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environment.gov.au Abbot Point Growth Gateway project: Fact sheet The Queensland Government’s Abbot Point Growth Gateway project has been approved under national environment law subject to 29 of the strictest conditions in Australian history. e conditions protect the environment by: Restricting dredging to 1.1 million cubic metres—a 97% reduction from the original dredging proposal. Ensuring that all dredge material is placed on existing industrial land. Prohibiting the placement of any dredge material offshore or on the Caley Valley Wetlands. Requiring dredging to be done with equipment that has the lowest possible impact, noting that the port and dredging area is at least 20 kilometres from any coral reef complex. Implementing measures to protect against extreme weather events, including banning construction during the peak cyclone season. Ensuring protection of seagrass, coral and marine species through strict monitoring of water quality and triggers to take immediate action to stay within water quality limits. Requiring the proponent to implement measures to manage impacts under three management plans — a Dredge Management Plan, an Onshore Environmental Management Plan and a Dredge Material Management Plan. Dredge material to be stored on land in an industrial port area: 97% decrease in the original dredging volume e project will be undertaken in a strategic port area that has been in operation since 1984. Dredged material from the existing port area will be disposed of in an existing industrial area. e approved dredging has been reduced by 97% from the original dredging proposal. No coral reef complexes are within 20 km of the dredge site, and the Department of the Environment has advised that no coral reef complexes will be impacted. Advice from the Department of the Environment is that this is a relatively small capital dredging project that has been carefully designed to minimise potential impacts to the environment. Strict conditions will ensure this is the case. e approval is fully consistent with the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan. Specifically, it meets the Plan’s commitments through requirements to: Develop a direct benefit environmental offset management plan to maximise the Reef’s health and resilience. Photo: Courtesy of the Department of State Development BIO492.1215 1

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Page 1: Abbot Point Growth Gateway project: Fact sheet · Fact sheet The Queensland Government s Abbot Point Growth Gateway project has been approved under national environment law subject

environment.gov.au

Abbot Point Growth Gateway project: Fact sheetThe Queensland Government’s Abbot Point Growth Gateway project has been approved under national environment law subject to 29 of the strictest conditions in Australian history.

The conditions protect the environment by:

• Restricting dredging to 1.1 million cubic metres—a 97% reduction from the original dredging proposal.

• Ensuring that all dredge material is placed on existing industrial land.

• Prohibiting the placement of any dredge material offshore or on the Caley Valley Wetlands.

• Requiring dredging to be done with equipment that has the lowest possible impact, noting that the port and dredging area is at least 20 kilometres from any coral reef complex.

• Implementing measures to protect against extreme weather events, including banning construction during the peak cyclone season.

• Ensuring protection of seagrass, coral and marine species through strict monitoring of water quality and triggers to take immediate action to stay within water quality limits.

• Requiring the proponent to implement measures to manage impacts under three management plans — a Dredge Management Plan, an Onshore Environmental Management Plan and a Dredge Material Management Plan.

Dredge material to be stored on land in an industrial port area: 97% decrease in the original dredging volumeThe project will be undertaken in a strategic port area that has been in operation since 1984. Dredged material from the existing port area will be disposed of in an existing industrial area.

The approved dredging has been reduced by 97% from the original dredging proposal.

No coral reef complexes are within 20 km of the dredge site, and the Department of the Environment has advised that no coral reef complexes will be impacted.

Advice from the Department of the Environment is that this is a relatively small capital dredging project that has been carefully designed to minimise potential impacts to the environment. Strict conditions will ensure this is the case.

The approval is fully consistent with the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan. Specifically, it meets the Plan’s commitments through requirements to:

• Develop a direct benefit environmental offset management plan to maximise the Reef ’s health and resilience.

Photo: Courtesy of the Department of State Development

BIO

492.

1215

1

Page 2: Abbot Point Growth Gateway project: Fact sheet · Fact sheet The Queensland Government s Abbot Point Growth Gateway project has been approved under national environment law subject

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• Restrict capital dredging to within port limits of the Port of Abbot Point.

• Prohibit the sea-based disposal of material into the World Heritage Area.

• Reuse dredged material for future construction activities.

Strict conditions to manage dredging and dredge material disposal The area to be dredged is three kilometres offshore from Abbot Point and is within the port limits of the Port of Abbot Point. The amount of dredging has been reduced from 38 million m3 to 1.1 million m3, a 97% reduction.

The dredge footprint is approximately 61 hectares and the dredging will be over 5 to 13 weeks, using a cutter suction dredge, which stirs up far less sediment than other dredging equipment.

Dredged material will come from an existing port area and be disposed of in an existing industrial port area.

The dredger will pick up sediment from the sea floor, mix it with water and pump it to the onshore dredge material containment area.

The onshore dredge material containment area is located on previously cleared land next to the existing port, which has been allocated for industrial development.

The sediments to be dredged have been comprehensively tested in accordance with the National Assessment Guidelines for Dredging and are not contaminated.

Additional requirements to strictly manage the dredging and dredge material containment area must be implemented through three comprehensive and peer reviewed plans. These must be approved by the Minister before any work can start:

• A Dredge Management Plan to manage impacts from dredging and pipelines.

• An Onshore Environmental Management Plan covering the construction, operation and decommissioning of the dredge material containment area.

