ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PIPELINE ROUTE UNDERWAY

The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) is underway for the project.

The REF seeks to identify, and then mitigate, any issues relating to both the physical and operating environment during construction, as well as the ongoing operations once the project is complete i.e. plants and animals and the human living environment.

A REF is a very in depth process and identifies things such as:

• Land Uses & Services e.g. residences along the pipeline route, construction site work depots

• Soils and Geology

• Hydrology & Flooding e.g. natural water movement i.e. creeks and flood prone areas

• Ecology e.g. native vegetation, fish habitat, flora, fauna, migratory species, threatened and ecological communities.

• Aboriginal and European Heritage

• Noise & Vibration i.e. assessments during construction and after.

• Air Quality e.g. dust from construction works and activities

• Risks & Hazards e.g. flooding and bushfires

• Visual Amenity e.g. infrastructure

• Traffic and Access i.e. Traffic management plans

The REF is expected to be completed by late August, with field studies scheduled to start at the end of the month.