Port Botany Post Construction Environmental Monitoring Port Botany Post Construction Monitoring Annual Report 2013 EL1112046 Prepared for Sydney Ports Corporation September 2013 Document Information Prepared for Sydney Ports Corporation Project Name Port Botany Post Construction Monitoring Annual Report 2013 File Reference Umbrella Document September 2013.docx Job Reference EL112046 Date September 2013 Contact Information Cardno (NSW/ACT) Pty Ltd Trading as Cardno Ecology Lab Level 9, The Forum 203 Pacific Highway St. Leonards NSW 2065 Telephone: 02 9496 7700 Facsimile: 02 9499 3902 International: +612 9496 7700 [email protected] www.cardno.com.au Document Control Version Date Author Author Reviewer Reviewer Initials Initials A 30 June 2013 Peggy O’Donnell POD Dr Craig Blount CB 1 17 September 2013 Peggy O’Donnell POD Dr Craig Blount CB © Cardno 2013. Copyright in the whole and every part of this document belongs to Cardno and may not be used, sold, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person other than by agreement with Cardno. This document is produced by Cardno solely for the benefit and use by the client in accordance with the terms of the engagement. Cardno does not and shall not assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever to any third party arising out of any use or reliance by any third party on the content of this document. Executive Summary This Port Botany Post Construction Monitoring Annual Report 2013 summarises the findings of the first year post-construction monitoring for five components of Penrhyn Estuary Habitat Enhancement Plan (PEHEP) implemented by Sydney Ports in association with the expansion of berthing facilities at Port Botany. The primary objectives of the environmental enhancement works within Penrhyn Estuary are to: > Expand the existing shorebird habitat, to continue to attract migratory shorebirds and potentially attract more shorebirds; > Create seagrass habitat; > Expand the area of saltmarsh habitat; and > Provide controlled public access and minimise disturbance within the Estuary. The Post Construction Environmental Monitoring program began in 2012 and extends until 2017 with the overall aim to verify the success of habitat enhancement and to identify corrective actions required to ensure long-term success of habitat enhancement. Monitoring has been done in accordance with an approved Monitoring Services Management Plan (MSMP) that describes the management and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedures that have been followed during implementation of the monitoring program. Environmental Monitoring for the first year post-enhancement works has been completed for the following components: 1. Shorebirds, including monitoring the numbers and species composition of shorebirds, assessing feeding behaviour of shorebirds and monitoring the existing and future effects of disturbance in Penrhyn Estuary on shorebird behaviour; 2. Benthos, including monitoring changes in benthic invertebrate communities in existing and new intertidal/shallow subtidal habitats in terms of their impacts on food items for shorebirds, assessing changes in benthic communities in different feeding sub-habitats and assessing the sustainability of created habitats with respect to their provision of food items for shorebirds; 3. Saltmarsh; including monitoring changes in existing saltmarsh habitats that were retained in terms of the impacts of port construction and operation and assessing the success of created saltmarsh habitat, including its ecological function; 4. Seagrass, including mapping the distribution and measuring ecological characteristics of seagrasses in existing (Foreshore Beach to the mouth of the Mill Stream) and newly created habitat (the flushing Channel and intertidal areas of Penrhyn Estuary) and comparing these with information collected for seagrasses prior to and/or during construction works, and measuring the success of transplanting Posidonia from the dredged area to Quibray Bay. 5. Water Quality, including verifying that post-construction flushing of the estuary is sufficient to prevent eutrophic conditions from forming as a result of processes occurring within Penrhyn Estuary or its catchment, involving monitoring of key indicators such as turbidity, nutrient concentrations and flushing times. The following table summarises key findings in each of the five monitoring programs. Monitoring Indicator Result Comment Program Shorebirds Peak Counts of Bar-tailed Target not met, but average Positive trend Godwits count increasing post- construction. Numbers consistent throughout the season Higher abundance nocturnally. Peak Counts of Red Knot Absent from the estuary No reference site available to compare populations. Peak Counts of Pacific