Ecological assessment for the Ardglen Railway Widening Project
- Client Name
- Australian Rail Track Corporation
- Location
- New South Wales, Australia
Challenge
The Ardglen Railway Widening Project consisted of minor construction works to reduce damage to the existing railway line caused by landslides and erosion. Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) required an Ecological Assessment to assess potential impacts to biodiversity associated with the proposed works.
Native plants, animals and communities are protected under environmental legislation including the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. To comply with legislation, the site needed to be investigated by terrestrial ecologists prior to construction, to determine the presence or absence of native vegetation, threatened species and threatened ecological communities.
Solution
Our team used specialised online databases to complete a desktop-based assessment to identify mapped vegetation communities, species sightings records and areas mapped as obtaining significant biodiversity values. Following the desktop assessment, a site survey was conducted. During the survey, our ecologists recorded plant and animal species, as well as evidence of a habitat suitable to support threatened species.
It was determined that the site contained a small patch of a potential threatened ecological community, listed under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
Impact
An Ecological Assessment Report was prepared and included mitigation measures to ensure construction works were strategically executed to avoid and reduce impacts to biodiversity. Mitigation measures included hygiene protocols for personnel and machinery, best practice erosion control actions, and vegetation protection actions. The process of undertaking an Ecological Assessment considers potential direct and indirect impacts to biodiversity, allowing for early intervention to maintain compliance with environmental legislation and minimise the potential for harm to native flora and fauna.
