Main Roads Western Australia Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.0 SLK) Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Main Roads Western Australia Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.0 SLK) Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment June 2009 Contents Executive Summary 4 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Scope of report 1 1.2 Structure of Report 2 2. Project Description and Justification 3 3. Environmental Aspects 4 3.1 Climate 4 3.2 Geology, Landform and Soils 4 3.3 Hydrology 5 3.4 Surrounding Land Use 5 3.5 Environmentally Sensitive Areas 5 3.6 Reserves and Conservation Areas 5 3.7 Vegetation and Flora 6 3.8 Weed and Dieback Management 13 3.9 Fauna 13 3.10 Australian Heritage 17 3.11 Acid Sulphate Soils 18 3.12 Contaminated Sites 18 3.13 Construction Phase Impacts 18 4. Environmental Approvals 20 4.1 Commonwealth Approvals 20 4.2 Government of Western Australia 20 5. Conclusions and Recommendations 21 6. References 22 Table Index Table 1 Vegetation extent and status for Heddle et al. (1980) Vegetation associations within the Project Area 7 Table 2 Significant Flora records in the general vicinity of the Project Area. 8 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment Table 3 Assessment against the Ten Clearing Principles 11 Table 4 Significant fauna species previously recorded for, or potentially occurring in the general area 14 Table 5 Aboriginal heritage sites located within 5 km of Project Area 17 Table 6 Native title claims existing over the Project Area 18 Conservation Categories and Definitions for EPBC Act Listed Flora and Fauna Species. 25 Conservation Codes and Descriptions for DEC Declared Rare and Priority Flora Species. 25 Significance Levels for Fauna species – EPBC Act, Wildlife Conservation Act and DEC 29 Appendices A Figures B Conservation Codes and Descriptions 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment Executive Summary Main Roads West Australia (Main Roads WA) commissioned GHD Pty Ltd (GHD) to complete a Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA). The project involves the construction of north bound and south bound passing lanes on Indian Ocean Road between 8.0 – 10.0 SLK and 8.6 – 6.0 SLK. A number of desktop assessments were undertaken to determine the potential environmental impacts of the proposed works. These include identification and reporting of: » climate; » geology, landform and soils; » vegetation; » weed management; » significant fauna; » indigenous heritage; » non•indigenous heritage; » land use; and » construction phase impacts A field flora and vegetation survey was also carried out to assess the flora significance and provide information for an assessment of the vegetation clearing under the Ten Clearing Principles. These assessments indicate potential environmental impacts associated with the project are minimal. No issues identified during the development of this PEIA are considered to require referral to the Environmental Protection Authority or the Commonwealth. It is estimated that approximately 0.8 hectares of vegetation will be required to be cleared. The proposed project is likely to be at variance with the Ten Clearing Principles as the road works are likely to impact the edges of small areas of a Bush Forever site and the area is within a Public Drinking Water Source Area, which is also categorised as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. Discussion with a Department of Environment and Conservation officer indicated that a Clearing Permit Application would need to be lodged but that, due to the size of the impact, it could be ‘fast•tracked’. 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment 1. Introduction Main Roads West Australia (Main Roads WA) commissioned GHD Pty Ltd (GHD) to complete a Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (PEIA). The project involves the construction of north bound and south bound passing lanes on Indian Ocean Road (M45) north of Yanchep Beach Road. Main Roads is proposing to construct overtaking lanes northbound and southbound on Indian Ocean Drive between 8.0 – 10.0 SLK and 8.6 – 6.0 SLK. The Project Area is shown in Figure 1, Appendix A. 1.1 Scope of report This PEIA has been prepared to conform to Main Roads WA Consultant Brief. It: » Identifies and reviews existing relevant environmental reports; » Conducts an initial assessment to determine the key environmental aspects for the road proposal; » Assesses the project against the Environmental Protection Act’s (1986) Ten Clearing Principles (Schedule 5); » Assesses all environmental aspects likely to require referral of the project and advises whether the project should be referred to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA); » Assesses all Matters of National Environmental Significance likely to require referral of the project to the Commonwealth Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) under the EPBC Act 1999; » Determines (but does not apply for) clearances required under other legislative