Newlands Coal Project 2016 Annual
Compliance report- EPBC 2011/5968
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Newlands Coal Project 2016 Annual Compliance reportEPBC 2011/5968
Table of Contents
1
Purpose ............................................................................................................................. 3
2
Approval Framework ........................................................................................................ 3
3
Environmental setting ...................................................................................................... 3
4
Compliance ..................................................................................................................... 10
5
Maintenance activities ................................................................................................... 21
Climate ..................................................................................................................................................21
Grazing ..................................................................................................................................................21
Pest/weed Management: ......................................................................................................................23
Significant Sightings/Findings: ..............................................................................................................23
6
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 23
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Newlands Coal Project 2016 Annual Compliance reportEPBC 2011/5968
Purpose
The purpose of this Compliance Report is for Newlands Coal Project (NCP) to provide the
Commonwealth Government with an update of compliance performance to Environment Protection &
Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 approval conditions - EPBC 2011/ 5968. Submission of this report
to the Department of the Environment (DOTE) specifically meets Condition 28:
28). Within three months of every 12 month anniversary (18th December) of the commencement of the
action, the approval holder must publish a report on its website addressing compliance with each of
the conditions of this approval, including implementation of any plans, strategies or programs specified
in the conditions. Documentary evidence providing proof of the date of publication and non-compliance
with any of the conditions of this approval must be provided to the Department at the same time as the
compliance report is published.
The primary objective of EPBC (2011/ 5968) is to ensure Newlands Coal Extension Project, (NCEP) is
being managed in a way that protects and maintains the regional biodiversity and its ecological health.
This report provides an annual reconciliation of progress of NCEP and how it is being managed against
each of the conditions in approval (2011/ 5968).
2
Approval Framework
The approvals framework relevant to the NCEP includes:

Commonwealth Approval 2011/ 5968.
The following legislation is also relevant to the NCEP:

Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999;
and

Queensland Nature Conservation (NC) Act 1992.
The approvals and legislation listed above is detailed further below.
NCEP Commonwealth approval 2011/ 5968
The NCEP approval details the specific requirements in how Newlands shall manage the NCEP
in accordance with the EPBC Act.
NCEP Biodiversity MNES Management Plan and Biodiversity Offsets Strategy
These documents outline the management and enhancement measures required to be
implemented within the NCEP mining leases to maintain the current biodiversity values of the site
and meet the requirements of the EPBC Act Environmental Offsets Policy.
EPBC Act
The EPBC Act outlines what the Conservation Agreement should cover before the Minister enters
into the agreement.
3
Environmental setting
On the 18th of December, 2013, Newlands Coal was granted approval for the Newlands Coal Extension
Project (NCEP), allowing further development of site’s thermal and coking coal resources in areas
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adjacent to the existing Eastern Creek mining leases. Three new mining leases (ML10352, ML10361
and ML10362) were approved as part of the NCEP, encompassing an overall area of 11,674ha.
As part of the Commonwealth approval, (2011/ 5968) obtained for the NCEP, management measures
are undertaken to avoid, mitigate and manage impacts upon Threatened Ecological Communities
(TECs), threatened species and habitats that occur or have the potential to occur within the NCEP
mining leases.
As described in the Commonwealth approval conditions 8-22, the NCEP will offset the residual impacts
to EPBC listed communities by providing offsets which are located within the Approved Offset Areas.
The Bio-diversity Offset Strategy and Management Plans were submitted within the compliance
timeframe to the Federal Department of the Environment and are currently being implemented.
Baseline fauna and flora assessment begun at the end of 2015 with the follow-up assessment completed
in 2016 and scheduled for 2017 (summer and winter surveys will be conducted). These assessments
are designed to meet the criteria stipulated in the relevant Bio-Diversity and MNES Management Plan
(August 2014).
