Download Ecological Assessment

Review of Environmental Factors East Ryde to Top Ryde Cable Project Ż
Appendix F Ecological Assessment
REF - 308 NIG - 12454 WBS – SJ-06115 v0.2 5 Apr 2017
UNCLASSIFIED Page 106 of 116
Flora and Fauna Surveys, Biodiversity and Ecological Impact Assessment
Services
Australian Company Number (ACN) 154 491 120
Australian Business Number (ABN) 24 154 491 120
7 Townsend Avenue, Frenchs Forest NSW. 2086.
3/28 Tullimbar Road, Cronulla NSW. 2230
Tel: 9451 0320; 9527 5262. Mob: 0412 217 896; 0403 081 902.
Email: [email protected]; Web: www.actinotus.com
Pre-Clearance Ecological Survey
for the
East Ryde to Top Ryde Cable Project.
Prepared for:
AUSGRID
January 2017
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
CONTENTS
page No.
1
Required works and potential impacts to vegetation
1
2
Ecological Community
Bushland between Pittwater Road and Rene Street (12m).
Vegetation along unmade section of Cressy Road (180m).
6
6
6
3
Conservation status of ecological community
7
4
Threatened species assessment
7
5
Conclusion
8
6
References & literature reviewed
9
FIGURES
1
Aerial photograph of section between Rene St and Pittwater Rd., East Ryde.
2
2
Aerial photograph of section along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd.,
East Ryde.
2
OEH Mapping (2013) of vegetation communities at East Ryde. Subject
section between Rene St and Pittwater Rd., East Ryde is shown as red dash
within indicator circle. Vegetation classification for the site is Coastal
Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest (S_DSF04).
3
OEH Mapping (2013) of vegetation communities at East Ryde. Subject
section along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd. is shown as broken red
line. Vegetation for the site is shown as Urban Native and Exotic Cover.
3
Narrow section of Coastal Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest (~ 12m wide)
on sandstone base above Pittwater Road.
4
6
Open ground vegetation with leaf litter viewed from Rene Street.
4
7
Subject section along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd. Scattered
trees along the alignment include Syncarpia glomulifera, Eucalyptus
resinifera subsp. resinifera and Angophora costata.
5
3
4
5
ii
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
TABLES
1
Threatened flora species recorded previously within a 2km radius of the
subject site (OEH 2017).
7
2
Threatened fauna species recorded previously within a 2km radius of the
subject site (OEH 2017).
8
iii
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Pre-clearance Ecological Survey for the East Ryde to Top Ryde Cable
Project.
Date surveyed: 14.12.2016
Project Name: Replacement of cables between Homebush Bay and East Ryde via
substations in Meadowbank and Top Ryde
Ausgrid representative: Mr Matthew Gencur
ACS Environmental representative: Dr A Smith-White
1
Required works and potential impacts to vegetation
Ausgrid is planning to replace cables between Homebush Bay and East Ryde via substations
in Meadowbank and Top Ryde as the existing 132,000 Volt cables need to be retired from
service.
As part of this work a pre clearance ecological assessment is needed for two sections at East
Ryde (between Rene St and Pittwater Rd, and along the unmade section of Cressy Rd. East
Ryde).
Since the proposal involves the clearance of vegetation, an independent, site specific
investigation of the work area is required by Ausgrid to assess potential impacts to hollow
bearing trees, threatened species and endangered ecological communities within the work
area and to help inform Ausgrids decision under Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and
Assessment Act 1979.
The objectives of the ecological survey are to:
x
assess any impacts to potential threatened species, endangered ecological
communities and their habitats
x
eliminate/minimise Ausgrid’s liability in the relation to the requirements of the
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), Threatened Species
Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act), National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act) and
other related legislation.
x
adhere to all requirements of the document ‘Threatened Species Survey and
Assessment: Guidelines for developments and activities (working draft)’ (DEC, 2004).
Between Rene St and Pittwater Rd (approx 12m) vegetation clearing will be up to 4m wide
to allow free access of an appropriate excavator to open a one metre wide trench. Following
burial of electrical cables the site will be filled and replanted with appropriate local
indigenous species.
