Referral of proposed action - Rural City of Murray Bridge - SA.Gov.au

Application - Version 2 of October 2009 EPBC Ref 2008/4211and as such is considered to be a significant reduction in the amount of native vegetationto be cleared.Due to these facts design option 2 is considered to be the preferred option that should beadopted by the Rural City of Murray Bridge”.The above recommendation, in relation to the one kilometre stretch between the two “S”-Bendsalong Ferries McDonald Road and adjacent to Monarto Conservation Park is what Council hasadopted in the design and subsequent land negotiations with adjoining landowners in order tominimise any vegetation impact.An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) detailing required management during constructionworks for the Project has been produced by EBS to ensure that unnecessary damage of nativevegetation will not occur during the construction phase of the project. This was also submitted toDEWHA as Appendix 2.2 with Council’s submission dated 12 September 2008 and would beavailable for perusal upon any request.Vegetation Clearance(Pending detailed survey and final design for Concept Plan presented in Attachment Two“Proposed Traffic Control Measures – Each End of FMCP)Amount of vegetation to be cleared to facilitate the upgrade has been assessed as per guidelinesunder the Native Vegetation Act 1991. The area to be cleared consists of 1.33 ha of vegetation;the condition of which varies based on an independent assessment (refer to Table 1 below). Alsorefer to EBS (July 2008) ‘Native Vegetation Clearance Assessment Report’, accessible on Council’swebsite at http://www.murraybridge.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=371#e679 - under “F” (FerriesMcDonald) in the Fast Find “A-Z Services” and previously submitted to DEWHA in hardcopy andelectronically on CD.Table 1: Vegetation clearance in accordance to vegetation condition categories*Vegetation ConditionArea to be cleared (ha)1 (excellent quality native vegetation,containing very few or no exotic species) 0.332 (good quality native vegetation, containingfew exotic species) 0.133 (moderate quality native vegetation,containing an even mix of native and exoticspecies) 0.724 (poor quality, containing little nativevegetation, exotic species being morecommon then natives) 0.135 (very little or no native vegetation, exoticspecies dominating) 0.025Total 1.33*Condition ratings adapted from Stokes et al. (1998), Guide to the Roadside Vegetation Survey Methodology forSouth Australia.EarthworksThe new road design will remain along and within the existing road alignment and road formationas much as possible. The upgrade width will be 9.0 m with a 7.0 m seal. The existing dimensionsinclude 6.5 m to 9.0 m formations (all unsealed). The upgrade, both on the roadside and on anyland to be acquired, has been designed to have as little impact on vegetation as possible. Designcross-sections have been developed at critical locations to illustrate the extent of batters, landacquisition and effects on vegetation. The designs include alignment improvements at each of thetwo existing and prominent “S”-Bends along the proposed works.Rural City of Murray Bridge – Ferries McDonald Rd (Ver 2) Page: 12 of 35