Stage 1- Berrimah Road Duplication
Environmental and Heritage Management
Clearing | Weeds | Aboriginal, Historic and Cultural Heritage | Audits
The Berrimah Road Duplication project underwent an internal impact assessment process and a Notice of Intent detailing all the potential environmental and cultural impacts was submitted to the Environmental Protection Program of the Department of Natural Resources and the Arts in June 2007.
The project was assessed as not requiring formal assessment under the Environmental Assessment Act. However to manage the identified potential impacts to the environment and cultural heritage during the construction phase it was recommended that a Construction Environmental Management Plan be developed prior to any works being undertaken.
To meet this requirement the Department of Planning and Infrastructure developed a Principal’s Environmental Management Plan (PEMP) which was included in the tender documents. This provides a framework for key personnel involved in construction activities in order to manage and minimise identified potential environmental impacts. The PEMP includes management requirements according to legislative requirements, regulation and best practice.
The Contractor (Macmahon) has developed a Contractor’s Environmental Implementation Plan (CEIP) to guide the on-ground implementation of the environmental management requirements during the construction phase. The integrated Macmahon Business System includes environmental systems certified as meeting the requirements of AS/NZS ISO 14001:2004 - Environmental Management Systems.
Clearing
The vegetation of the western side of the road will be cleared to a maximum width of 40m. All cleared vegetation will be mulched and reused in rehabilitation works.
The row of gums on the eastern side of the road will not be cleared.
Weeds
The following weeds have been identified in the area of works:
Gamba Grass, Guinea Grass, Itch Grass, Perennial Mission Grass, Para Grass and Sicklepod.
Strategies to reduce the spreading of weeds within the site and offsite
- Known weed infestations have been recently treated with herbicide to reduce the potential for weed seeds to be transported by machinery and vehicles.
All plant and vehicles will be cleaned prior to being brought onto the work site.
- All personnel working on site will receive training in identification of local weeds.
- Contaminated fill will be quarantined and treated before use.
- New weed infestations will be treated during and after the completion of works.
Aboriginal, Historic and Cultural Heritage
Authority Certificates issued by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority under the Sacred Sites Act have been obtained for the works. The Contractors required to read and adhere to all conditions on these certificates. All personnel working on site will receive an induction which will include information on sacred sites and legislative requirements.
There are no registered historic sites within the area of works.
There is also a potential for artefacts and/or archaeological sites to be unearthed during works. If this occurs the item or area will be protected and the Heritage Branch of NRETA will be contacted.
Environmental and Heritage Audits
DPI is required to conduct monthly audits against the Environmental Management Plan for the project. These are conducted by qualified environmental personnel in the company of a representative of Macmahon Contractors (the Contractor). Any issues identified during the audit are discussed and actions to correct the issue are developed between the DPI and the Contractor. A formal report is issued to the Contractor which provides details of any non-conformance issues identified and times for these to be remediated.
The first DPI audit was conducted by Cathy Waldron from Construction Division’s Major Road Projects Unit on Friday 15th May 2008. Irma Gerridzen, Safety and Environment Advisor for Macmahon Contractors accompanied Ms Waldron around the site. While there were some minor issues that needed to be addressed overall Macmahon’s received a good report.