Appendix 11 Flora & Fauna Assessment Bulga Coal Management Pty Limited Bulga Coal Continued Underground Operations: Flora and Fauna Assessment July 2003 Flora and Fauna Assessment for Bulga Coal Continued Underground Operations Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................1.1 1.1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION.........................................................................................................................1.1 1.2 PROJECT AREA .......................................................................................................................................1.1 1.3 PREVIOUS SURVEYS ..............................................................................................................................1.1 1.4 PURPOSE OF THIS DOCUMENT.............................................................................................................1.1 2.0 METHODS .......................................................................................................2.1 2.1 PREVIOUS STUDIES ................................................................................................................................2.1 2.1.1 1992 South Bulga Colliery EIS ......................................................................................................2.1 2.1.2 1999 Bulga Open Cut Continued Mining EIS ................................................................................2.1 2.1.3 2000 South Bulga Colliery Southeast Extension EIS ....................................................................2.2 2.1.4 2001 Beltana No. 1 EIS .................................................................................................................2.3 2.1.5 2002 Redbank 2 Power Plant EIS .................................................................................................2.4 2.2 CURRENT SURVEY..................................................................................................................................2.4 2.2.1 Flora...............................................................................................................................................2.4 2.2.2 Fauna.............................................................................................................................................2.5 2.3 SURVEY EFFORT IN THE PROJECT AREA...........................................................................................2.7 3.0 FLORA OF THE PROJECT AREA..................................................................3.1 3.1 VEGETATION OF THE REGION ..............................................................................................................3.1 3.2 VEGETATION COMMUNITIES .................................................................................................................3.1 3.2.1 Mixed Eucalypt Woodland .............................................................................................................3.1 3.2.2 Ironbark/Spotted Gum Woodland ..................................................................................................3.2 3.2.3 Grey Box/Grey Gum/Spotted Gum Woodland...............................................................................3.2 3.2.4 Woodland (Dry Rainforest Elements) ............................................................................................3.2 3.2.5 Casuarina Woodland .....................................................................................................................3.3 3.2.6 Warkworth Sands Woodland .........................................................................................................3.3 3.2.7 Pastoral Grassland ........................................................................................................................3.3 3.2.8 Aquatic Vegetation.........................................................................................................................3.3 3.2.9 Cropland.........................................................................................................................................3.4 3.3 THREATENED FLORA SPECIES.............................................................................................................3.4 3.4 LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE OF THREATENED FLORA...............................................................3.4 3.5 LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE OF ENDANGERED ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES .......................3.5 4.0 FAUNA OF THE PROJECT AREA..................................................................4.1 4.1 GENERAL FAUNA HABITAT ...................................................................................................................4.1 4.1.1 Pastoral Grassland Habitat............................................................................................................4.1 4.1.2 Aquatic Habitat...............................................................................................................................4.1 4.1.3 Woodland Habitat ..........................................................................................................................4.1 Umwelt (Australia) Pty Limited 1468/R04/V4 July 2003 i Flora and Fauna Assessment for Bulga Coal Continued Underground Operations Table of Contents 4.2 SITE RECORDS ........................................................................................................................................4.2 4.2.1 Avifauna .........................................................................................................................................4.2 4.2.2 Herpetofauna .................................................................................................................................4.2 4.2.3 Mammals........................................................................................................................................4.3 4.3 THREATENED FAUNA SPECIES ............................................................................................................4.3 4.3.1 Masked Owl – Tyto novaehollandiae.............................................................................................4.3 4.3.2 Speckled Warbler – Pyrrholaemus sagittatus................................................................................4.3 4.3.3 Grey-crowned Babbler – Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis ...................................................4.3 4.3.4 Hooded Robin - Melanodryas cucullata cucullata .........................................................................4.3 4.3.5 Diamond Firetail – Stagonopleura guttata .....................................................................................4.4 4.3.6 Eastern Freetail Bat - Mormopterus norfolkensis ..........................................................................4.4 4.3.7 Common Bent-wing Bat – Miniopterus schreibersii.......................................................................4.4 4.4 LIKELIHOOD OF OCCURRENCE OF THREATENED FAUNA...............................................................4.4 5.0 IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSAL......................................................................5.1 5.1 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY.................................................................................................5.1 5.1.1 Underground Mining ......................................................................................................................5.1 5.1.2 Surface Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................5.1 5.1.3 Habitat Creation and Conservation................................................................................................5.1 5.2 IMPACT ON FLORA..................................................................................................................................5.2 5.2.1 Underground Mining Area..............................................................................................................5.2 5.2.2 Surface Facilities............................................................................................................................5.3 5.3 IMPACT ON FAUNA HABITAT.................................................................................................................5.3 5.3.1 Underground Mining Area..............................................................................................................5.3 5.3.2 Surface Infrastructure ....................................................................................................................5.4 5.4 IMPACT ON THREATENED SPECIES.....................................................................................................5.4 5.4.1 Commonwealth Legislation............................................................................................................5.4 5.4.2 State Legislation ............................................................................................................................5.6 6.0 MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS .................................................................6.1 6.1 GENERAL MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ..............................................................................................6.1 6.1.1 Management of Endemic Fauna Species......................................................................................6.1 6.2 MANAGEMENT OF WARKWORTH SANDS WOODLAND.....................................................................6.2