Attachment 7A - Impact Assessment Report

                                                                             Native Foresters


5.2.4 Criteria – Animals- Protected wildlife habitat (koala habitat under the Koala
SPRP)
Section 6 of the SRI Guidelines (DEHP, 2014) states that a significant residual impact on koala
habitat in SEQ is any prescribed activity that will:
    •    remove a non-juvenile koala habitat tree.

The SRI guideline states the following:

         An offset may be required for significant residual impacts on Koala habitat (i.e., non-
         juvenile koala habitat trees) in the South East Queensland planning area as identified
         in the South East Queensland Regional Plan. This includes habitat that is:
             •    an area of Essential Habitat as identified on the Essential Habitat map, as
                  defined under the Vegetation Management Act 1999;
             •    an area that is not mapped as habitat, but which contains, or is known to contain
                  Koalas.

And also defines the following:

         A koala habitat tree means:
                a) a food tree of the Corymbia, Melaleuca, Lophostemon or Eucalyptus
                genera; or
                b) a preferred shelter species such as Angophora.
         Non-juvenile koala habitat tree means a koala habitat tree that:
                a) is more than 4m high; or
                b) has a trunk with a circumference of more than 31.5cm at 1.3m above the
                ground.

The prescribed activity is considered likely to have a significant impact on koala habitat
identified within the extent of works for the following reasons:
    •    Evidence of koala activity has been identified in the area.
    •    A desktop assessment for the site determined that the site is mapped as a Koala
         Priority Area (KPA) and there are 11 records of koala listed on WildNET within 1
         kilometre of the impact area since 1980.
    •    Anecdotal evidence from ecologists indicates that the site is still able to support a
         viable population despite a range of threats including, but not limited to, landfill
         operations; regional population declines; proximity of roads and urban areas; and pest
         animal populations.
    •    Clearing 1.02ha of mapped Koala Priority (KPA) area containing core (SEQ) and
         locally refined (SEQ) koala habitat area within Lot 77 SP298776 is likely to be
         assessed as significant as it exceeds the SRI criteria threshold specified in section
         3.1.1 of the Significant Residual Impact Guideline (DSDIP, 2014).

A review of the criteria used to determine whether an action is likely to have an SRI on Koala
habitat assessable under section 6 of the Queensland Environmental Offsets Policy
Significant Residual Impact Guideline (DEHP, 2014) and contained in section 3.5.1 of
Significant Residual Impact Guideline (DSDIP, 2014) and impact mitigation measures
proposed is provided in Table 8.


Noosa Landfill & RRC Expansion – MNES & MSES Significant Impact Assessment                      27