1
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Along approximately 180 metres of the unmade section of Cressy Road, vegetation
reduction will entail branch trimming and the removal of a few juvenile trees. Any trenching
within tree critical root zones will be by hand and under arborist supervision.
Figure 1 – Aerial photograph of section between Rene St and Pittwater Rd., East Ryde.
Figure 2 – Aerial photograph of section along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd., East Ryde.
2
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Figure 3 – OEH Mapping (2013) of vegetation communities at East Ryde. Subject section
between Rene St and Pittwater Rd., East Ryde is shown as red dash within indicator circle.
Vegetation classification for the site is Coastal Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest (S_DSF04).
Figure 4 – OEH Mapping (2013) of vegetation communities at East Ryde. Subject section
along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd. is shown as broken red line. Vegetation for the site
is shown as Urban Native and Exotic Cover.
3
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Figure 5 – Narrow section of Coastal Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest (~ 12m wide) on
sandstone base above Pittwater Road.
Figure 6 – Open ground vegetation with leaf litter viewed from Rene Street.
4
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Figure 7 - Subject section along the unmade portion of Cressy Rd. Scattered trees along the
alignment include Syncarpia glomulifera, Eucalyptus resinifera subsp. resinifera and
Angophora costata.
5
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
2
Ecological communities
Bushland between Pittwater Road and Rene Street (12m).
The ecological community at this location has been described by the NSW Office of
Environment and Heritage (OEH) as Coastal Enriched Sandstone Dry Forest (S_DSF04). This
community is commonly encountered on the upper slopes and dry gullies of Sydney urban
areas. It is a tall open eucalypt forest with an understorey of dry sclerophyll shrubs with
ferns and forbs amongst the ground cover. The commonly recorded eucalypts are smoothbarked apple (Angophora costata), red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) and Sydney
peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita). A sparse layer of small trees such as Allocasuarina
littoralis and old-man banksia (Banksia serrata) is common above a variety of wattles, teatrees, gee bungs and grass trees. It is widespread on the Hornsby plateau in areas that
receive greater than 1000 millimetres of mean annual rainfall and are at elevations less than
200 metres above sea level. It extends north of the Sydney area into the hinterland of the
Central Coast.
Indigenous flora species recorded included Eucalyptus resinifera subsp. resinifera,
Pittosporum undulatum, Angophora bakeri, Grevillea linearifolia, Dodonea triquetra,
Leptospermum trinervium, Banksia spinulosa, Hakea sericea, Acacia terminalis,
Cyathochaeta diandra, Dianella caerulea, Entolasia stricta,, Lomandra longifolia and
Themeda australis.
Exotic species recorded included Olea europa, (African Olive), Ochna serrulata (Mickey
Mouse Plant), Ligustrum lucidum (Large-leaved Privet), Ligustrum sinense (Small-leaved
Privet) and Aspargus aethiopicus (Asparagus Fern).
Vegetation along unmade section of Cressy Road (180m).
At this site OEH have mapped small patches of bush as comprising a mixture of native and
exotic vegetation.
Scattered trees along the alignment include Syncarpia glomulifera, Eucalyptus resinifera
subsp. resinifera and Angophora costata. The sparse midstorey comprised patches of
juvenile Eucalyptus resinifera subsp. resinifera and occasional individuals of Acacia
parramattensis and Dodonea triquetra.
Indigenous ground strata flora included Dianella caerulea, Lomandra longifolia, Briza
subaristata and Themeda australis.
Exotic species included Lantana camara (Lantana), Avena sativa (Wild Oats), Sida
rhombifolia (Paddy's Lucerne), Aspargus aethiopicus (Asparagus Fern), Pennisetum
clandestinum (Kikuyu), Bidens pilosa (Cobbler's Pegs), Phoenix canariensis (Canary Island
Date Palm), Conyza bonariensis (Flax-leaf Fleabane) and Senna pendula (Cassia).
6
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
3
Conservation status of ecological community
The bushland community adjacent to Pittwater Road at Rene Street is well represented in a
number of reserves of northern Sydney and the central Coast hinterland. It is not listed on
either the NSW Threatened Species Act (TSC Act 1995) or the Commonwealth Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act 1999) as an endangered ecological
community (EEC).
