuge proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 .
11.2 Financial Provision The following table provides an indicative annual budget for the implementation of the rehabilitation and offset management plan. Provisions for the security bond will be included as part of the Mining Operations Plan (MOP) revisions under the Mining Act 1992 .
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Table 11-1 Indicative Annual budget provision to implement the Rehabilitation and offset management plan
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2012014444 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 TOTAL Offset Establishment $100,000 $100,000 $50,000 $50,000 Fencing $20,000 $20,000 $20,000 $5,000 $5,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Erosion Control $20,000 $10,000 $5,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Ecological Survey $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 $10,000 Resowing $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Replanting $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 Weed Control $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Feral Animal Control $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 $1,000 TOTAL $102,000 $148,000 $102,000 $88,000 $24,000 $10,000 $16,000 $17,000 $6,000 $17,000 $6,000 $7,000 $543,000
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12 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Hansen Bailey (2007) Drayton Mine Extension Flora and Fauna Impact Assessment. Prepared for Anglo Coal (Drayton Management) Pty Limited Hansen Bailey, Brisbane, QLD.
2. DIPNR (2003) Bringing the Bush Back to Western Sydney: Best Practice Guidelines for Bush Regeneration on the Cumberland Plain Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, Sydney.
3. Koch, John M. and Ward, Samuel C. (1994) Establishment of Understorey Vegetation for Rehabilitation of Bauxite-mined Areas in the Jarrah Forest of Western Australia Journal of Environmental Management 41:1-15
4. Gillespie, M. J., Baker, K. S., and Mulligan, D. R. (2001) Native Understorey Species Regeneration at NSW Coal Mines. Final Report. ACARP Project C7010 Australian Coal Association Research Program, Brisbane, QLD.
5. Nichols, O. G. (2005) Development of Rehabilitation Completion Criteria for Native Ecosystem Establishment on Coal Mines in the Hunter Valley. Final Report. ACARP Project C13048 Australian Coal Association Research Program, Brisbane, QLD.
6. Burns, M. (2006) The keys to sustainable native ecosystem establishment on mine sites. In ‘Proceedings of the Workshop on Challenges to the Establishment of Sustainable Ecosystems on Mined Land’. Townsville, Queensland. 30 June – 1 July 2005. (Ed. L.C. Bell) pp 27-40 (Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research: Brisbane)
7. Jones, A. T. and Hayes, M. J. (1999) Increasing floristic diversity in grassland: the effects of management regime and provenance on species introduction Biological Conservation 87:381-390
8. Walker, K. J, Stevens, P. A., Stevens, D. P., Mountford, J. O., Manchester, S. J., and Pywell, R. F. (2004) The restoration and re-creation of species-rich lowland grassland in land formerly managed for intensive agriculture in the UK Biological Conservation 119:1-18
9. Smith, B. M., Diaz, A., Winder, L., and Daniels, R. (2005) The effect of provenance on the establishment and performance of Lotus corniculatus L. in a re-creation environment Biological Conservation 125:37-46
10. Edwards, A. R., Mortimer, S. R., Lawson, C. S., Westbury, D. B., Harris, S. J., Woodcock, B. A., and Brown, V. K. (2007) Hay strewing, brush harvesting of seed and soil disturbance as tools for the enhancement of botanical diversity in grasslands Biological Conservation 134:372-382
11. Department of Mineral Resources (1999) Synoptic Plan: Integrated Landscapes for Coal Mine Rehabilitation in the Hunter Valley of NSW for Department of Primary Industries
12. Brennan, K.E.C., Nichols, O.G., and Majer, J.D. (2006) A review of innovative techniques for promoting fauna return to rehabilitated sites following mining. In ‘Proceedings of the Workshop on Challenges to the Establishment of Sustainable Ecosystems on Mined Land’. Townsville, Queensland. 30 June – 1 July 2005. (Ed. L.C. Bell) pp 55-60 (Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research: Brisbane)
