Thanks to NIRAG secretary Ross Dearden for sharing these minutes from the NIRAG/Neighbourhood Forum 3 meeting on 1 November 2023, held at Bulli Community Centre.
NIRAG's next meeting will be on Wednesday, 7 February 2024.
To read the 1 November meeting minutes, click here.
To see the Information Sheets with details of the Anglicare Sandon Point Project, click here.
To read the key information for the Offshore Wind consultation that is mentioned in the minutes, see below. Submissions are required by 15 November.
13 KEY Offshore Wind Farm ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS – which Offshore Wind Farm Proponents are required to address in their applications (see page 10 and following)
1. Underwater impulsive continuous intense noise - mortality, injury, and behavioural effects (research pre-development soundscape including existing anthropogenic noise sounds.)
2. Turbine interactions - injury and mortality to birds and bats (refer to the National Recovery Plan for Albatross and Petrels 2022 or Impacts on Birds from Offshore wind farms in Australia 2022)
3. Electromagnetic Fields - subsea inter array and export cables carrying electricity to onshore distribution networks (adverse impact on marine species at important biological life stages of breeding, feeding, migration) and disruption to life expectancy or spatial distribution.
4. Sea bed/disturbance (loss, degradation, modification, and fragmentation of benthic habitats due to excavation, burial and smothering during construction, reduction in quality and quantity of light reaching seabed)
5. Disturbance of underwater cultural heritage (First Nations peoples’ beliefs, practices, connection to Sea Country, remains of shipwrecks, submerged aircraft, protected sites containing articles of significant heritage)
6. Physical presence - effects on hydrodynamics and sediment transport processes (change of natural patterns of ocean water movement - currents, waves, mixing dynamics, deposition and resuspension resulting in burial, erosion, fragmentation, smothering of benthic habitats)
7. Physical presence - barrier effects and displacement (alter the natural movements and behaviours of marine fauna (barriers affecting migration routes, or to and from areas important for breeding and foraging, impedes recovery of threatened species - Blue whales and southern right whales.
8. Artificial Light emission (during pre-development surveys, construction, operations, decommissioning phases, night and day vessel light during the above plus routine inspections, maintenance and repair operations. Turbine tower navigation and aviation safety lighting)
9. Vessel interaction - injury and mortality to marine fauna. (Vessels used for pre-development surveys, construction, operations, and decommissioning generate risk of collision with marine life)
10. Invasive marine species (international vessels and equipment making direct contact with the sea bed - pile driving equipment, dredges) and the introduction of new clean hard substrates into the marine environment - turbine foundations and scour protection)
11. Physical presence - socioeconomic: interference/displacement of existing uses as result of turbine infrastructure restriction zones excluding marine use on both a short (construction) and long term (operation) basis. (commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, recreational activities, commercial shipping, aviation).
12. Physical presence - socioeconomic seascapes and visual amenity. (Change of view from land, sea, airspace above - protecting visual amenity values of places and protected areas)
13. Multiple impact pathways (Australian marine parks and value effects).
Click to find the Australian government's PDF.