The NCEP offset area is partially encompassed within a pre-existing offset area called Newlands Nature
Refuge (NNR) (refer to Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2). The remaining area required for compliance with
EPBC Approvals for the NCEP (EPBC 2011/ 5968) has been identified to the east of the NCEP leases
and a submission was made in January 2017 to protect the area under a Queensland Voluntary
declaration Vegetation Management Act 1999 (Figure 3-4). This additional area has been approved in
the Bio-diversity Offset Strategy and included in the latest NCP Biodiversity Offsets Management Plan
The NNR was established during the Wollombi mine development approval process to offset the loss of
260 ha of remnant Brigalow woodland protected under the EPBC Act and provides advanced offsets
for future mine extensions. The NNR was established over an area of 4,363 ha through a conversation
agreement with the proponent and the Queensland government on 6 June 2007. Of this area 716 ha
has been allocated as the Wollombi offset area.
In accordance with its conservation agreement, the NNR is managed to conserve its significant natural
and cultural resources including protection of:

RE 11.3.1 (Acacia harpophylla and/or Casuarina cristata open forest on alluvial plains);

RE 11.8.13 (Semi-evergreen vine thicket and microphyll/ notophyll rainforest on rises and low
hills on Cainozoic igneous rocks);

Re 11.9.5 (Acacia harpophylla and/or Casuarina cristata open forest on fine-grained
sedimentary rocks); and

RE 11.9.4 (Semi-evergreen vine thicket on Cainozoic fine-grained sedimentary rocks).
In addition to the above endangered Regional Ecosystems, the NNR is also managed to conserve
previously cleared areas of Brigalow woodlands and providing ideal habitat for the following rare and/
or threatened fauna species, all of which either exist or have the potential to exist in the NCEP area:

Squatter Pigeon;

Little Pied Bat;

Brigalow Scaly-foot; and

Red Goshawk
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Figure 3-1- Newlands Nature Refuge (Zone A & B) in relation to the Main Deposit and Eastern Creek mining leases
(2016 aerial photo). Detailed NCEP offset areas are shown in Figure 3-2 and Figure 3-3 over page.
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Figure 3-2- NCEP Approved Offset – Zone B area of the NNR
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Figure 3-3-Ground-truthed Regional Ecosystems including NCEP Proposed Disturbance Footprint
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Figure 3-4- Additional SEVT Offset Area – Eastern Ck
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Photo 3-1 Permanent SEVT monitoring Site TEC1. Photo taken 10/03/2016
Photo 3-2 Permanent Brigalow monitoring Site TEC3. Photo taken 10/03/2016
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Compliance
4
Condition
Status
NCP comment
1
The Minister may determine that a plan, strategy or program approved by the
Queensland Government satisfies the requirement for a plan, strategy or program
required under these conditions
Compliant
No response required.
2
The project area is the area designated as the ‘Project Area’ in Maps 1 and 2 at
Annexure A and is contained within the mine lease (ML) ML10352, ML10361 and
ML10362 with a combined area of 11,674 hectares.
Compliant
No response required (as shown in Figure 4-1).
3
For the purpose of the action, the approval holder must not clear outside the project
area.
Compliant
As shown in Figure 4-2, during 2016 no land disturbance occurred
outside of the NCEP mining leases (Project Area).
4
Within 3 months of each 12 month anniversary of the commencement of the action the
approval holder must publish a report and maps verifying compliance with Condition 3
on its website until the expiry date of approval
Compliant
This Compliance Report includes maps and data to meets this
condition and will be published on the Glencore website for public
viewing at http://www.glencore.com.au/EN/who-weare/newlands/Pages/default.aspx prior to the 18th of March.
The 2014 Compliance report was published on the 09/02/2015 and
the 2015 Compliance report was published on 15/03/2016 which are
both within three months of the Approval’s 12 month anniversary (18
December).
5
The approval holder must notify the Department of the information being published on
its website, and provide the Department with of a copy of this information, within 1 week
of the information being placed on its website
Compliant
Emailed confirmation of this report (03/03/2017) provides notification
to the Department within 1 week of the document going out for public
viewing. This information was published in accordance with
Condition 4 (above)
6
The approval holder must not cause or allow disturbance of the habitat of any EPBC
Act listed species or any EPBC Act listed communities as a result of exploration,
construction, operation and decommissioning of the mine and associated infrastructure
within the project area (i.e. they are ‘whole of project’ disturbance limits) for the duration
of project approval above the maximum disturbance limits stated in Table 1.
Compliant
This report, submitted in accordance with Conditions 4 and 5, shows
compliance to this condition. Table 1 categorises the Threatened
Ecological Communities (TEC) that were disturbed during 2016.
