Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians Inc. (TVCG Inc.) (No. A0042978C) C/- The Secretary 26th February, 2015 Ms Jeanette Radcliffe Committee Secretary Select Committee on Wind Turbines PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Ms. Radcliffe, Please accept this submission from Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians Inc. (TVGC) to the Senate Select Committee on Wind Turbines. In this submission, we detail some of our experiences of the planning and environment assessment, approval, compliance and enforcement processes for the Bald Hills Wind Energy Facility (BHWEF), Tarwin Lower in South Gippsland, Victoria during its pre- construction and construction, but not post-construction, stages. At the time of writing, the BHWEF had not commenced generation. The timescale covered by this submission is 2004 to current. Our submission is made in two parts: A and B. The attached document is Part A (hereafter referred to as the “TVCG Part A Sub”). It was commissioned by TVCG Inc. and prepared by consulting researcher and advocate, Ms. Cheryl Wragg, in consultation with TVCG members. TVCG Part A Sub refers to statutory planning and related aspects of WEF regulation. The TVCG Part B SubReport has already been submitted separately The TVCG Part B SubReport was commissioned by TVCG in 2009 and refers to BHWEF statutory environmental assessment processes. It was prepared by evolutionary biologist, Dr. Lucas Bluff, in consultation with TVCG members. Our submission refers to two distinct regulatory areas for wind energy facilities (WEF) – statutory planning, and the environment, and refers to the following Senate Select Committee ToRs: • how effective the Clean Energy Regulator is in performing its legislative responsibilities and whether there is a need to broaden those responsibilities (ToR ‘b’); • the implementation of planning processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts (ToR ‘d’ ); • the adequacy of monitoring and compliance governance of wind farms (ToR ‘e’ ); • the application and integrity of national wind farm guidelines (ToR ‘f’ ); • the effect that wind towers have on fauna and aerial operations around turbines, including firefighting and crop management (ToR ‘g’). We define ‘fauna’ in (g) to include wildlife. 1 We would welcome the opportunity to present to the Senate Select Committee about our submission. We would greatly appreciate if the Committee was able to schedule public hearings in Melbourne to facilitate easier attendance by TVCG representatives. If you have any questions about the contents of our submission please contact Cheryl Wragg If the Senate Select Committee is organising presentations, please contact me about TVCG representation. Yours sincerely, Mr. Lindsay Overall Secretary TVCG Inc. 2 Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians Inc. (TVCG Inc.) TVCG Part A Submission to the Senate Select Committee on Wind Turbines Prepared by Ms. Cheryl Wragg in consultation with TVCG members Tarwin Valley Coastal Guardians Inc. (No. A0042978C) Mr. Lindsay Overall, Secretary Mr. Don Jelbart, President 3 Index 1. About TVCG Inc……………………………………………………. 5 2. Site and surrounds of the BHWEF……………………………… 5 3. Details of the BHWEF……………………………………………… 6 4. Objections to the BHWEF…………………………………………. 6 5. 2004 Planning Panel’s Regulatory Approaches………………. 9 6. Victoria’s WEF statutory planning & regulation and comments about the Panel’s regulatory approaches ….………………….. 12 6.1 Victoria’s WEF statutory planning arrangements……. 12 6.2 Regulating Bat and Avifauna Impacts………………….. 14 6.3 Protection of Coastal landscape………………………... 14 6.4 Regulating Acoustic Emissions…………………………. 15 6.5 Regulating residential amenity of future dwellings at pre WEF amenity Standards……………………………....19 7. Sorting out permit breaches and regulatory failures the VCAT way……………………………………………………………………. 23 8. Monitoring and compliance governance of BHWEF during construction…………………………………………………………. 28 8.1 Cultural Heritage Management Plans…………………... 29 8.2 Unauthorised relocation of Turbines and Substation..30 8.3 Gullen WEF and a New South Wales – Victoria comparison…..……………………………………………… 32 8.4 Some BHWEF impacts on local flora and fauna…….. 33 9. A Commonwealth Wind Energy Regulator…………………….. 35 10. References…………………………………………………………... 37 11. Appendices………………………………………………………….. 38 Front Cover (p 3): (Unauthorised) BHWEF Civil Design Plans (As Built), northern sector, December 2013 4 1. About TVCG Inc. TVCG Inc. was formed and incorporated in 2002 by residents of the Bald Hills/Tarwin Lower region in South Gippsland, Victoria. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit association focused on environmental conservation and protection of the lower Tarwin River valley and nearby coastline. TVCG’s Statement of Purposes is: • To promote the protection and conservation of the natural environment of the Tarwin Valley region on public and private lands including its coastline, parks, conservation and reserve areas, remnant vegetation and waterways; • To lobby all levels of government to resource the extension of conservation areas and to maintain and protect existing designated conservation and reserve areas; • To encourage local residents and visitors to value the natural environment of the Tarwin Valley region; • To form alliances with other conservation organisations and/or community based groups to progress matters compatible with the purposes of this Association; • From time to time to adopt and employ such other strategies which may enhance or progress the protection and conservation of the natural environment of the Tarwin Valley region . Most TVCG members are local farmers and landowners with a strong environmental and conservation ethic pre-dating the formation of the association. Our members established Friends of the Cape Liptrap Peninsula including the Bald Hills and Kings Flat Reserves . Many of us are also active and committed members of our local LandCare group. 2. Site and surrounds of the BHWEF Section 1 of the TVCG Part B SubReport provides a detailed description of the environmental context of the BHWEF. Residents and local landowners are strongly attuned to the natural beauty and conservation values of our ‘Prom Territory’ neighbourhood and consider we are fortunate to be its custodians and carers. While bush clearing was a pre-requisite of land ownership imposed by the late 1940s Victorian government, Shire of Woorayl, and Rural Development Bank, our families left intact significant tracts of remnant vegetation. These continue to provide habitat for flora and fauna. Over the decades we have preserved these by using sensitive farming practices, supplementing these with plantings and looking after our area’s dedicated conservation reserves. The 2004 Planning Panel described some of our efforts thus: ‘astonishing quantities of native plantings had taken place’. 1 The ridge, upon which the northern section of BHWEF now stands, rises above the larger Tullaree wetland. Historically, this area is rich in biodiversity. Despite drainage works, the wetland still fills up in winter providing important habitat for many faunal species. These include species deemed to be matters of national environmental significance under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, 1 2004 Bald Hills Wind Farm Project EES, EES Supplement and Called In Permits Report, 24 June 2004 p 212 5 including migratory birds. The southern section of the BHWEF is one kilometre or so from the coastline and directly abuts the Cape Liptrap national park. Taken together with its close proximity to the coastline, the area provided a rich food source for Gunnai-Kurnai and Bunurong peoples. Not surprisingly, the 1763 hectares used for the BHWEF are scattered with aboriginal archaeology including human grave sites. There are twenty three residential properties at or within two kilometres of the BHWEF, and between eight -eleven 2 other properties directly adjoining the BHWEF entitled to house sites, by right of Victorian and South Gippsland Shire planning schemes. Five of the twenty three residential properties belong to landowners participating as ‘stakeholders’ in the BHWEF development. Two ‘stakeholder’ property owners currently live in situ. 3. Details of the BHWEF The BHWEF comprises 52 RePower MM 92 turbines. The hub height of each tower is 80 metres with a rotor tip height of 124.75 metres. Each turbine consists of a tower and a 3-bladed rotor (92.5 metres diameter) standing on a reinforced concrete foundation. The tower is made of welded steel segments. Each turbine nacelle, rotor, and hub weighs 96.5 tonnes 3. The turbines are rated to generate 2.05 MW. All turbine componentry is fully imported. The BHWEF Planning Permit was first issued referring to the use of Repower MM 82 turbines which are smaller and shorter than the MM92 model. In 2009, the Minister for Planning approved a secondary consent application by the developer to change the turbine model. BHWEF is not the first WEF in Gippsland4 however, to date, it is the largest. Services to the BHWEF include more than twenty seven kilometres of internal roads, a laydown area for each turbine, a substation measuring 100 metres by 50 metres, an underground electrical cabling system, a 30+ kilometre transmission line to Leongatha South grid connection, a ‘met mast’, and various temporary buildings and services associated with construction. The main entrance is accessed from Buffalo-Waratah Road, Tarwin Lower. This $400million project has a very considerable construction footprint.