AQUATIC ECOLOGICAL REPORT APPENDIX BB ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT Boral Gold Coast Quarry Project Environmental Impact Statement Aquatic Ecology Assessment Prepared for: Cardno Chenoweth on behalf of Boral frc environmental PO Box 2363, Wellington Point QLD 4160 Telephone: + 61 3286 3850 Facsimile: + 61 3821 7936 frc reference: 120315 frc environmental Document Control Summary Project No.: 120315 Status: Report Project Director: John Thorogood Project Manager: Craig Chargulaf Title: Boral Gold Coast Quarry Project Environmental Impact Statement Project Team: Craig Chargulaf, Charlotte Josey, Kylie McPherson, Lauren Thorburn, John Thorogood Client: Cardno Chenoweth on behalf of Boral Client Contact: David Francis Date: 5 February 2013 Edition: 120315Rii Checked by: Lauren Thorburn Issued by: Craig Chargulaf Distribution Record Cardno Chenoweth: 1 word and 1 pdf document This work is copyright. 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Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment FRC_Files:frc_projects:Projects:2012:120315_CRD_Boral_EIS:Report:Season_Survey:Current:120315Rii_13-02- 06_1029_TP.docx frc environmental Contents Glosssary Executive Summary i 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Project Description 2 1.2 Description of the Study Area 9 2 Legislation and Guidelines 11 2.1 Commonwealth’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 11 2.2 Queensland’s Fisheries Act 1994 14 2.3 Queensland’s Marine Parks Act 2004 16 2.4 Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992 17 2.5 Queensland’s Land Protection (Pest and Stock Route Management) Act 2002 17 2.6 Queensland’s Environmental Protection Act 1994 19 2.7 Queensland’s Water Act 2000 22 2.8 Wetlands of National, State or Regional Significance 22 2.9 Queensland’s Sustainable Planning Act 2009 25 2.10 Gold Coast Planning Scheme 25 3 Methods 27 3.1 Survey Design 27 3.2 Aquatic Habitat 32 3.3 Aquatic Plants 34 3.4 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates 35 3.5 Aquatic Vertebrates 38 3.6 Desktop Review 40 3.7 Limitations 40 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental 4 Aquatic Habitat 41 4.1 Habitat Bioassessment 56 4.2 Reach Environs 57 4.3 Riparian Vegetation 58 4.4 Bank Stability 58 4.5 Substrate Composition 59 4.6 Channel Diversity 60 4.7 In-stream Habitat 61 4.8 Water Quality Measured In Situ 62 4.9 Habitat Condition of the Region 68 5 Aquatic Plants 69 5.1 Aquatic Plant Community Composition 69 5.2 Aquatic Plant Species Richness 73 5.3 Percent Cover 74 5.4 Exotic Species 76 5.5 Threatened Species 76 5.6 Aquatic Plants of the Region 76 6 Aquatic Macroinvertebrates 77 6.1 Macroinvertebrate Communities 77 6.2 Mean Taxonomic Richness 78 6.3 Mean Abundance 80 6.4 Mean PET Richness 82 6.5 Mean SIGNAL 2 Scores 84 6.6 Macrocrustaceans 85 6.7 Macroinvertebrates of the Region 88 7 Aquatic Vertebrates 91 7.1 Fish Communities 91 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental 7.2 Ecology of Fish in the Survey Area 98 7.3 Turtle Communities 112 8 Summary of Aquatic Ecological Values 114 9 Potential Impacts 115 9.1 Hydrocarbon Contamination 115 9.2 Vegetation Clearing and Earthworks 116 9.3 Input of Nutrients or Contaminants 118 9.4 Creek Crossings 119 9.5 Loss of Catchment Area 119 9.6 Impacts to Wetlands 120 9.7 Changes to Flow Regimes 120 10 Mitigation Measures 121 10.1 Operation and Maintenance of Vehicles and Equipment 121 10.2 Vegetation Clearing and Earthworks 121 10.3 Creek Crossings 122 10.4 Waterway Barriers 122 10.5 Loss of Catchment Area 122 10.6 Impacts to Wetlands 122 10.7 Changes to Flow Regimes 122 10.8 Monitoring 123 11 Conclusions 124 12 References 126 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental Tables Table 1.1 Quarry development staging. 6 Table 2.1 State and Commonwealth conservation status of significant species that may occur within 5 km of the project area. 13 Table 3.1 Location of sites surveyed. 29 Table 3.2 Habitat bioassessment scores used to derive overall condition categories. 33 Table 3.3 Water quality objectives for freshwater systems in the survey area. 34 Table 3.4 Electrofishing and net efforts at each site in the pre-wet season survey. 39 Table 4.1 Aquatic habitat at each site. 41 Table 5.1 Mean percent cover of aquatic plants at each site. 75 Table 6.1 Abundance of macrocrustaceans at each site. 87 Table 7.1 Abundance of each fish species at each site. 95 Table 7.2 Fish species in the current survey and the range of water quality conditions in which they are known to occur. 