North East Link Minister's assessment of environmental effects November 2019 Acknowledgment We acknowledge and respect Victorian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria's land and waters, their unique ability to care for Country and deep spiritual connection to it. We honour Elders past and present whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of culture and traditional practices. We are committed to genuinely partner, and meaningfully engage, with Victoria's Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities to support the protection of Country, the maintenance of spiritual and cultural practices and their broader aspirations in the 21st century and beyond. © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2019 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone the DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136186, email [email protected], or via the National Relay Service on 133 677 www.relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at www.delwp.vic.gov.au. Contents Executive summary ...................................................................................................................... iii 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose of this document ............................................................................................................... 1 2. Project description .................................................................................................................... 2 3. IAC recommendations ............................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Reference design ............................................................................................................................. 4 3.2 Risk assessment .............................................................................................................................. 6 3.3 Project modifications ...................................................................................................................... 6 4. Statutory processes ................................................................................................................... 9 4.1 Environment Effects Act .................................................................................................................. 9 4.2 Planning and Environment Act ........................................................................................................ 9 4.3 Environment Protection Act ............................................................................................................ 9 4.4 Aboriginal Heritage Act ................................................................................................................. 10 4.5 Other Victorian statutory approvals.............................................................................................. 10 4.6 Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act ...................................................................................... 10 4.7 Commonwealth statutory approval .............................................................................................. 10 4.8 Transport Integration Act .............................................................................................................. 11 5. Assessment and planning framework ..................................................................................... 12 5.1 Consideration of environmental effects ........................................................................................ 12 5.2 Management of environmental effects ......................................................................................... 13 6. Assessment of environmental effects ..................................................................................... 18 6.1 Traffic and transport ..................................................................................................................... 18 6.2 Urban design, visual impacts and landscape ................................................................................. 29 6.3 Social ............................................................................................................................................. 39 6.4 Business ........................................................................................................................................ 48 6.5 Land use planning ......................................................................................................................... 51 6.6 Biodiversity ................................................................................................................................... 54 6.7 Noise and vibration ....................................................................................................................... 60 6.8 Air quality and greenhouse gases .................................................................................................. 69 6.9 Groundwater ................................................................................................................................. 71 6.10 Ground movement ...................................................................................................................... 73 6.11 Surface water .............................................................................................................................. 73 6.12 Land contamination and solid waste ........................................................................................... 75 6.13 Historical heritage ....................................................................................................................... 78 6.14 Aboriginal cultural heritage ......................................................................................................... 79 6.15 Health and wellbeing .................................................................................................................. 80 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 83 7.1 Summary of response to inquiry recommendations ..................................................................... 83 Appendix A Environmental performance requirements ..................................................... 90 Appendix B Additional information request .................................................................... 125 Appendix C Additional information response .................................................................. 126 i Glossary ASS Acid sulphate soils BBW Banyule, Boroondara and Whitehorse BIP Bulleen Industrial Precinct CEMP Construction environment management plan CHMP Cultural heritage management plan CNVMP Construction noise and vibration management plan DDO Design and Development Overlay DELWP Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning EE Act Environment Effects Act 1978 EES Environment Effects Statement EMF Environmental management framework EPA Environment Protection Authority EP Act Environment Protection Act 1970 EP Act 2017 Environment Protection Act 2017 EPR Environmental performance requirement EVC Ecological vegetation class FFG Act Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 HIA Health impact assessment IAC Inquiry and advisory committee LOS Level of service MCC Manningham City Council MTPFA Major Transport Projects Facilitation Act 2009 OEMP Operational environment management plan PAO Public acquisition overlay PASS Potential acid sulphate soils PFAS Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances PM10 Particulate matter 10 micrometres or less in diameter PM2.5 Particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter PSA Planning scheme amendment P&E Act Planning and Environment Act 1987 SCO Specific Controls Overlay SEPP State environment protection policy TBM Tunnel boring machine TNRP Traffic Noise Reduction Policy UDAP Urban design advisory panel UDLP Urban design and landscape plan UDS Urban design strategy ii Executive summary Melbourne’s transport challenge, as it grows from a city of 4.5 million to almost 8 million by 2051, requires a road network to cater for around 10 million more trips per day – an increase of more than 80%. The North East Link (the project) is one response to that challenge. Infrastructure Victoria identified the North East Link as a high priority project for improved accessibility through a congested road network. The project will provide a vital