Whitehaven Coal : WHC-PLN-VCM-Koala Plan of Management

		Document Owner:	VCM
	VICKERY COAL MINE	Issue:	1.1
Last Revision Date:	December 2021
		Date Printed:	25 January 2022

WHC PLN VCM KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT

WHC_PLN_VCM_KOALA PLAN OF

MANAGEMENT

UNCONTROLLED COPY WHEN PRINTED

REFER TO INTRANET FOR LATEST VERSION

		Document Owner:	VCM
	VICKERY COAL MINE	Issue:	1.1
Last Revision Date:	December 2021
		Date Printed:	25 January 2022

WHC PLN VCM KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT

Contents

CONTENTS			I
TABLES			II
FIGURES			II
APPENDICES		II
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY	1
1	INTRODUCTION	4
	1.1	Purpose and Scope	4
	1.2	Consultation	8
2	AIMS			9
3	RELEVANT STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES	10
	3.1	Development Consent SSD-7480	10
		3.1.1 Koala Plan of Management Requirements as per SSD-7480	10
		3.1.2 General Management Plan Requirements as per SSD-7480	10
4	LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT	11
5	METHOD		13
6	KOALAS IN THE GUNNEDAH LGA	14
	6.1	Species Profile	14
	6.2	Gunnedah Koala Population	15
	6.3	Koalas in the Project Area and Surrounds	20
7	KOALA MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES	21
	7.1	Project Design and Avoidance	21
	7.2	Koala Sightings and Register	21
	7.3	Habitat Management	21
		7.3.1	Weed Management	22
		7.3.2	Rail Corridor plantings	22
		7.3.3	Koala movement	23
		7.3.4	Rehabilitation	23
		7.3.5	Local Koala Research	23
	7.4	Monitoring Programs	24
	7.5	Sick, Injured and Relocation Management of Koalas	24
	7.6	Strike Management	24

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				Document Owner:	VCM
			VICKERY COAL MINE	Issue:	1.1
		Last Revision Date:	December 2021
				Date Printed:	25 January 2022
		WHC PLN VCM KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT
8	PERFORMANCE CRITERIA			25
9	CONTINGENCY PLAN			27
	9.1	Adaptive Management			27
10	REVIEW AND IMPROVEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE	28
	10.1	Annual Review			28
	10.2	Koala Plan of Management Revision			28
	10.3	Independent Environmental Audit			29
11	REPORTING PROCEDURES			30
	11.1	Incident and Non-compliance Reporting			30
	11.2	Complaints			31
	11.3	Non-Compliance with Statutory Requirements		31
12	REFERENCES			33

Tables

Table 1	Specific Koala Plan of Management Conditions
Table 2	General Management Plan requirements
Table 3	Reconciliation of SEPP 44 Requirements against this KPoM
Table 4	Koala feed tree species in the Western Slopes and Plains Koala Management Area
Table 5	Key Performance Criteria
Table 6	Trigger Action Response Plan

Figures

Figure 1-1	Location of Study Area
Figure 6-1	Regional Koala Records
Figure 6-2	Koala Records and Potential Habitat in the Project Area

Appendices

Appendix A Consultation Log

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		Document Owner:	VCM
	VICKERY COAL MINE	Issue:	1.1
Last Revision Date:	December 2021
		Date Printed:	25 January 2022

WHC PLN VCM KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Vickery Coal Mine (VCM) is located in the Gunnedah Coal Basin, approximately 25 kilometres (km) north of Gunnedah in New South Wales (NSW) (Figure 1-1). The VCM is operated by Vickery Coal Pty Limited (VCPL) (a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitehaven Coal Limited [WHC]).

Development Consent (SSD-7480) was granted to VCPL on 12 August 2020 by the NSW Independent Planning Commission as a delegate of the NSW Minister for Planning under Section 75J of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 (EP&A Act).The Development Consent allows for the development of an open cut mine and associated infrastructure with a 25 year mine life, extracting run-of-mine (ROM) coal at up to 10 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) and processing the coal, as well as coal from WHC's Tarrawonga Mine, at an on-site coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) for off- site transport by rail.

During fauna surveys undertaken for the Project Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (Whitehaven, 2018), Future Ecology (2018) identified potential habitat and core habitat for the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) within the Project area and wider study area. Koalas are listed as vulnerable under the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (BC Act) and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). In recognition of this, a Koala Plan of Management (KPoM) has been prepared for the VCM.

