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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