Cover Letter, DA Form 1, Plans, Owners Consent, Coastal Environment Assessment · OPW21/0049

Noosa Spit Coastal Protection Environmental Assessment                                                       18
Potential Impacts




        It is intended that dredging will occur between 7am and 10pm; if nuisance noise is recorded by
        residents, the complaint will be investigated and mitigation measures, such as changed hours of
        operation will be put in place.

5.6     Lighting Impacts
        Marine turtles are particularly sensitive to artificial lighting during nesting and hatching (which occurs
        in November to March). The activity of the CSD (and light created) is minor in nature when
        considering existing light sources (boats, waterfront properties), and would not be expected to impact
        on marine fauna.

5.7     Interactions between Dredge Plant and Marine Fauna
        Marine animals that swim near the water surface, such as turtles, could interact with the marine
        dredge plant. Large vessels/plant such as the dredger are slow-moving, which would provide marine
        fauna time to evade the moving vessel. Smaller, higher speed vessels (e.g. tenders) represent a
        higher risk of vessel strike. However, support vessels would represent a small proportion of the total
        number of local boat movements compared with recreational vessels and represent a comparatively
        low risk on this basis. In addition, speed limits will be placed on quicker moving support vessels.

        Entrainment within a CSD can also be a potential impact on turtles. This occurs when animals
        become drawn into the dredge as a result of the suction applied through the process of removing
        sediments from the sea floor (entrainment). The adoption of soft start guidelines for dredge
        operations should reduce this risk. Entrainment should be considered as unlikely due to the suction
        field of influence being less than one metre (during dredging) and protocols in place to only activate
        the drag heads when near the seabed.

        It is not considered that vessel strike or entrainment as a result of the project will pose a significant
        risk to marine fauna, particularly as the dredge area is not considered significant habitat for any
        marine fauna of concern.

5.8     Introduced Pests
        It is expected that the dredge plant will be locally sourced/based (from within Queensland or the
        eastern coast) and will not be a vessel that undergoes regular movements to other ports containing
        marine pests. On this basis, the project represents minimal risk from the perspective of introduced
        marine pests.

5.9     Maritime Safety
        Because of the shifting nature of the sands at the mouth of the river, no navigational beacons have
        been installed. The dredging contractor will put temporary measures in place during dredging (i.e.
        hazard lights at night) to reduce the risk of vessel collision; a maritime navigation safety plan will be
        prepared for the construction phase. There is no intention at present to provide any additional
        navigational markers following completion of works.




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 Assessment.docx