Table 1: Maximum Disturbance limits for EPBC Act listed communities and
habitat of EPBC Act listed species
Species
Threatened species
Maximum
disturbance
from Mine activities
Maximum disturbance
from
Subsidence
impacts
A cumulative total of 367.05 hectares has been disturbed/ cleared to
date. In 2016, a total of ha 69.01 ha was cleared. A breakdown is
shown below in Table 2. Of the Qld State Govt defined REs that
were disturbed through mining activity, only two were listed under
the EPBC Act as TEC’s. They were:
RE11.9.5 Acacia harpophylla and/ or Casuarina cristata open forest
on fine-grained sedimentary rocks (a total of 30.29 ha disturbed);
and
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Squatter Pigeon
546 hectares
Newlands Coal Project 2016 Annual Compliance reportEPBC 2011/5968
RE11.9.4a Semi-evergreen vine thicket on fine-grained sedimentary
rocks (a total of 3.64 Ha disturbed).
All figures recorded in this report were obtained through ground
surveys, obtained by trained and competent surveyors.
Table 2: Vegetation Disturbance Tracking
NA
Threatened ecological communities
Brigalow
(Acacia
harpophylla dominant and
co-dominant)
204 hectares
19 hectares
Natural Grasslands of the
Queensland
Central
Highlands
and
the
northern Fitzroy Basin
0 hectares
0 hectares
Semi-evergreen
vine
thickets of the Brigalow
Belt (North and South)
and Nandewar Bioregions
(SEVT)
57 hectares
1 hectare
Note 1: Table 1 is derived from information provided in the SEIS (Xstrata 2013), and
the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s assessment report (Qld
Government 2013) with rounding to the nearest hectare applied.
7
If disturbance limits set in Table 1 are predicted to be exceeded, the approval holder
must:
contact the Department in writing before reaching any disturbance limit in Table 1 and
provide the actual area of disturbance in hectares for each EPBC Act listed species
and/or EPBC Act listed community that has already occurred and the revised predicted
area of disturbance;
request and provide detailed justification for a new maximum disturbance limit;
propose a new offset requirement that addresses the new maximum disturbance limits,
in accordance with the EPBC Act Offsets Policy for each EPBC Act listed species and/or
EPBC Act listed community, including a timeframe for implementing these offsets. The
proposed offset must be approved by the Minister in writing before the approval holder
reaches the disturbance limit in Table 1.
not exceed the disturbance limit in Table 1 unless and until a new disturbance limit and
a timeframe for implementing these offsets have been approved by the Minister in
writing.
Compliant
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RE ID Number
11.9.5
11.9.4a
RE Description
Acacia
harpophylla and/
or
Casuarina
cristata
open
forest on finegrained
sedimentary
rocks
Semi-evergreen
vine thicket on
fine-grain
sedimentary
rocks
Status
Endangered
Endangered
Disturbance in
2016
2.79
0.03
Total
disturbance
ML10352 (Ha)
30.29
3.67
Disturbance undertaken aligns with Table 2 and there is no
requirement in the foreseeable future to go beyond the forecast
disturbance (Table 2) at NCEP.
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8
Except as allowed under condition 7, if disturbance limits set in Table 1 are exceeded,
as this is a breach of the conditions, the approval holder must:
contact the Department in writing within 24 hours providing details of the actual area of
disturbance in hectares for each EPBC Act listed species and/or EPBC Act listed
community that has occurred and how the unplanned disturbance arose;
cease any work which could result in further disturbance cause by mining unless and
until the Minister approves new disturbance limits in writing;
for each EPBC Act listed species and ecological community affected, propose a new
disturbance limit; and
propose a new offset requirement that addresses the new maximum disturbance limits,
in accordance with the EPBC Act Offsets Policy for each EPBC Act listed species and/or
EPBC Act listed community, including a timeframe for implementing these offsets.
Compliant
As per Condition 7.
9
Except as allowed under condition 7, if disturbance limits set in Table 1 are exceeded
the Minister may require additional direct or indirect offsets for any additional
disturbance to habitat for EPBC Act listed threatened species or communities
Compliant
As per Condition 7.