99 Table 7.3 Timing of critical movements of fish known to inhabit the region. 100 Table 7.4 Fish species caught in the South Coast basin, previous surveys and current surveys. 108 Figures Figure 3.1 Total monthly and mean monthly rainfall at the Tallebudgera Guineas Creek Road (November 2011–August 2012, Station 40196) and Burleigh Waters Alert (September and October 2012, Station 40981) weather stations. 27 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental Figure 4.1 Habitat bioassessment scores at each site, and the thresholds for poor, moderate, good and excellent habitat condition. 56 Figure 4.2 Reach environ at site ST5 cleared for residential developments and recreational parkland. 57 Figure 4.3 Reach environ at site W12 with the four-wheel drive track visible. 57 Figure 4.4 Reach environ at site ST4 containing ferns and rainforest palms. 58 Figure 4.5 Reach environs at site ST5, cleared for parkland. 58 Figure 4.6 Particle size distribution at each site. 59 Figure 4.7 Riffle habitat at site C1. 60 Figure 4.8 Potential in-stream habitat at site ST2 in periods of high flow. 61 Figure 4.9 Water temperature at each site. 62 Figure 4.10 Percent saturation of dissolved oxygen at each site. 64 Figure 4.11 The pH at each site. 65 Figure 4.12 Electrical conductivity at each site. 66 Figure 4.13 Turbidity at each site. 67 Figure 5.1 River clubrush at site W11. 70 Figure 5.2 Cumbungi at site ST5. 70 Figure 5.3 Frogmouth at site NT9. 70 Figure 5.4 Parrot’s feather at site C1. 72 Figure 5.5 Water snowflake at site C1. 72 Figure 5.6 Species richness of aquatic plants at each site. 73 Figure 5.7 Percent cover of aquatic plants at each site. 74 Figure 6.1 Mean taxonomic richness in bed habitat at each site. 78 Figure 6.2 Mean taxonomic richness in edge habitat at each site. 79 Figure 6.3 Mean abundance of macroinvertebrates in bed habitat at each site. 80 Figure 6.4 Mean abundance of macroinvertebrates in edge habitat at each site. 81 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental Figure 6.5 Mean PET richness in bed habitat at each site. 82 Figure 6.6 Mean PET richness in edge habitat at each site. 83 Figure 6.7 Mean SIGNAL 2 scores in bed habitat at each site. 84 Figure 6.8 Mean SIGNAL 2 scores in edge habitat at each site. 85 Figure 6.9 Freshwater shrimp. 86 Figure 6.10 Freshwater prawn. 86 Figure 6.11 Yabby. 86 Figure 6.12 Total taxonomic richness in edge habitat in the current survey compared with mean taxonomic richness in EHMP surveys in the Nerang River and Tallebudgera / Currumbin catchments. 89 Figure 6.13 Total PET richness in edge habitat in the current survey compared with mean PET richness in the EHMP surveys in the Nerang River and Tallebudgera / Currumbin catchments. 89 Figure 6.14 Total SIGNAL 2 scores in edge habitat in the current survey compared with mean SIGNAL 2 scores in the EHMP surveys in the Nerang River and Tallebudgera / Currumbin catchments. 90 Figure 7.1 Common carp gudgeon. 91 Figure 7.2 Flathead gudgeon. 92 Figure 7.3 Striped gudgeon. 92 Figure 7.4 Marbled eel. 92 Figure 7.5 Mosquitofish. 93 Figure 7.6 Australian smelt. 93 Figure 7.7 Juvenile mullet. 93 Figure 7.8 Species richness of fish at each site. 96 Figure 7.9 Life-history stages of fish at each site. 97 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental Maps Map 120315CM Location of the project area in the South Coast Catchment. 10 Map 120315WL EHP-mapped wetlands. 24 Map 120315SM Aquatic ecology sites surveyed. 31 Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental Glosssary AHD Australian Height Datum Boral Boral Resources (Queensland) Pty Ltd C comparative site EHP Department of Environment and Heritage Protection EHMP ecosystem health monitoring program EIS Environmental Impact Statement EP Act Environmental Protection Act 1994 EPBC Act Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 EPP Water Environmental Protection (Water) Policy 2009 EV environmental values Fisheries Act Fisheries Act 1994 GCCC Gold Coast City Council HEV high ecological value HME heavy mobile equipment IDAS Integrated Development Assessment System Land Protection Act Land Protection (Pest and Stock Management) Act 2002 Lot 105 Lot 105 on SP144215, the land subject to the proposed quarry development NCWR Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006 ND no data NT northern tributary site NTU nephelometric turbidity unit QLD Queensland QWQG Queensland Water Quality Guidelines Boral Gold Coast Quarry EIS: Aquatic Ecology Assessment frc environmental ROM run-of-mine SEWPAC Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities sp.