Youth Justice Redevelopment Project: Spiny Rice-flower survey and updated vegetation assessment FINAL REPORT Prepared for Department of Justice and Regulation 4 October 2017 Biosis offices Document information Report to: Department of Justice and Regulation NEW SOUTH WALES Prepared by: Clare McCutcheon Albury Martin Lee Phone: (02) 6069 9200 Michael Goddard Email: [email protected] Biosis project no.: 25272 Newcastle File name: 25272.SRF.Vegetation.FIN02.20171004 Phone: (02) 4911 4040 Email: [email protected] Citation: Biosis 2017. Youth Justice Redevelopment Project: Spiny Rice-flower survey and updated vegetation Sydney assessment. Report for Department of Justice and Phone: (02) 9101 8700 Email: [email protected] Regulation. Authors: McCutcheon, C., Lee, M. & Goddard, M. Biosis Pty Ltd, Melbourne. Project no. Wollongong 25272 Phone: (02) 4201 1090 Email: [email protected] Document control Version Internal reviewer Date issued Final version 01 MV 19/09/2017 VICTORIA Ballarat Final version 02 CPM 04/10/2017 Phone: (03) 5304 4250 Email: [email protected] Acknowledgements Melbourne (Head Office) Biosis acknowledges the contribution of the following people and Phone: (03) 8686 4800 Email: [email protected] organisations in undertaking this study: Wangaratta Department of Justice and Regulation: Peter Beaumont, Dijana Phone: (03) 5718 6900 Dragovic and Garry Jackson Email: [email protected] Melbourne Water: Erik Ligtermoet, Ellen Mitchell and Peter Kissonergis Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for access to the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas and Native Vegetation Information Tools Department of the Environment and Energy for access to the Protected Matters Search Tool of the Australian Government Biosis staff involved in this project were: Steve Mueck, Daniel White, Sarah Hilliar & Tim Dredge (assistance in the field) Lachlan Milne (mapping) Biosis Pty Ltd This document is and shall remain the property of Biosis Pty Ltd. The document may only be used for the purposes for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the Terms of the Engagement for the commission. Unauthorised use of this document in any form whatsoever is prohibited. Disclaimer: Biosis Pty Ltd has completed this assessment in accordance with the relevant federal, state and local legislation and current industry best practice. The company accepts no liability for any damages or loss incurred as a result of reliance placed upon the report content or for any purpose other than that for which it was intended. © Biosis 2017 - Leaders in Ecology and Heritage Consulting - www.biosis.com.au i Contents Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... iv 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project background ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope of assessment ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Location of the study area ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 2.1 Background review .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Spiny Rice-flower targeted survey ................................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Vegetation assessment ................................................................................................................................... 4 2.4 Permits ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.5 Qualifications .................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.6 Mapping ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 3. Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 3.1 Spiny Rice-flower .............................................................................................................................................. 6 3.2 Vegetation assessment ................................................................................................................................... 6 3.3 Significant ecological communities .............................................................................................................. 7 4. Government legislation and policy ........................................................................................................ 10 4.1 Victoria’s Biodiversity Assessment Guidelines .......................................................................................... 10 4.1.1 Proposed removal of native vegetation ......................................................................................... 10 4.1.2 Determining the risk-based pathway ............................................................................................. 11 4.2 Offset requirements ...................................................................................................................................... 11 4.2.1 Victorian offsets .................................................................................................................................. 11 4.2.2 Commonwealth offsets ..................................................................................................................... 12 4.3 Proposed offset strategy .............................................................................................................................. 13 5. Conclusion and recommendations ........................................................................................................ 15 References ............................................................................................................................................................ 16 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................... 17 Appendix 1 Flora ....................................................................................................................................... 18 Appendix 2 Photos of the study area ..................................................................................................... 20 Appendix 3 Vegetation impact assessment results ............................................................................. 21 Appendix 4 EnSym report – test clearing proposal .............................................................................. 24 Appendix 5 Glossary – Biodiversity assessment guidelines................................................................ 41 © Biosis 2017 – Leaders in Ecology and Heritage Consulting ii Tables Table 1 Summary of the EnSym report ............................................................................................................ 12 Table 2 Flora species recorded from the study area ...................................................................................... 18 Table 3 Habitat hectares of native vegetation within the study area ........................................................... 21 Figures Figure 1 Location of the study area, Victoria ...................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2 Spiny Rice-flower targeted survey effort within the proposed impact area, Cherry Creek, Victoria .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 3 Native vegetation within the proposed impact area, Cherry Creek, Victoria .................................. 9 © Biosis 2017 – Leaders in Ecology and Heritage Consulting iii Summary Biosis Pty Ltd was commissioned by the Victorian Government Department of Justice and Regulation (DJR) to undertake the following tasks in relation to the Youth Justice Redevelopment Project (YJRP) at Cherry Creek, Victoria: Targeted survey for Spiny Rice-flower Pimelea spinescens subsp. spinescens (critically endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)) over the proposed impact area for the Youth Justice Centre (YJC). Native vegetation assessment of a revised access road alignment within the proposed impact area. A preliminary ecological assessment of the broader study area was previously undertaken by Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd (EHP 2017). Ecological values The key ecological value within the impact area is 29.274 hectares of native vegetation, including 29.187 hectares of EPBC