10
Within 6 months of commencement, the approval holder must submit, in writing, a
MNES Management Plan (MMP) for the approval of the Minister which describes the
measures to be undertaken for the ongoing protection and long term conservation of
EPBC Act listed species and communities within the project area. The approval holder
must implement the MMP approved by the Minister no later than 12 months from the
date of approval of the project.
Compliant
An extension to the implementation date was granted by DOTE
(Shane Gaddes) on 17/12/2014 – the NCEP MNES Management
Plan (MMP) was submitted prior to the amended date of
implementation on 1/5/2015.
Approval granted as per letter dated 30 September, 2015 (appendix
C).
11
The MMP must include:
a description of the EPBC Act listed communities and habitat of EPBC Act listed species
to be impacted, including area in hectares, habitat quality and features, and maps
showing its location, extent and quality;
measures that will be undertaken to avoid, mitigate and manage impacts resulting from
the action. These measures must include:
where relevant, measures contained in relevant guidelines, policies and plans (such as
recovery plans) specifically for each species and/or community affected by the
proposed action;
fauna spotters must be used prior to and during all clearing activities where impacts on
EPBC Act listed species and communities are likely (EPBC Act listed fauna species
must be removed and relocated to adjacent suitable habitat unless this is not possible
due to stress or injury);
measures to prevent stress, injury and mortality of EPBC Act listed fauna species during
and arising from construction and mine operations;
Compliant
As per Condition 10. The MMP submitted to DOTE describes the
impacted EPBC Act listed communities and species habitat of the
project area. This includes the area in hectares, habitat quality and
features, and maps showing the location, extent and ecological
quality
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Additionally, the MMP outlines the mitigative measures that will be
undertaken to avoid and manage the impacts resultant from mining
activity, including post-rehabilitation.
Tools include relevant
guidelines, policies and plans, (e.g. Glencore’s Ground Disturbance
Permit; NCP Rehabilitation Management Plan) and the deployment
of fauna/ flora spotters prior to commencing vegetation clearing.
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measures to allow fauna to escape from pits, trenches and walled and bunded
enclosures;
measures to determine whether EPBC Act listed fauna species that are injured or
stressed should be rehabilitated or euthanized, and if an EPBC Act listed species dies,
measures to determine whether and how its bodies should be made available for
scientific research; and
measures to report on the occurrence, circumstances and outcomes for casualties that
are EPBC Act listed fauna species.
measures to rehabilitate areas of MNES and or habitat disturbed during construction
and operation where this is practicable, including an environmental risk assessment of
both open final void and backfilling options for open cut mining, including justification
for the preferred option that demonstrates there are no unacceptable impacts on MNES;
measures that will be undertaken to avoid, mitigate and manage impacts to EPBC listed
species and communities resulting from the action as a result of the presence of weed
and pest species. These measures must include the management of environmental
weed and pest species in retained vegetation within the project area, in particular where
a threat abatement plan is relevant;
a monitoring program to determine the success of mitigation and management
measures. The monitoring program must;
clearly set out performance indicators or criteria for assessing the success of
management measures;
measure the success of the management measures against stated performance criteria
as applied to the project area;
include monitoring parameters, frequencies, triggers, corrective actions, timing and
scope for the duration of project approval; and
include ongoing monitoring for the presence of MNES, including the Northern Quoll.
outline how milestones and compliance will be reported.
12
Where EPBC Act listed species and communities share similar habitat and
management requirements, the requirements of condition 13 for these EPBC Act listed
species and communities may be addressed together as component of the MMP.
Compliant
As stated in the MMP. Monitoring for these species has commenced
across Offset and MNES areas.
13
Where an EPBC Act listed community or habitat for an EPBC Act listed species not
previously identified and reported to the Department is found in the project area, the
approval holder must notify the Department in writing within 10 business days of
verifying the presence of this community or habitat, and within 20 business days outline
in writing how these conditions of approval will be met.
Compliant
No findings for the reporting period. Nothing reported throughout
Fauna Spotter/Relocation activities to date. Not applicable at this
point.
14
The approval holder must publish (for the duration of the approval) the MMP on its
website within 10 business days from the day of receiving the Minister’s approval of the
MMP in writing.
