The Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) commissioned a project to undertake safety remedial works on Nerang-Murwillumbah Road.
The Project is located within the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road corridor, from approximately Clagiraba Road (northern extent) to the New South Wales border (southern extent. The Project aims to improve safety at key sections along the road corridor.
Our Services
We were engaged by SLR to undertake a terrestrial ecological survey and prepare a Biodiversity Assessment Report (BAR) to meet the requirements of Section 7 (Biodiversity) of the ToR for the Project including:
- A desktop assessment of relevant background information and available environmental databases
- Verify the extent and condition of vegetation communities
- Assess the likelihood of occurrence for threatened and migratory species to determine requirements
- Undertake targeted surveys for threatened fauna species identified within the desktop assessment
- Identify potential animal breeding places and fauna habitat values, including for threatened fauna
- Survey Non-juvenile Koala Habitat Trees (NJKHTs) within the Study Areas to identify potential offset obligations
- Complete significant impact assessments for Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES) and Matters of State Environmental Significance (MSES)
- Detail mitigation and management strategies (where required) which avoid or reduce identified impacts and enable the development to meet regulatory conservation obligations
- Undertake a protected plant flora survey in accordance with the Flora Survey Guideline – Protected Plants was also undertaken within mapped high-risk areas associated with relevant sections of the road corridor.
Detailed Services
- Ecological Impact Assessments / Significant Impact Assessments
- Threatened Species assessment and management planning
- Protected Plants Survey and Impact Management Plans
- Fauna Surveys
- Regional Ecosystem Verification
- Threatened ecological community assessments
- Map production
- Data capture programs
- Data management
- Threatened species management plans
- Environmental risk assessment
Outcomes
The need to balance environmental outcomes with commercial and safety needs demanded multi-disciplinary collaboration and agreement on a proposed approach which was achieved. Our findings discounted the need for a EPBC referral.