• A Dredge Material Management Plan to manage the dredge material.

Protecting water quality and seagrassModelling has indicated that sediment in the water will be restricted to small areas close to the dredger. This means impacts on water quality will be small and limited to the area very close to where dredging is occurring.

Strict monitoring during dredging will ensure protection of seagrass, coral and marine species. Trigger levels will be set so that dredging will cease well before there are any unacceptable impacts on water quality.

Construction of the on-land dredge material containment area is not allowed during the peak cyclone season. This will protect the Caley Valley Wetlands and the ocean near the dredge material containment area by minimising the possibility of accidental release of large volumes of sediment as bulk earthworks are undertaken.

To offset the minimal impacts from dredging, the Queensland Government must improve water quality and seagrass by:

• Contributing to catchment management actions that will prevent sediment entering the marine environment.

• Providing financial contributions to a seagrass recovery and restoration program.

Managing impacts on threatened and migratory speciesThere will be no direct impact on the Caley Valley Wetlands from this project. The Caley Valley Wetlands are located to the south west of the site and cover an area of around 5,150 hectares and provide habitat for migratory species.

A buffer zone of between 50 and 400 metres is required between the dredge disposal area and the wetlands to ensure the dredge material has no direct impact on the wetlands or birds.

The squatter pigeon and painted snipe are known to occur in the area. Conditions of this approval require measures to mitigate indirect impacts such as noise and light.

The construction of the onshore dredge material containment area cannot occur between December and March. This will protect threatened and migratory species near the dredge material containment area by minimising the risk of water quality impacts on the wetlands that could arise with bulk earthworks being done during peak cyclone season. Surveys must be completed before any works to

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look for the squatter pigeon so they are not injured and any impacts to their habitat are appropriately offset.

The green turtle and flatback turtle are known to nest on the sandy beaches on either side of the Abbot Point headland and marine turtles are found in the waters offshore from Abbot Point. Strict measures have been imposed to protect marine turtles, including requiring:

• A buffer zone between the dredge material delivery pipelines and any identified turtle nest areas located along the coastal zone at Abbot Point.

• Measures to reduce the impacts of feral species.

• Mitigation measures, such as lighting towers that can be adjusted, to reduce the impacts of light spill from the containment area construction site on nesting turtles.

Role of GovernmentsThis project has been proposed and developed by the Queensland Government and is being managed by the Queensland Department of State Development.

The project will be subject to a number of Queensland state approvals and permits. The assessment process for these approvals is being coordinated by the Queensland Office of the Coordinator-General.

How is this project different from earlier Abbot Point dredging projects?Abbot Point is an ideal location for a port: it has deep water limiting the need for dredging, it requires little maintenance dredging, the sediment is clean and there are no coral reefs nearby.

Proposals for capital dredging to support port expansion at the Port of Abbot Point have evolved substantially since the 2009 proposal to build a multi-cargo facility requiring 38 million cubic metres of capital dredging.

Key differences include:

• A 97% reduction in dredging.

• All dredged material to be placed onshore.

• Change to a cutter suction dredge from a trailer suction hopper dredge, to reduce the impacts to water quality.

Managing engineering risksThe dredge material containment area will be approximately 136 hectares, with earth embankments up to seven metres high. The embankment will be capped with a gravel layer, and will be vegetated on the outside to stop erosion. The sides of the area will be protected by a plastic layer to prevent any water escaping or any erosion.

The dredge material containment area will be able to withstand cyclonic rainfall and wind events. It has been designed to include a spillway to avoid overtopping and potential dam failure.

How will impacts from shipping be managed?This project will allow ships to safely berth at the proposed Terminal 0 coal terminal.

The impacts of ship movements were considered in the environmental impact assessment for the separate Terminal 0 project. One of the conditions on that project is the requirement to develop a Marine and Shipping Management Plan to mitigate and manage potential impacts from shipping associated with the use of the terminal.

Strict measures are in place to manage potential impact from shipping on the Great Barrier Reef. There are compulsory pilotage regimes, establishment of Designated Shipping Areas and defined traffic routes, increased navigation aids and the requirement for vessels to carry Automatic Identification Systems.

The North East Shipping Management Plan will apply and identifies measures to prevent or mitigate ship-sourced pollution and other environmental impacts.

While there are no firm plans for additional shipping projects at Abbot Point, such as a tug harbour, any future projects would require assessment under relevant environmental laws and be subject to the strict shipping control measures in place for the Great Barrier Reef.

Collectively, these actions provide a robust framework for managing potential shipping impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, including shipping moving to and from Abbot Point.

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Strong Compliance & EnforcementThis approval does not end the Australian Government’s scrutiny of this project. Department of the Environment compliance and enforcement officers will closely monitor operation of the dredging and re-use of dredge material to ensure the conditions of approval are met. The Commonwealth Environment Minister can suspend or revoke the approval and strict penalties apply if there is a breach of conditions (section 144 and 145 of the EPBC Act).

More on the Australian Government’s compliance and enforcement approach is available at www.environment.gov.au/epbc/compliance-and-enforcement

© Commonwealth of Australia, 2015.

This fact sheet is licensed by Commonwealth of Australia under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia licence.

The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment.