Digital Train Radio System Como Site Review of Environmental ...

The proposed work is to be undertaken in an area where no State heritage items are located
and approval under the Heritage Act is not required. More information on heritage is included in
Section 4.6.
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974
The excavating, moving or exhibiting of Aboriginal objects requires a permit under Section 87 of
the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act). The harming or desecrating of Aboriginal
objects or places is an offence under Section 86 of the NPW Act. Under Section 90, an
Aboriginal heritage impact permit may be issued in relation to a specified Aboriginal object,
Aboriginal place, land, activity or person or specified types or classes of Aboriginal objects,
Aboriginal places, land, activities or people.
There are no Aboriginal objects or places known to occur in the immediate vicinity of the site
and no known items or places will be affected by the proposed work. Further, the likelihood of
uncovering Aboriginal heritage items is considered low (refer Section 4.6). Safeguards have
been proposed to address circumstances if an unexpected find occurs.
All native birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, except the dingo, are protected in NSW
under the NPW Act. The harming of protected fauna is prohibited under the NPW Act, but an
exemption applies in relation to things that are essential to the carrying out of an activity to
which Part 5 of the EP&A Act applies and where the determining authority has complied with
the provisions of that part. Potential impacts to fauna are considered in Section 4.4.
Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
In accordance with Section 55 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO
Act), RailCorp holds an Environment Protection Licence (EPL), number 12208. The EPL applies
to the NSW Rail Network as defined in the Transport Administration Act 1988 for the purposes
of ‘railway systems’, which is a scheduled activity under the POEO Act.
Under the provisions of the licence, RailCorp is required to seek a modification to the licence for
certain ‘scheduled’ activities. However, the proposed works are not listed as a scheduled
activity under the POEO Act, and hence RailCorp is not required to seek a modification to its
licence under the POEO Act. Also, the works associated with the proposal will be confined to
land on which the rail undertaking is currently being carried out. As such, the proposed works
can be undertaken without requiring a variation to the EPL. Notwithstanding, the existing licence
requires that the licensee must comply with Section 120 of the POEO Act with regard to the
pollution of waters and must manage dust-generating activities.
Contaminated Land Management Act 1997
The Act establishes a process for investigation and remediation of potentially contaminated
lands. The Act is supported by a large number of guidelines which prescribe various aspects of
assessment and management of contaminated sites.
The land contamination is addressed in Sec 4.8 of the REF.