Compliant
On the 16/04/2015, Newlands published the MNES management
Plan on the Glencore website for public viewing. This was achieved
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within the agreed timeframe outlined in Condition 10. The report can
be found on the following link:
http://www.glencore.com.au/EN/who-weare/newlands/Pages/default.aspx
15
Within 6 months of commencement, the approval holder must submit, in writing, a
Biodiversity Offset Strategy to compensate for any authorised unavoidable impacts on
MNES (see Table 1), for the approval of the Minister. The approval holder must
implement the Biodiversity Offset Strategy approved by the Minister no later than
12 months from the date of commencement.
Compliant
It has been determined that a Biodiversity Offset Strategy is required
for the NCEP area. An extension to the implementation date was
granted by DOTE (Shane Gaddes) on 17/12/2014 – the NCEP
Biodiversity Offset Strategy (BDOS) was submitted prior to the
amended date of implementation on 1/5/2015.
Approval granted as per letter dated 30 September, 2015 (Appendix
C)
16
All offsets must be secured under relevant Queensland legislation within 3 years of
commencement
Compliant
An extension to this condition was formally requested on the 16th of
December 2016. The majority of the required area is within the NNR
which was secured through a conversation agreement with the
proponent and the Queensland government on 6 June 2007.
The additional SEVT area required will be secured under a voluntary
declaration under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. This has
been submitted to the Queensland government for approval.
17
The Biodiversity Offset Strategy must provide details of the proposed offset areas
including maps and site descriptions, environmental values relevant to MNES, amounts
of habitat for each MNES (in hectares), connectivity with other habitat and biodiversity
corridors.
Compliant
As per Condition 15
18
The following table specifies the minimum offsets which the approval holder must
secure for unavoidable authorised disturbance to EPBC Act listed threatened species
and communities in respect of maximum disturbance from mine activities impacts
estimated in Table 1:
Table 3: Offsets required for EPBC Act listed threatened fauna species and
communities
Compliant
As per Condition 15.
included in the BDOS
Species
Required offset
Squatter Pigeon
982 hectares of habitat
Brigalow
480 hectares
SEVT
152 hectares
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Table 3 below outlines the Offset areas
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Note 2: Offsets for some species may be accommodated within ecological communities
or overlap State approval requirements or other species habitat requirements, as long
as they meet the requirements of these conditions of approval in respect of each
individual species being offset.
19
Within 6 months of commencement, the approval holder must submit, in writing, a
Biodiversity Offset Management Plan for the approval of the Minister which describes
the measures to be undertaken for the ongoing protection and long term conservation
of EPBC Act listed species and communities within the approved offset area. The
approval holder must implement the Biodiversity Offset Management Plan approved by
the Minister no later than 12 months from the date of commencement.
Compliant
An extension to the implementation date was granted by DOTE
(Shane Gaddes) on 17/12/2014 – The Biodiversity Offset
Management Plan was submitted prior to the amended date of
implementation on 1/5/2015
Approval granted as per letter dated 30 September, 2015 (Appendix
C).
20
The Offset Management Plan must include:
a summary of the approved Newlands Coal Extension Project Biodiversity Offset
Strategy;
a detailed survey, complying with relevant survey guidelines, and description of the
condition of the offset area prior to any management activities, including existing MNES
habitat and vegetation which has the potential to be restored or improved (the baseline
condition). This must be accompanied with the offset attributes and a shapefile;
a description of the potential risks to the successful implementation of the Offset
Management Plan, and include a description of the contingency measures that would
be implemented to mitigate against these risks;
management measures for MNES and MNES habitat identified within the Biodiversity
Offset Strategy with written evidence of input from a suitably qualified expert who has
relevant expertise in the management of native vegetation of the Bowen Basin;
a monitoring program for the offset site/s. The monitoring program must:
clearly set out performance indicators;
detail how the success of the management measures against stated performance
criteria will be measured;
include monitoring parameters, frequencies, triggers, corrective actions, timing and
scope for the duration of project approval; and
include periodic ground photography (from defined photo points) and aerial/satellite
imagery suitable for indicating the condition of the site/s.
an outline of how milestones and compliance will be reported on; and
details of who would be undertaking monitoring, reviewing and implementing the Offset
Management Plan (if this person is not the approval holder).
Compliant
As per Condition 19.
