Review of Environmental Factors - Transport for NSW - NSW ...

Heritage Act 1977Section 57(1) of the Heritage Act 1977 lists the types of activities/works that require approval from the HeritageOffice when working on/in an item/place listed on the State Heritage Register. An application for an exemptioncan also be made under some circumstances.The proposed work is to be undertaken in an area where no state heritage items are located and approvalunder the Heritage Act is not required. More information about heritage is included in Section 4.6.National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974The excavating, moving or exhibiting of Aboriginal objects requires a permit under Section 87 of the NationalParks and Wildlife Act 1974 (NPW Act). The harming or desecrating of Aboriginal objects or places is anoffence under Section 86 of the NPW Act. Under Section 90, an Aboriginal heritage impact permit may beissued in relation to a specified Aboriginal object, Aboriginal place, land, activity or person or specified types orclasses 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 knownitems or places will be affected by the proposed work. Further, the likelihood of uncovering Aboriginal heritageitems is considered low (refer Section 4.6). Safeguards have been proposed to address circumstances if anunexpected find occurs.All native birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, except the dingo, are protected in NSW under the NPWAct. The harming of protected fauna is prohibited under the NPW Act, but an exemption applies in relation tothings that are essential to the carrying out of an activity to which Part 5 of the EP&A Act applies and where thedetermining authority has complied with the provisions of that part. Potential impacts to fauna are considered inSection 4.4.Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997In accordance with Section 55 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act), RailCorpholds an Environment Protection Licence (EPL), number 12208. The EPL applies to the NSW Rail Network asdefined in the Transport Administration Act 1988 for the purposes of ‘railway systems’, which is a scheduledactivity 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 worksassociated with the proposal will be confined to land on which is currently used by the railway. As such, theproposed works can be undertaken without requiring a variation to the EPL. Notwithstanding, the existinglicence requires that the licensee must comply with Section 120 of the POEO Act with regard to the pollution ofwaters and must manage dust-generating activities.Contaminated Land Management Act 1997The Act establishes a process for investigation and remediation of potentially contaminated lands. The Act issupported by a large number of guidelines which prescribe various aspects of assessment and management ofcontaminated sites.Page 17 of 67