ADDITIONAL CROSSING OF THE CLARENCE RIVER AT GRAFTON Appendix L – Technical Paper: Flora and fauna assessment AUGUST 2014 Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Project background .............................................................................................................................................. 10 1.2 Project description ................................................................................................................................................ 10 1.3 Project definitions ................................................................................................................................................. 12 1.4 Objectives and scope of assessment ................................................................................................................. 12 2. Legislation and policy ....................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Commonwealth .................................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1.1 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 ......................................................... 14 2.2 State ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 .............................................................................. 15 2.2.2 Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 .......................................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Fisheries Management Act 1994 ............................................................................................................. 16 2.2.4 Noxious Weeds Act 1993 ......................................................................................................................... 16 2.2.5 Native Vegetation Act 2003...................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Legislation and the project ................................................................................................................................... 17 3. Methods ............................................................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Literature and database review ........................................................................................................................... 20 3.2 Nomenclature ....................................................................................................................................................... 21 3.3 Field survey and techniques................................................................................................................................ 21 3.3.1 Field survey effort...................................................................................................................................... 21 3.3.2 Vegetation ................................................................................................................................................. 23 3.3.4 Aquatic fauna ............................................................................................................................................ 29 3.3.5 Permits and licences................................................................................................................................. 31 3.4 Limitations ............................................................................................................................................................. 31 3.5 Likelihood of occurrence of threatened species ................................................................................................ 32 3.6 Key personnel ...................................................................................................................................................... 32 3.7 Mapping ................................................................................................................................................................ 34 4. Existing Environment ........................................................................................................................................ 35 4.1 Landscape context ............................................................................................................................................... 35 4.2 Landuse ................................................................................................................................................................ 35 4.3 Topography and soils .......................................................................................................................................... 35 4.4 Flora ...................................................................................................................................................................... 36 4.5 Noxious Weeds .................................................................................................................................................... 36 4.6 Vegetation communities and fauna habitat ........................................................................................................ 37 4.7 Fauna .................................................................................................................................................................... 47 4.8 Threatened biota .................................................................................................................................................. 47 Additional crossing of the Clarence River at Grafton II Flora and Fauna Assessment 4.8.1 Threatened flora ........................................................................................................................................ 47 4.8.2 Threatened ecological communities ........................................................................................................ 47 4.8.3 Threatened fauna...................................................................................................................................... 48 4.8.4 Endangered populations .......................................................................................................................... 49 4.8.5 Migratory species ...................................................................................................................................... 49 4.9 Habitat assessment ............................................................................................................................................. 50 4.10 Critical habitat ....................................................................................................................................................... 56 4.11 Fauna movement corridors ................................................................................................................................. 56 4.12 Aquatic ecology .................................................................................................................................................... 56 4.13 Groundwater dependant ecosystems ................................................................................................................ 58 4.14 State environmental planning policies ................................................................................................................ 58 4.14.1 SEPP 44 koala habitat protection ............................................................................................................ 58 4.14.2 SEPP 14 – Coastal Wetlands .................................................................................................................. 59 5. Potential Impacts ............................................................................................................................................... 60 5.1 Construction and operational impacts ................................................................................................................ 60 5.2 Indirect impacts .................................................................................................................................................... 66 5.3 Cumulative impacts .............................................................................................................................................. 70 6. Managing potential impacts on biodiversity ................................................................................................. 71 7. Assessments of Significance .......................................................................................................................... 78 7.1 Potential impacts on threatened ecological communities ................................................................................. 80 7.2 Potential impacts on threatened flora species ..................................................................................................