Target exceeded for three Positive result. Variable Golden Plover consecutive seasons. numbers at low tide but gradual increase apparent post- construction. Peak Counts of Curlew Target not met. Remained Declining across SE Australia so Sandpiper absent throughout likely to be caused by events at construction and post- a greater scale construction phases. Peak Counts of Red- Target exceeded Positive result. Numbers necked Stint consistent throughout season, higher average since construction phase. Peak Counts of Double- Target not met Extremely variable within and banded Plover among seasons at both Penrhyn and the reference site. No distinct pattern of population change Benthos Abundance of Target not met Positive trend, increasing in third invertebrates (#/sample) post-construction survey Biomass (wet weight Target exceeded Positive result, increase g/sample) significantly greater than at Reference locations Mean Grain Size (mm) Target exceeded: Decrease Positive result: soil amendments compared to pre- successful in increasing fine enhancement particles Fine sediment fraction Target exceeded: Increase Positive result: soil amendments (%) compared to pre- successful in increasing fine enhancement particles and organic material Link to shorebird No clear correlation Insufficient data for trend abundance analysis Saltmarsh Area of cover Target met: Four fold increase Positive result: habitat creation in saltmarsh area and planting successful Growth (assemblage Target met: Better than Positive result: indicates healthy along transects) baseline in all areas except habitat altered areas Species diversity in Target met: Equivalent to or Positive result quadrats increased compared to baseline in all areas except those that received transplants Sarcocornia quinqueflora Equivalent to or increased Positive result, but lower cover (% cover) compared to baseline in all than at references in all but new areas except those that were habitat altered or received transplants Sporobolus virginicus (% Equivalent to or increased Positive result but lower than cover) compared to baseline except references undisturbed areas or those Monitoring Indicator Result Comment Program that received transplants Suaeda australis (% Increase in undisturbed areas, Positive result but new areas cover) but not in areas that were lower than references altered or received transplants Juncus kraussii (% cover) Increase in areas that Positive result compared to received transplants reference areas Plant health conditions Target met: Better than Positive result baseline and references Max height Target met: Better than Positive result baseline and references Ecological function Target met: Equivalent to Positive result (epifaunal assemblage) assemblages in references Mangrove Invasion Trees Target met: Decreased Positive result compared to baseline and similar to references Mangrove Invasion Target met: Decreased Positive result Seedlings compared to baseline and similar to references Mangrove Invasion Target met: Decreased Positive result Pneumatophores compared to baseline and similar to references Seagrass Distribution along Decreased significantly prior Negative but not associated with Foreshore Beach to habitat enhancement Port Expansion project Distribution in Early signs of recovery for Positive trend Rehabilitation Area Halophila and Zostera, but not (Channel) Posidonia Condition along Halophila with short sparse Positive trend Foreshore Beach leaves with medium load of epiphytes Distribution in intertidal Target met: Observation of Positive result, similar to pre- areas within Penrhyn sparse, ephemeral patches of enhancement Estuary Zostera Condition of Posidonia Target met: Successful, Positive result transplanted to Quibray generally not distinguishable Bay from surrounding seagrass Water Quality pH Target met: No difference Positive result post-construction, no exceedances of guidelines Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Target met: No difference Positive result post-construction, very few exceedances of guidelines Electrical Conductivity Lower post-construction, no Could be attributable to data (EC) guideline value quality in pre-construction phase Total Nitrogen (TN) Target met: No change post- Positive result construction, few exceedances of guidelines Total Phosphorous Target met: No change post- Positive result construction, but some exceedances of guidelines Total Suspended Solids Target met: Higher during Positive result, exceedances (TSS) high tide, but no difference typical of estuarine environment post-construction, frequent Monitoring Indicator Result Comment Program exceedances of guidelines Chlorophyll a (Chl-a) Target met: No change post- Positive result construction, few exceedances of guidelines