The aim of the KPoM is to provide management strategies to minimise potential adverse impacts that may occur to the Koala and/or its habitat as a result of the Project. This version of the KPoM has been designed to focus on initial actions that are to be implemented for the Project, and the KPoM will be reviewed periodically, as per condition E4 and E5, Schedule 2 of SSD-7480. This KPoM has been prepared in accordance with the relevant provisions of State Environmental Planning Policy No. 44 - Koala Habitat Protection (SEPP 44) and the Gunnedah Koala Strategy (GSC, 2015) which superseded the draft Gunnedah Comprehensive Koala Plan of Management.

The Project area is located in a predominantly cleared landscape that has been subject to past and present agricultural land uses, mainly livestock grazing with some dry land cropping. As such, the extant native woodland/forest is highly fragmented with the largest continuous patches of woodland/forest immediately to the east of the proposed mining area in Vickery State Forest and to the west along the Namoi River. Parts of the Project mining area have been disturbed by previous mining activities associated with the former Vickery Coal Mine and the former Whitehaven Mine.

Several fauna surveys have been undertaken within the Project area or nearby surrounds since 2002. Future Ecology (2018) undertook targeted surveys for the Koala and recorded the species outside the study area. A review of available data indicates that a single Koala record exists within the Project area, occurring within the footprint of the Project rail spur (Kendall & Kendall, 2011). Three additional records occur within 1 km of the Project area, predominantly in vegetation along the Namoi River.

	Page 1 of 37
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		Document Owner:	VCM
	VICKERY COAL MINE	Issue:	1.1
Last Revision Date:	December 2021
		Date Printed:	25 January 2022

WHC PLN VCM KOALA PLAN OF MANAGEMENT

Consistent with the Archived BioMetric and Threatened Species Profiles Datasets (NSW Office of Environment and Heritage [OEH], 2017), recovery plan (DECC, 2008) and SEPP 44, the following vegetation communities were identified as providing potential Koala habitat in the study area (Whitehaven, 2018):

• Poplar Box Woodland on Alluvial Clay Soils (NA185, PCT 101);
• Pilliga Box - Poplar Box Shrubby Woodland (NA324, PCT 397);
• White Box - Silver-leaved Ironbark Shrubby Open Forest (NA349, PCT 594);
• Narrow-leavedIronbark - White Box Shrubby Forest (NA311, PCT 459); and
• River Red Gum Riparian Tall Woodland (NA193, PCT 78).

Dr Colin Bower (FloraSearch) reviewed which vegetation communities in the Project area could qualify as potential Koala habitat as defined in SEPP 44. Areas of potential Koala habitat on the Project area had White Box (E. albens) and Poplar Box (E. populnea) forming at least 15% of the upper strata component. Secondary feed trees were also recorded and included Pilliga Box (E. pilligaensis), Yellow Box (E. melliodora) and Blakely's Red Gum (E. blakelyi) (FloraSearch, 2018). Future Ecology (2018) concluded that the River Red Gum Woodland on the banks of the Namoi River constituted likely core habitat for the species.

Given the low number of Koala records within the Project area and nearby surrounds, and the highly fragmented nature of the habitats, it is likely that usage of the habitat by Koalas is relatively low compared to other more intact habitats.

A number of management measures would be implemented throughout the Project including:

• Project design and avoidance: The Project has been designed to minimise impacts to areas of core Koala habitat, mature riparian vegetation, and maximise the distance of operational areas from the Namoi River.
• Koala Sightings and Register: Inductions into the mine site would include education on Koalas, likely locations they could be found, speed limits on site, site protocols and Koala reporting. Whitehaven employees and contractors working on and adjacent to the mine would be asked to report any Koala sightings and WHC would maintain a documented Koala register.
• Habitat management: Measures will include pre-clearance and clearance surveys, weed mapping and control, and feral animal monitoring and control in accordance with the Biodiversity Management Plan, as well as post-construction and initial mining restoration of the River Red Gum Riparian Tall Woodland (NA193- PCT 78), and removal of fencing that may restrict Koala movement. The Project rail spur crossing of the Namoi River would be constructed within a 40 m construction corridor length.
• Sick, Injured and Relocation Management of Koalas: Whitehaven commits to develop procedures for the handling, management of sick and/or injured Koalas identified at the VCM. A procedure would also be developed for relocation of healthy Koalas prior to construction.
• Strike Management: Whitehaven commits to implement speed limits within the VCM and install Koala warning signs prior to construction, with locations based on results from the initial monitoring program and Koala sightings register.

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