7 Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer Project

Cultural Heritage Assessment including Subsurface Testing Program

July 2009

Navin Officer

heritage consultants Pty Ltd acn: 092 901 605

Number 4 Kingston Warehouse 71 Leichhardt St. Kingston ACT 2604

ph 02 6282 9415 A Report to ACTEW Corporation fx 02 6282 9416 Note about Restricted Information

Cultural and site location information which has been classed as sensitive by stakeholders has been removed from this report. A restricted version of the report, inclusive of this information, is available to authorised users.

i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Background

ACTEW Corporation Limited (ACTEW) proposes to undertake the Murrumbidgee to Googong Water Transfer Project (referred to in this report as ‘the project’). This report has been prepared to provide an assessment of the cultural heritage impacts of the project as an input to the environmental impact assessment. The environmental impact assessment is being prepared in accordance with the requirements of Part 3A of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) and the ACT Planning and Development Act 2007.

The project involves construction and operation of infrastructure required to transfer approximately 100 ML/day of water a distance of approximately 13 km from the Murrumbidgee to .

The infrastructure required to transfer the water includes an intake/low lift pump station; a high lift pump station; an underground pipeline; a discharge structure and a power supply.

This assessment therefore includes:

 the to Burra Creek pipeline route, including a 40 m wide easement and one diversion;

 the high and low level pump stations on the Murrumbidgee River and services easements between the two pump stations;

 the discharge location on Burra Creek; and

 an area 10 m either side of Burra Creek between the discharge and the high water level of ;

 proposed work compounds and pipe lay down locations.

Aboriginal Consultation

The project study area includes areas in both NSW and the ACT.

In the ACT, the study area includes Angle Crossing and adjacent lands which affects the four Aboriginal groups listed as Representative Aboriginal Organisations (RAO) with the ACT Government under the ACT Heritage Act 2004. These groups are:

- the Buru Ngunawal Aboriginal Corporation (BNAC);

- the Consultative Body Aboriginal Corporation (CBAC);

- the Little Tribal Council (LGRTC); and

- the Ngarigu Currawong Clan (NCC).

The NSW section of the study area falls within the boundaries of the Mogo Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC), based in Mogo on the NSW south coast.

The NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change’s (DECC) Interim Guidelines for Aboriginal Community Consultation were implemented for this project. An invitation to Aboriginal groups and individuals to register an interest in the cultural heritage assessment for this project was published in the Times on 12 June 2008, with an 18 day period for registration ending on the 30 June, 2008.

ii Subsequently four groups registered an interest in the project. These were:

- the Buru Ngunawal Aboriginal Corporation (BNAC) (by letter 20 June 2008); - the Ngarigu Currawong Clan (NCC) (by phone 30 June 2008); - the Ngunnawal Elders Corporation (NEC) (by letter 21 November 2008); and - Jerrinja Consultants Pty Ltd (JC) (by email February 2009).

Six Aboriginal stakeholder groups were offered contracts to provide site officers but only four met the contractual obligations and consequently these were engaged by ACTEW. These site officers