Media release – Keep Tasmania’s Highlands Unique – No Turbine Action Group, 13 August 2023
ST PATRICKS PLAINS WIND FARM PROPOSAL INVITES PUBLIC RESPONSE
The Development Application and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed massive St Patricks Plains Wind turbine development in the Central Highlands of Tasmania is now on public exhibition.
A hard copy of the voluminous documents is available for viewing at Council’s office in Bothwell during business hours, and digital versions are available on the Central Highlands Council website, as well as online at the Environmental Protection Authority. During the six weeks exhibition period, which closes on Monday 25th September, any person or group can make a submission on any aspect of the proposal.
Keep Tasmania’s Highlands Unique – No Turbine Action Group, with nearly 300 members, strongly opposes the location of the project. Ark Energy, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc, wants to build 47-turbines straddling the Highland Lakes Road 10km from Miena and 25 km north of Bothwell in an iconic area with recognised high biodiversity values.
“We accept that wind farms are a necessary part of the response to global warming. Nearby Cattle Hill Wind Farm, operating since 2020, received no opposition, but the proposed St Patricks Plains wind turbine site is simply in the wrong place,” said NTAG spokesperson Victoria Onslow.
“Constructing an industrial complex in such an area of high ecological and scenic values is destroying the very planet we’re supposed to be saving.”
The area is home to several rare and endangered endemic plants and animals. The iconic Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle (WTE), already listed as endangered, is an apex predator further threatened by its territories being reduced by wind farm expansion. There are 17 nests within or close to the project boundary – with cumulative impacts from turbines at nearby Cattle Hill.
Ark Energy’s EIS outlines pages and pages of mitigation, compensation, and off-set strategies to reduce the impacts of the project on resident threatened and endangered species including WTEs. The company proposes to pay $100,000 for every eagle its turbine blades kill. Disturbance to this highly sensitive species from construction and operational activities is likely to cause the abandonment of eggs and chicks in the breeding season, with minimal protective measures based on an outdated forestry operations guideline. The St Patricks Plains site should have been avoided and relocated based on the evidence of high eagle utilisation instead of contributing to pushing this species to the brink of extinction.
“We have engaged a taskforce of experts to challenge Ark Energy’s statements that a wind farm in this area will be a great boon to locals, and the Tasmanian economy in general, without causing damage to the environment. There’s no doubt the greenwashing would assist parent company global giant Korea Zinc’s smelting operations to look clean,” Victoria Onslow said.
The EPA will assess the environmental impacts of the St Patricks Plains wind turbine project and refer its determination to the Central Highlands Council. If the EPA approves the project with permit conditions, Council will then determine whether the project complies with the local planning scheme and make its decision. The Federal Environment Minister will make the final decision based on the evidence of the recommendations.
Featured image above courtesy Fir0002/Flagstaffotos.
Public notice – Central Highlands Council, 12 August 2023
— untitled —
Notice is hereby given that an application has been made to Council under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 for the use or development of land as follows:
Proposal: DA 2023/34 – St Patricks Plains Wind Farm (47 Turbines, Ancillary Development & Upgrade access to Highland Lakes Road) / CLICK HERE TO VIEW APPLICATION
Location:
- 4244A Waddamana Road, Steppes (CT: 156999/1, 100672/1)
- Penstock Road, Shannon (CT: 100080/2, 100080/3, 100081/65, 205991/1)
- 5057 Highland Lakes Road, Steppes (CT: 241119/1, 148905/1, 148905/2, 241119/2)
- 6011 Highland Lakes Road, Steppes (CT: 182190/1, 182189/1)
- 6212 Highland Lakes Road, Steppes (CT: 124603/1)
- 6300 Highland Lakes Road, Steppes (CT: 126982/1)
- Highland Lakes Road, Steppes (CT: 126983/1)
- No formal address (CT: 26886/1, 28987/1, 26886/2, 26886/3, 26886/4, 26886/5)
- Highland Lakes Road Reserve,
- Watkins Road
- Shannon River Conservation Area
The above application has been referred to the Board of the Environmental Protection Authority (the Board) for assessment under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPC Act). An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been lodged in support of the application.
The proponent has referred the proposal to the Australian Government under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The Australian Government has determined that the proposal is a controlled action (EPBC reference no. 2019/8497) on the grounds that it is likely to have a significant impact on the following Matters of National Environmental Significance:
• Listed threatened species and communities (sections 18 and 18A).
During the notification period, a copy of the full permit application is available for public inspection as follows:
- CLICK HERE TO VIEW APPLICATION
- Central Highlands Council Office, 19 Alexander Street, Bothwell (during normal office hours.
- Project Shopfront, 16A Patrick Street, Bothwell on Fridays and Saturdays (10am -4pm)
The EIS can also be viewed at: www.epa.tas.gov.au/consultations.
For assistance in accessing a copy of the EIS, please contact Caroline Lindus on Ph (03) 6165 0443 or [email protected].
A guide for preparing a public submission can be found at: www.epa.tas.gov.au/public-submission-guide
Public representations
In accordance with section 57(5) of the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993 any person may make a representation relating to the above proposal and the supporting documentation from Saturday 12 August 2023 to Monday 25 September 2023, by letter addressed to the General Manager, Central Highlands Council, 19 Alexander Street, Bothwell 7030 or by electronic mail to [email protected] and must be received no later than 5.00pm on Monday 25 September 2023.