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13 APPENDICES
Appendix 1 – Department of Planning Author Endorsement Letter Appendix 2 - Photographs of Vegetation to be Created Appendix 3 – Suggested Planting Lists Appendix 4 – Check Sheet Proforma
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APPENDIX 1
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APPENDIX 2
Photograph A2-1 Narrow-leaved Ironbark Woodland
Photograph A2-2 Spotted Gum – Grey Box open forest and woodland
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Photograph A2-3 Forest Red Gum open forest and Woodland (Hunter Lowland Redgum Forest)
Photograph A2-4 Yellow Box and Grey Gum woodland (Box-Gum Woodland)
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APPENDIX 3
Table A3-1 Narrow-leaved Ironbark Woodland Planting List
Family Scientific Name CoCoCommon Co mmon Name Trees Myrtaceae Angophora floribunda Rough-barked Apple Myrtaceae Eucalyptus albens White Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus blakelyi Blakely's Red Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus crebra Narrow-leaved Ironbark Sterculiaceae Brachychiton populneus subsp. populneus
Small Trees Pittosporaceae Pittosporum undulatum Sweet Pittosporum
Shrubs Asteraceae Olearia elliptica subsp. elliptica Asteraceae Sigesbeckia orientalis subsp. orientalis Indian Weed Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia paradoxa Kangaroo Thorn Lamiaceae Spartothamnella juncea Myoporaceae Myoporum montanum Western Boobialla Oleaceae Notelaea microcarpa var. microcarpa Phyllanthaceae Breynia oblongifolia Coffee Bush
Herbs --- Dicots Convolvulaceae Dichondra repens Kidney Weed Asteraceae Senecio quadridentatus Cotton Fireweed Apiaceae Daucus glochidiatus Native Carrot Asteraceae Euchiton sphaericus Star Cudweed Geraniaceae Geranium solanderi var. solanderi Crassulaceae Crassula sieberiana Australian Stonecrop Asteraceae Calotis lappulacea Yellow Burr-daisy
Herbs --- Monocots Poaceae Austrostipa scabra Speargrass Poaceae Dichelachne micrantha Shorthair Plumegrass Poaceae Echinopogon ovatus Forest Hedgehog Grass Poaceae Microlaena stipoides var.stipoides Weeping Meadow Grass
Herbs --- Ferns and Allies Adiantaceae Cheilanthes distans Bristly Cloak Fern Adiantaceae Cheilanthes sieberi subsp. sieberi Rock Fern
Vines and Creepers Fabaceae (Faboideae) Desmodium varians Slender Tick-trefoil Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine clandestina Twining glycine Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine tabacina Variable Glycine Ranunculaceae Clematis glycinoides var. glycinoides
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Table A3-2 Spotted Gum – Grey Box open forest and woodland Planting List
Family Scientific Name Common Name Trees Casuarinaceae Allocasuarina luehmannii Bulloak Myrtaceae Corymbia maculata Spotted Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus crebra Narrow-leaved Ironbark Myrtaceae Eucalyptus fibrosa Red Ironbark Myrtaceae Eucalyptus glaucina Slaty Red Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus moluccana Grey Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus tereticornis Forest Red Gum Small Trees Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia falcata Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia parvipinnula Silver-stemmed Wattle Shrubs Ericaceae Lissanthe strigosa Peach Heath Ericaceae Melichrus urceolatus Urn Heath Fabaceae (Faboideae) Daviesia ulicifolia subsp. ulicifolia Gorse Bitter Pea Fabaceae (Faboideae) Pultenaea spinosa A Bush Pea Myoporaceae Eremophila debilis Amulla Phyllanthaceae Breynia oblongifolia Coffee Bush Pittosporaceae Bursaria spinosa subsp. spinosa Native Blackthorn Proteaceae Hakea sericea Needlebush Herbs --- Dicots Acanthaceae Brunoniella australis Blue Trumpet Anthericaceae Laxmannia gracilis Slender Wire Lily Asteraceae Brachyscome multifida Cut-leaved Daisy Asteraceae Calotis cuneifolia Purple Burr-Daisy Asteraceae Chrysocephalum apiculatum Common Everlasting Asteraceae Vernonia cinerea var. cinerea Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia communis Tufted Bluebell Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia gracilis Sprawling Bluebell Clusiaceae Hypericum gramineum Small St John's Wort Convolvulaceae Dichondra repens Kidney Weed Lobeliaceae Pratia purpurascens Whiteroot Rubiaceae Opercularia diphylla Rubiaceae Pomax umbellata Pomax Solanaceae Solanum prinophyllum Forest Nightshade Stackhousiaceae Stackhousia viminea Slender Stackhousia Herbs --- Monocots Lomandraceae Lomandra multiflora subsp.multiflora Many-flowered Mat-rush Phormiaceae Dianella revoluta var. revoluta A Blue Flax Lily Poaceae Cymbopogon refractus Barbed Wire Grass Poaceae Echinopogon caespitosus var. caespitosus Tufted Hedgehog Grass Poaceae Entolasia stricta Wiry Panic Poaceae Microlaena stipoides var.stipoides Weeping Meadow Grass Poaceae Paspalidium distans Poaceae Themeda australis Kangaroo Grass Herbs --- Ferns and Allies Adiantaceae Cheilanthes sieberi subsp. sieberi Rock Fern Vines and Creepers Fabaceae (Faboideae) Desmodium varians Slender Tick-trefoil Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine clandestina Twining glycine Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine tabacina Variable Glycine
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Table A3-3 Forest Red Gum open forest and woodland Planting List
Family Scientific Name CommoCommon n Name Trees Myrtaceae Angophora costata Smooth-barked Apple Myrtaceae Corymbia maculata Spotted Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus crebra Narrow-leaved Ironbark Myrtaceae Eucalyptus moluccana Grey Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus punctata Grey Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus tereticornis Forest Red Gum
Shrubs Ericaceae Leucopogon juniperinus Prickly Beard-heath Fabaceae (Faboideae) Daviesia ulicifolia Gorse Bitter Pea Fabaceae (Faboideae) Jacksonia scoparia Dogwood Phyllanthaceae Breynia oblongifolia Coffee Bush Pittosporaceae Billardiera scandens Appleberry Proteaceae Persoonia linearis Narrow-leaved Geebung
Herbs --- Dicots Acanthaceae Brunoniella australis Blue Trumpet Asteraceae Lagenophora stipitata Asteraceae Vernonia cinerea Convolvulaceae Dichondra repens Kidney Weed Lobeliaceae Pratia purpurascens Whiteroot Rubiaceae Pomax umbellata Pomax Solanaceae Solanum prinophyllum Forest Nightshade
Herbs --- Monocots Lomandraceae Lomandra longifolia Spiny-headed Mat-rush Lomandraceae Lomandra multiflora subsp.multiflora Many-flowered Mat-rush Poaceae Austrodanthonia monticola Poaceae Cymbopogon refractus Barbed Wire Grass Poaceae Digitaria parviflora Small-flowered Finger Grass Poaceae Echinopogon caespitosus var. caespitosus Tufted Hedgehog Grass Poaceae Entolasia stricta Wiry Panic Poaceae Eragrostis brownii Brown's Lovegrass Poaceae Eragrostis leptostachya Paddock Lovegrass Poaceae Imperata cylindrica var. major Blady Grass Poaceae Microlaena stipoides var.stipoides Weeping Meadow Grass Poaceae Panicum simile Two-colour Panic Poaceae Paspalidium distans Poaceae Themeda australis Kangaroo Grass
Herbs --- Ferns and Allies Adiantaceae Cheilanthes sieberi subsp. sieberi Rock Fern
Vines and CreCreepersepers Fabaceae (Faboideae) Desmodium varians Slender Tick-trefoil Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine clandestina Twining glycine
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Table A3-4 Yellow Box – Grey Gum Woodland Planting List
Family Scientific Name Common Name TrTrTreesTr ees Casuarinaceae Allocasuarina verticillata Drooping Sheoak Cupressaceae Callitris endlicheri Black Cypress Pine Cupressaceae Callitris glaucophylla White Cypress Pine Myrtaceae Eucalyptus albens White Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus blakelyi Blakely's Red Gum Myrtaceae Eucalyptus bridgesiana Apple Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus conica Fuzzy Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus goniocalyx Long-leaved Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus melliodora Yellow Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus microcarpa Grey Box Myrtaceae Eucalyptus nortonii Bundy Sterculiaceae Brachychiton populneus Kurrajong
Small Trees Boraginaceae Ehretia membranifolia Peach Bush Oleaceae Notelaea microcarpa Native Olive Rutaceae Geijera parviflora Wilga Santalaceae Exocarpos cupressiformis Native Cherry Sapindaceae Alectryon oleifolius Western Rosewood Sapindaceae Atalaya hemiglauca Whitewood Sapindaceae Dodonaea viscosa Broad-leaf Hopbush
Shrubs Asteraceae Cassinia longifolia Asteraceae Cassinia quinquefaria Asteraceae Olearia elliptica Sticky Daisy-bush Asteraceae Olearia viscidula Wallaby Weed Capparaceae Capparis mitchellii Native Orange Ericaceae Brachyloma daphnoides Daphne Heath Ericaceae Lissanthe strigosa Peach Heath Ericaceae Melichrus urceolatus Urn Heath Fabaceae (Faboideae) Jacksonia scoparia Dogwood Fabaceae (Faboideae) Swainsona galegifolia Smooth Darling Pea Fabaceae (Faboideae) Templetonia stenophylla Leafy Templetonia Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia buxifolia Box-leaf Wattle Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia implexa Hickory Wattle Fabaceae (Mimosoideae) Acacia paradoxa Kangaroo Thorn Myoporaceae Eremophila mitchellii False Sandalwood Oleaceae Jasminum lineare Oleaceae Jasminum suavissimum Pittosporaceae Bursaria spinosa Native Blackthorn Thymelaeaceae Pimelea curviflora
Herbs --- Dicots Acanthaceae Brunoniella australis Blue Trumpet Acanthaceae Rostellularia adscendens Asteraceae Chrysocephalum apiculatum Common Everlasting Asteraceae Leptorhynchos squamatus Asteraceae Microseris lanceolata Murrnong Asteraceae Xerochrysum viscosum Sticky Everlasting Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia communis Tufted Bluebell Clusiaceae Hypericum gramineum Small St John's Wort Dilleniaceae Hibbertia linearis Dilleniaceae Hibbertia obtusifolia Hoary guinea flower
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Family Scientific Name Common Name Geraniaceae Geranium solanderi Native Geranium Goodeniaceae Goodenia pinnatifida Scrambles Eggs Haloragaceae Gonocarpus elatus Malvaceae Sida corrugata Corrugated Sida Oxalidaceae Oxalis perennans Plantaginaceae Plantago debilis Plantaginaceae Plantago gaudichaudii Narrow-leaf Plaintain Polygonaceae Rumex brownii Swamp Dock Rubiaceae Asperula conferta Common Woodruff Stackhousiaceae Stackhousia monogyna Creamy Candles Stackhousiaceae Stackhousia viminea Slender Stackhousia
HHHerbsHerbs --- Monocots Asphodelaceae Bulbine bulbosa Native Leek Lomandraceae Lomandra filiformis Wattle Matt-rush Orchidaceae Diuris dendrobioides Wedge Diuris Phormiaceae Dianella longifolia A Blue Flax Lily Phormiaceae Dianella revoluta Blue Flax -Lily Poaceae Aristida behriana Bunch Wiregrass Poaceae Aristida ramosa Purple Wiregrass Poaceae Austrodanthonia auriculata Lobed Wallaby Grass Poaceae Austrodanthonia bipartita Wallaby Grass Poaceae Austrodanthonia racemosa Poaceae Austrodanthonia richardsonii Wallaby Grass Poaceae Austrostipa aristiglumis Plains Grass Poaceae Austrostipa blackii Poaceae Austrostipa nodosa Poaceae Austrostipa scabra Speargrass Poaceae Bothriochloa macra Red Grass Poaceae Chloris truncata Windmill Grass Poaceae Chloris ventricosa Tall Chloris Poaceae Cymbopogon refractus Barbed Wire Grass Poaceae Dichanthium sericeum Queensland Bluegrass Poaceae Dichelachne micrantha Shorthair Plumegrass Poaceae Echinopogon caespitosus Bushy Hedgehog-grass Poaceae Elymus scaber Common Wheatgrass Poaceae Eulalia aurea Silky Browntop Poaceae Panicum queenslandicum Coolabah Grass Poaceae Poa labillardierei Tussock Grass Poaceae Poa sieberiana Snowgrass Poaceae Sorghum leiocladum Wild Sorghum Poaceae Themeda australis Kan garoo Grass
Herbs --- Ferns and Allies Adiantaceae Cheilanthes sieberi Rock Fern
Vines and Creepers Apocynaceae Parsonsia eucalyptophylla Gargaloo Bignoniaceae Pandorea pandorana Wonga Wonga Vine Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine cland estina Twining glycine Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine tabacina Variable Glycine Fabaceae (Faboideae) Glycine tomentella Woolly Glycine
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APPENDIX 4
Site Preparation and Initial Establishment --- Check Sheet Site Name: Community Type: Area (ha): IIInspectedInspected By: Date of Inspection: Signature:
ITEM COMMENTS Site Preparation: Weed control (e.g. pre -weeding, herbicides used) Measures to protect existing vegetation Depth of soil ripping
Topsoil source
Details of soil ameliorants used
Details of erosion controls used (e.g. mulches, silt fences)
Establishment Works: Rate and type of fertilisers used
Rate and type of bulking agents used Cover crop type and rate
Species seed mix
Source of seed mix
Sowing rates
Tubestock species list
Number of tubestock plants used
Source of tubestock plants
Planting density details
Transfer of structural components:
Photographic records:
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