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21
The suitably qualified expert in condition 0(d) must be a person who has been approved
as such by the Minister in writing prior to approval holder submitting the Offset
Management Plan to the Minister for approval
Compliant
The Biodiversity Offset Management Plan was compiled by Kellogg
Brown & Root Pty Ltd, an environmental consultancy company
employed by Newlands Coal, who has been approved by the
Minister as a suitably qualified expert (refer to letter of authorisation
(in Appendix B).
22
The Offset Management Plan must include a written, commitment from the approval
holder, supported by relevant data and calculations that demonstrate that the offset
areas required in Table 2 meet the requirements of the EPBC Act Offsets Policy.
Compliant
As per Condition 19.
23
The approval holder must provide a copy of the Water Management Plan as approved
by the Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, to the Minister.
Where the Water Management Plan is updated, these updates must also be provided
to the Minister.
Compliant
Newlands Coal has provided the Minister with a copy of its Water
Management Plan, as accepted by the Department of Environment
& Heritage Protection (DEHP) during the EIS process
24
The approval holder must contribute validated ground and surface water data, as
requested by the Minister, to inform relevant Queensland Regional Groundwater and
Surface Water Monitoring and Assessment Program and relevant bioregional
assessments
Compliant
Newlands coal has not received any requests from the Minister to
provide validated groundwater data. All data has been provided to
DEHP through the WaTERS compliance data base
25
Within 30 calendar days after the commencement of the action, the approval holder
must advise the Department in writing of the actual date of commencement.
Compliant
Refer to Appendix A
26
The approval holder must notify the Department in writing of non-compliance with any
condition of this approval as soon as practical and within no later than two business
days of becoming aware of the non-compliance.
The notice provided to the Department under this condition must specify:
The condition which the approval holder has potentially breached;
The nature of the non-compliance;
When and how the approval holder became aware of the non-compliance;
How the non-compliance will affect the approved action;
How the non-compliance will affect the anticipated impacts of the approved action, in
particular how the non-compliance will affect the impacts of the MNES;
The measures the approval holder will take to address the impacts of the noncompliance on the MNES and rectify the non-compliance; and
The time by when the approval holder will rectify the non-compliance.
Compliant
Not applicable at this point.
27
The approval holder must maintain accurate records substantiating all activities
associated with or relevant to the conditions of approval, including measures taken to
implement the plans, strategies or programs required by this approval, and make them
available upon request to the Department. Such records may be subject to audit by the
Department or an independent auditor in accordance with section 458 of the EPBC Act,
Compliant
Refer to Appendix A.
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or used to verify compliance with the conditions of approval. Summaries of audits will
be posted on the Department’s website. The results of audits may also be publicised
through the general media.
28
Within three months of every 12 month anniversary of the commencement of the action,
the approval holder must publish a report on its website addressing compliance with
each of the conditions of this approval, including implementation of any plans, strategies
or programs as specified in the conditions. Documentary evidence providing proof of
the date of publication and non-compliance with any of the conditions of this approval
must be provided to the Department at the same time as the compliance report is
published.
Compliant
This report meets the intent of this condition.
29
Upon the direction of the Minister, the approval holder must ensure that an independent
audit of compliance with the conditions of approval is conducted and a report submitted
to the Minister. The independent auditor must be approved by the Minister prior to the
commencement of the audit. Audit criteria must be agreed to by the Minister and the
audit report must address the criteria to the satisfaction of the Minister
Compliant
Not applicable at this point.
30
If the approval holder wishes to carry out any activity otherwise than in accordance with
a plan, strategy or program as specified in the conditions, the approval holder must
submit to the Department for the Minister’s written approval a revised version of that
plan, strategy or program. The varied activity must not commence until the Minister has
approved the varied plan, strategy or program in writing. The Minister will not approve
a varied plan, strategy or program unless the revised plan, strategy or program would
result in an equivalent or improved environmental outcome over time. If the Minister
approves the revised plan, strategy or program, that plan, strategy or program must be
implemented in place of the plan, strategy or program originally approved.
Compliant
Not applicable at this point.
31
If the Minister believes that it is necessary or convenient for the better protection of
EPBC Act listed species or communities or a water resource to do so, the Minister may
request that the approval holder make specified revisions to a plan, strategy or program
specified in the conditions and submit the revised plan, strategy or program for the
Minister’s written approval. The approval holder must comply with any such request.