Similarly the scattered patches of native and exotic species along the unmade 180m section
of Cressy Road is also not listed on either the NSW Threatened Species Act (TSC Act 1995) or
the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act
1999) as an endangered ecological community (EEC).
4
Threatened species assessment
A total of seven threatened plant species and eight threatened fauna species recorded
previously within a 2km radius of the vicinity of the proposed work sites at East Ryde were
extracted from the Office of Environment and Heritage Bionet data base (Tables 1 & 2).
Table 1 - Threatened flora species recorded previously within 2km radius of the subject
site (OEH 2017).
Common Name
Bynoe's Wattle
Downy Wattle
Netted Bottle Brush
Scientific Name
NSW
Status
Epacris purpurascens var. purpurascens
Acacia bynoeana
Acacia pubescens
Hypsela sessiliflora
Callistemon linearifolius
Darwinia biflora
Pimelea curviflora var. curviflora
V,P
E1,P
V,P
P,3
V,P,3
V,P
V,P
Comm. Year last
Status recorded
V
V
X
V
V
2010
2011
2011
2011
2000
2000
2007
7
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
Table 2 - Threatened fauna species recorded previously within a 2km radius of the subject
site (OEH 2017)
Common Name
Scientific Name
Red-crowned Toadlet
Black Bittern
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Barking Owl
Powerful Owl
Varied Sittella
Grey-headed Flying-fox
Pseudophryne australis
Ixobrychus flavicollis
Haliaeetus leucogaster
Ninox connivens
Ninox strenua
Daphoenositta chrysoptera
Pteropus poliocephalus
Miniopterus schreibersii
oceanensis
Eastern Bentwing-bat
NSW
Status
V,P
V,P
V,P
V,P,3
V,P,3
V,P
V,P
V,P
Comm.
Status
C
V
Year Last
recorded
2004
1997
2004
2000
2012
1997
2010
2016
A comprehensive targeted search did not locate any of the above listed threatened plant
species (Table 1) in the near vicinity of each of the two sites at East Ryde. This absence of
individuals denotes non-occurrence, and as such, 7-part tests were not considered necessary.
For fauna species listed in Table 2, habitat was considered generally unsuitable or too small
to cause any significant impact. No tree hollows were observed at either site.
5
Conclusion
The bushland community adjacent to Pittwater Road at Rene Street is well represented in a
number of reserves of northern Sydney and the central Coast hinterland. It is not listed on
either the NSW Threatened Species Act (TSC Act 1995) or the Commonwealth Environmental
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act 1999) as an endangered ecological
community (EEC).
Similarly the scattered patches of native and exotic species along the unmade 180m section
of Cressy Road is also not listed on either the NSW Threatened Species Act (TSC Act 1995) or
the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act
1999) as an endangered ecological community (EEC).
A total of seven threatened plant species and eight threatened fauna species had been
recorded since 1992 within a 2km of the proposed work sites at East Ryde. A comprehensive
targeted search failed to locate any of these threatened species and as such 7-part tests are
not considered necessary.
8
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde
ACS Environmental P/L – January 2017
It is recommended that bushland rehabilitation of the two areas include a selection of
ground species such as Cyathochaeta diandra, Dianella caerulea, Entolasia stricta, Lomandra
longifolia and Themeda australis all of which attain heights of less than one metre.
Understorey shrub plantings, associated with the ground storey. can include species
attaining heights of 2-3 metres such as Grevillea linearifolia, Dodonea triquetra,
Leptospermum trinervium, Banksia spinulosa, Hakea sericea and Acacia terminalis. Tree
species such as Syncarpia glomulifera, Eucalyptus resinifera subsp. resinifera or Angophora
costata should not be planted beneath powerlines where future growth could compromise
safety.
It is considered that the action to bury cable together with extensive vegetation
rehabilitation at each of the sites at East Ryde will not have any significant detrimental
environmental impact, cause any fragmentation of vegetation communities or be likely to
cause harm to any listed threatened flora or fauna species. It is also considered that the
proposed action would not have any significant impact on connectivity or fauna corridor
status.
6
References and literature reviewed
OEH Atlas of NSW Wildlife (2016). NPWS Geographic Information Systems Division,
Hurstville NSW, 2220.
9
Ausgrid pre-clearance survey, East Ryde