Preliminary Environmental Assessment Elysian Wind Farm Reference No. 30012635 Prepared for Elysian WF Pty Ltd 31 March 2020 REFERENCE NO. 30012635 Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................... I ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS ............................................................................................................................VI 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose of this document ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Proponent details ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2 PROPOSAL IDENTIFICATION ................................................................................................................................. 2 2.1 Location .................................................................................................................................................... 2 2.2 Development overview ............................................................................................................................. 2 2.3 Major wind farm infrastructure components ............................................................................................ 8 2.4 Major electrical infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 11 2.5 Development phases .............................................................................................................................. 12 3 DEVELOPMENT JUSTIFICATION AND ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED ..................................................................... 14 3.1 Global and regional agreements on emissions reduction ........................................................................ 14 3.2 Energy reform in Australia ...................................................................................................................... 14 3.3 Site selection .......................................................................................................................................... 15 3.4 Preliminary turbine layout ...................................................................................................................... 17 3.5 Alternatives considered .......................................................................................................................... 17 4 CONSULTATION ................................................................................................................................................. 19 4.1 Consultation ........................................................................................................................................... 19 4.2 Consultation activities undertaken to date ............................................................................................. 20 4.3 Stakeholder issues and interests ............................................................................................................. 21 4.4 Consultation summary ............................................................................................................................ 22 4.5 Next steps............................................................................................................................................... 23 5 PLANNING INSTRUMENTS AND CONTEXT .......................................................................................................... 25 5.1 Context for wind energy development ................................................................................................... 25 5.2 Commonwealth legislation ..................................................................................................................... 25 5.3 NSW state legislation .............................................................................................................................. 25 5.4 Environmental Planning Instruments ...................................................................................................... 28 5.5 Other policies and plans ......................................................................................................................... 30 5.6 Approvals required prior to commencement .......................................................................................... 31 6 ASSESSMENT OF KEY ISSUES .............................................................................................................................. 32 6.1 Landscape and visual assessment ........................................................................................................... 32 6.2 Noise and vibration................................................................................................................................. 54 6.3 Biodiversity ............................................................................................................................................. 62 6.4 Traffic and transport ............................................................................................................................... 73 6.5 Hazards and Risks ................................................................................................................................... 79 6.6 Aboriginal Heritage ................................................................................................................................. 87 6.7 Water and soils ....................................................................................................................................... 95 6.8 Waste ................................................................................................................................................... 102 6.9 Cumulative impacts .............................................................................................................................. 103 7 PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL RISK IDENTIFICATION.................................................................................... 105 8 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................... 109 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................. 110 PRELIMINARY ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 31 March 2020 Elysian Wind Farm i Prepared for Elysian WF Pty Ltd Appendices APPENDIX A ELEVATION PROFILE TRANSECTS APPENDIX B COMMUNICATIONS LOG APPENDIX C COOMA-MONARO LEP RIPARIAN LAND APPENDIX D PRELIMINARY NOSIE LEVEL PREDICTIONS (RESONATE, 2019) APPENDIX E ABORIGINAL HERITAGE IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT List of Tables Table 1-1. Proponent details ..........................................................................................................................................1 Table 2-1. Summary of key project components ............................................................................................................7 Table 3-1. Site selection criteria – preferable site conditions .......................................................................................15 Table 3-2. Site selection criteria – constraints ..............................................................................................................16 Table 3-3. Preliminary site wind data ...........................................................................................................................17 Table 3-4. Benefit summary .........................................................................................................................................18 Table 4-1. Key issues raised during preliminary consultation .......................................................................................22 Table 6-1. Summary of dwellings and key viewpoints within the visual extent .............................................................48 Table 6-2. Preliminary wind farm noise predictions - dB(A) (source: Resonate, 2019) ..................................................57 Table 6-3. Acceptable vibration dose values (m/s 1.75) for intermittent vibration (DP&E, 2006) .................................59 Table 6-4. Transient vibration guide values for minimal risk of cosmetic damage (BS7385) .........................................60 Table 6-5. PCTs predicted to occur on site as listed on the BioNet Vegetation Classification (VIS 2.1) and Vegetation Types database.............................................................................................................................................................63 Table 6-6. Threatened flora species considered to have a moderate to high likelihood of occurring within the study area ..............................................................................................................................................................................67 Table 6-7. Threatened fauna species are considered to have a moderate to high likelihood of occurring within the study area ....................................................................................................................................................................68