The revised approved plan, strategy or program must be implemented. Unless the
Minister has approved the revised plan, strategy or program, then the approval holder
must continue to implement the plan, strategy or program originally approved, as
specified in the conditions.
Compliant
Not applicable at this point.
32
If, at any time after five years from the date of this approval, the approval holder has
not substantially commenced the action, then the approval holder must not substantially
commence the action without the written agreement of the Minister
Compliant
Action commenced on the 18th December 2013 refer to condition 25.
33
Unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Minister, the approval holder must publish
all plans, strategies or programs referred to in these conditions of approval on its
Compliant
As per conditions 4 and 14. Any new documents will be posted within
one month of approval
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website. Each plan, strategy or program must be published on the website within 1
month of being approved (unless otherwise specified in these conditions) and remain
on the website for the duration of project approval.
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Figure 4-1 NCEP Mining Leases
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Figure 4-2 Land Disturbance to date (up to 31/12/2016) within the NCEP mining leases.
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5
Newlands Coal Project 2016 Annual Compliance reportEPBC 2011/5968
Maintenance activities
Climate
Historical rainfall at Newlands is based on the Byerwen Station 50 year average (647mm). Current
methodology for measuring rainfall is measured through three rain gauges at Main Deposit and the
mean values are recorded daily to obtain the recorded site value. 2016 was fairly dry in seasonal terms
with only a third of the expected rainfall occurring in January and below average rain fall occurring in
March, April and May. June and July however were significantly wetter than average with more than
three times the expected winter rain bringing the recorded rain fall fairly close to average by the end of
the year.
Grazing
There was no widespread grazing within the assigned Offset areas during 2016. Apart from the
occasional stray animal, there was no observed pasture damage across all offset areas. Pasture
grasses (including native species) were evident and good seed replenishment was observed after the
previous wet season (refer to photos 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3).
Flora survey transects are currently being monitored and at the time of writing this report, data was not
available. Preliminary inspections show that the offset is in overall good health. This assessment is
supported by the amount of seed, standing height of the grass (0.4 – 0.7m) and ground cover typically
well above 70% right across all areas.
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Photo 5-1 Pasture growth April 2016. (Quadrat 6)
Photo 5-2 Blue and black spear grass observed at Quadrat 1 April 2016.
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Photo 5-3 King Bluegrass (Dichanthium sericeum) in Zone B area of NNR (King Blue-grass site
two (15/02/2016)
Pest/weed Management:
There has been ongoing feral animal control activities undertaken throughout the reporting period; within
the offset areas and the surrounding portions of land. Feral pigs, dogs and cats were removed during
2016. There was minimal damage evident on native fauna and flora.
Weed management is also an ongoing project both inside the offset and in surrounding land. Rubber
vine Cryptostegia grandiflora was controlled at the Eastern Creek Offset area (SEVT) in late 2016.
There are existing populations within the riparian area of Eastern Creek and a structured program has
commenced to address this as a priority.
Significant Sightings/Findings:
No new significant/listed species were identified within the offset or MNES areas, during the reporting
period.
6
Conclusion
In summary, there have been no recorded or identified non-compliances to date; under EPBC
2011/5968.
Management plans and strategies pertaining to the NCEP have been submitted to the Government and
uploaded onto the Glencore Website for public access as required by the approval.
In order to validate Newlands management practices within the NCEP, progressive fauna and flora
surveys have commenced and will continue during 2017. The purpose of these surveys will be to assess
the overall condition of the assigned areas and success of localised fauna and flora, specifically those
listed through the approval process and associated Management Plans e.g. remnant Brigalow, SEVT,
Squatter Pigeons, etc.
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A Year 1 report has been compiled including all survey data for the 2015/2016 monitoring period. Data
collection has begun for the 2016/2017 report and these along with any other reports required under the
EPBC approval will be made available to the Government upon request.
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A.1 Written notification of NCEP commencement.
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A.2 Written Notification - Approval of Qualified Ecologists.
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Number:
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A.3 Written acceptance of document acceptance
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A.4 Formal request for extension to Condition 16
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Number:
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Status:
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