provisions, including (but not limited to) those required under the following Acts: – Conservation and Land Management Act (1984); – Wildlife Conservation Act (1950); – Environmental Protection Act (1986); – Rights in Water and Irrigation Act (1914); – Heritage of Western Australia Act (1990); – Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972). » Based on the information provided by Main Roads WA and database/literature reviews, the environmental and social aspects considered and discussed in this PEIA include: – climate; – geology and soils; – topography and hydrology; – vegetation i.e. clearing and presence of Declared Rare or Priority Flora (DRF), Threatened Ecological Communities and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) listed species; 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) 1 Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment – weed management; – fauna; – reserves and conservation areas; – indigenous heritage; – non•indigenous heritage; – contaminated sites; – land use; and – construction phase impacts. 1.2 Structure of Report This PEIA has been structured as follows: » Section 2: Outlines the project » Section 3: Environmental and social issues considered relevant to this Project are outlined on a topic•by•topic basis. Each of the topics includes a baseline environmental description, and where appropriate this is followed by a preliminary assessment of potential environmental constraints and GHD’s recommendation to Main Roads WA. » Section 4: Discusses the need for referral, to EPA and the commonwealth, and approvals that may be required by the proposed project. » Section 5: Draws conclusions from the PEIA and reiterates the management recommendations provided in Section 3. 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) 2 Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment 2. Project Description and Justification The project involves the construction of north bound and south bound passing lanes on Indian Ocean Drive between 8.0 – 10.0 SLK and 8.6 – 6.0 SLK in the City of Wanneroo (the Project Area). The Project Area is shown in Figure 1, Appendix A. Once the final link road of Indian Ocean Drive is constructed between Lancelin and Cervantes, the traffic volume on the Lancelin Road will increase by approximately 2000 vehicles per day. Main Roads WA has indicated “this increase of traffic will warrant the need for overtaking lanes to be constructed between Yanchep and Lancelin to improve the level of service and road safety”. 61/23198/83715 Indian Ocean Drive Overtaking Lanes (8.0 • 10.0 SLK) and (8.6 • 6.5 SLK) 3 Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment 3. Environmental Aspects The environmental and social issues considered relevant to this project are outlined in the following section. Each of the topics includes a baseline environmental description and where appropriate this is followed by a preliminary assessment of potential environmental constraints and GHD’s recommendation to Main Roads WA. 3.1 Climate The Project Area has a climate that is broadly described as Mediterranean, experiencing warm dry summers and cool wet winters. The closest weather recording station to the Project Area is RAAF Pearce. Recorded historical climate data for RAAF Pearce has been summarised below: » Mean Annual Maximum Temperature Range – 33.3°C (January) to 17.8°C (July) » Mean Annual Minimum Temperature Range – 17.4°C (February) to 8.2°C (August) » Mean Annual Rainfall – 695.2 mm » Mean Annual Rain days per year – 56.2 days (Source: Bureau of Meteorology – Climate Averages for Australian Sites: Averages for RAAF Pearce, 2008) Climate is not a significant constraint for this project. During the summer months dust control could be an issue. Run•off management should be considered during the winter months. 3.2 Geology, Landform and Soils The Project Area is located within the Perth Basin on the Swan Coastal Plain. The Australian Soil Resource Information System (2007) describes the landforms of this region as low dissected plateaus; dune fields; alluvial plains in the south. The Project Area lies within the Spearwood Dune System. The Spearwood dunes comprise the eolian parts of the Tamala Limestone – medium•to coarse•grained calcarenite, composed largely of broken fossil shell fragments and various amounts of quartz sand (Gozzard, 2007). The landform of the Project Area is characterised by gently undulating land. The land surface within the Project Area ranges from 30 m to 50 m Australian Height Datum (AHD) (Department of Water, 2007). The urban geology map series 1:50,000 (Department of Industry and Resources, 1977) was referred to, to determine specific geology and soil characteristics of the Project Area. The Project Area and surrounding lands are Tamala Limestone. The majority of the Project Area is predominantly sand with only a small area described as predominantly limestone. Fractures and caverns known to occur within the strata of Swan Coastal Plain limestone may present a potential safety hazard through structural failure.